Computer Help

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Superman

The Wheel is Turning, But the Hamster is Dead
OK, I wasn't planning on making a new topic about this, but BV said I might want to. I can deal with that.

Currently I am trying to create a dual-boot system. Of course, I was referred to try some programs to partition my hard drive and then instal the new OS.

First of all, I am currently working on Windows XP Home and trying to install Linux Red Hat 7.2 (I know, pretty old). IO was referred to Ranish by someone I know and so I downloaded it. However, the process is too complicated and over my head. Has anyone ever used this system? Or is there a way that people have done this that they can tell me?

And also, if you have any computer problems, you can post them here.
 
That would be nice if I could get a newer version. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with this... Thanks though.
 
Why's that? You could always download and burn a newer version.

Or you could always order free Ubuntu CDs. I prefer Ubuntu over FC4, and much more over the old-skool RedHat. Faster, smaller, better, and superior in every way.
 
Well, on a 56K connection, that would only take 4 days. Ok, maybe not, but I'm pretty sure that it would take longer than I would like.
 
Ahh, that could be a bit of a problem. I still recommend that you order some free Ubuntu CDs. https://shipit.ubuntu.com/ You can order as many free CDs as you want, and you don't even pay shipping.

If you can't do that, I believe I have a copy of Red Hat 7.2 here at my house that I could start installing to see how the install sets up the boot manager.
 
Well, thats great that its free. I'll check that out and stuff. Thanks for everything about this, I never liked the OS installation process, much less the dual-boot stuff. But yeah, I'll check things out and get back to you on that. Thanks again.
 
Alright, new problem. I was working on my computer this morning and it started flickering a lot, and then just stopped and the screen got dull or tinted really weird. Anybody got any ideas what happened and how to fix it?
 
Ok, I would just lik eot mention that I solved the above problem. It was just the connection in the back. The stupid screws came out. Anyway.

I got the ubuntu disks, but now I have the task of creating a dual-boot system. I tried looking around on the disks and i couldn't find anything on creating dual-boot. It pretty much said "press enter to delete everything and install this". And considering my limited intelligence working with this sort of thing on computers, I am completely lost.

Can anyone help?
 
Let me get my Ubuntu discs out, and I'll run through an installation here at my house, then get some digital camera screenshots to help you get your dual-boot set up. Probably sometime over the weekend, school and whatnot keeping me busy.

You can always run the live disc to see what you think about Ubuntu.
 
I've done some research on your question and I think I have come up with a solution.

MAKE SURE TO BACK UP IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE FOLLOWING THE STEPS OUTLINED BELOW. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOST DATA.

First, I recommend you defragment your hard disk. This will move files towards the "front" of the disk, and leave room for a new partition.

1) Visit http://www.compuapps.com/download/Swissknife/swissknife.htm and download Swissknife there. Use that program to cut down your Windows partition, leaving some empty space at the end of the drive (I would recommend at least 5GB of unpartitioned free space).

2) Visit http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6104490811311898236&q= and watch the video starting at about 4:30. These guys do a great job running through the entire Ubuntu install process, covering dual-booting and such.

3) Come back and tell us how everything went!
 
Superman said:
And also, if you have any computer problems, you can post them here.
Click to expand...

I'll take you up on the offer.

I am curious about what happened to my computer. The busted down pile of steaming Gateway...

The symptoms were a loud popping noise with the monitor shutting off and a small yet hazardous display of sparks. The first monitor did this and I promptly unplugged it and dropped it in the garbage can outside. Two nights later I borrowed another monitor from my mom to see if it would happen again. Allw as well for the first few minutes and then trouble. A loud pop. Then the scren went dark. Thankfully not a huge display of sparks.

Now, the computer is being sent to my brother's house so he can get all of my wife's pictures off the HD and put them onto CD-ROM disks. And a new one is just a short time away, so it's not a huge problem anymore. But what could have caused this mess??

My brother says a short may have been created in the graphics card and it fried the monitor. Is he right??

I can't control my curiosity sometimes...
 
Could be possible, though I've never heard of such an occurrence. Another possibility is that the refresh rate was set too high, which has been known to set monitors on fire, but the monitor usually does not display anything but a jumbled signal if the refresh rate isn't properly set.
 
Well, computers are so complicated with all the circuits that they can easily become finicky. So, a simple short could do some serious damage, but I would have no clue if that was the case.

And thanks recky, I'll look into that when I get onto a high speed computer this coming week. Thanks again.
 
Onto a high speed computer? Are you getting a new one?

If so, the video explains how to install both Windows and Ubuntu so you don't need to get the partitioning program.
 
Well guys, my brother did the autopsy on my old computer. And man, was it horrible. The motherboard was fried in it. The only good parts were the memory, CDR-W and the hard drive. The size of the HD made me laugh. It was 8.7 Gig drive. And man, was it full of spyware junk!! I gave all the usefull stuff to my brother and junked the rest. It was horrible!!
 
Did you ever setup the dual-boot? I had it for a bit on this computer, and let's just say that Linux runs 50,000x faster on my gaming machine than my dedicated Linux box.
 
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