Which OS?

I've got 2 partitions on this laptop. Windows Vista is on the main one. The other is empty. Do I load it up with Windows XP or Fedora Linux? I don't have any plans for it, I just want an option other than Vista to mess around in; however, a system that could help me troubleshoot the Vista partition when it crashes would be nice.

 

What kind of troubleshooting are you familiar with? (Outside Vista)

XP pretty much needs to be installed first, so really, its a matter if you want to mess with Linux.

 

XP can be installed fairly easily after Vista and there are plenty of guides out there detailing how. The only issue that the member may have is if there were no XP drivers written for the machine.

 

Maybe I haven't been clear. I want to install the other OS to a blank partition. I just wanted to know if anyone had a preference.

What kind of troubleshooting am I familiar with? Taken literally, there's only one kind of troubleshooting- the kind where there's a problem and I use a series of steps to identify the problem and solve it. If what you meant was what platforms I am familiar with troubleshooting, that would include everything from Windows 9x to Vista, Red Hat Linux, and Mac OS 9.

 

That didnt address my question. If you are thinking to have another OS to tshoot say... a registry problem, then Linux isnt the answer, as it cannot load registry hives and edit them. Do you understand why I asked that now? You need the right tool for the job. A screwdriver won't help when a wrench is needed

 

Oh yes, I knew that. I just didn't understand the question the way it was asked.

I usually don't play around in the registry; however, I can edit and replace critical system files.

 

Personally, I'd make a LiveCD/DVD, windows, or linux, and use the second partition for data storage.