04-19-2014, 09:13 PM
I am still in exploratory mode before taking the leap from Windows XP to Linux, and have just encountered another interesting issue.
I have two laptops, both currently running Windows XP. I'd like to set up either, or both, to dual boot with Linux Lite (or maybe another distro like Zorin?). So for the moment I thought I would try things out from the Live CD. But there seem to be issues with both.
The newer of my two laptops - and the one I use daily - is a Dell Inspiron 1520. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz processor. I can run Linux Lite or Zorin on it in trial mode from a Live CD, and have done so just to see what they look like.
But (there seems always to be a but...) I have looked at the disk partitions on the laptop. It seems already to have four partitions: a 118MB FAT "EISA" (which I believe has something to do with Dell's Recovery/Restore); the C drive of 227GB NTFS which is the system partition and is doubtless where Windows XP resides along with all my files; then an "Extended Partition" of 2.50GB FAT32 which has no drive letter but is labelled Media Direct and logical drive; and finally another 3.00GB FAT32 partition labelled "unknown".
I have researched Dell Media Direct, and it seems I have version 3. I have never used it. Although I don't understand the jargon, it is apparently on a 'logical drive' so that it can be booted directly (from a special button on the keyboard) without having to fire up the main OS. This button apparently messes with, or bypasses, the Master Boot Record. The good news is that if you are really VERY clever with Linux, you can tweak a dual boot arrangement so as to use that special button instead to boot up Linux. The bad news is that it is hard if not impossible to remove Dell Media Direct cleanly and totally, and if it remains and you aren't careful, that button can mess up the MBR and/or the "grub" and you end up in infinitely deep trouble.
So I am shying away from installing Linux Lite on this laptop for two reasons. As there are four partitions on the hard drive already, I'm not sure whether or how Linux can be installed alongside XP as a dual boot. Is there scope to create the two more partitions (a system one and a swap one) needed for the Linux OS, and can the auto-installer do this? And even if it can, I assume I would still be left with the Media Direct partition; and the special Media Direct button on the keyboard then becomes like the nuclear button - press it and the screen goes black or the system seizes up. Not nice.
Can anyone offer advice (in plain English, please) on whether or how to successfully install Linux Lite as dual boot on a machine which has this Dell Media Direct thing lurking on the hard drive?
Meanwhile, I thought about option B - trying to install Linux as a dual boot on my other, even older, laptop. That's when a curious thing called "pae" (or rather the lack of it) reared its ugly head. As that's a different problem, I'm posting it in a separate thread.
I have two laptops, both currently running Windows XP. I'd like to set up either, or both, to dual boot with Linux Lite (or maybe another distro like Zorin?). So for the moment I thought I would try things out from the Live CD. But there seem to be issues with both.
The newer of my two laptops - and the one I use daily - is a Dell Inspiron 1520. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz processor. I can run Linux Lite or Zorin on it in trial mode from a Live CD, and have done so just to see what they look like.
But (there seems always to be a but...) I have looked at the disk partitions on the laptop. It seems already to have four partitions: a 118MB FAT "EISA" (which I believe has something to do with Dell's Recovery/Restore); the C drive of 227GB NTFS which is the system partition and is doubtless where Windows XP resides along with all my files; then an "Extended Partition" of 2.50GB FAT32 which has no drive letter but is labelled Media Direct and logical drive; and finally another 3.00GB FAT32 partition labelled "unknown".
I have researched Dell Media Direct, and it seems I have version 3. I have never used it. Although I don't understand the jargon, it is apparently on a 'logical drive' so that it can be booted directly (from a special button on the keyboard) without having to fire up the main OS. This button apparently messes with, or bypasses, the Master Boot Record. The good news is that if you are really VERY clever with Linux, you can tweak a dual boot arrangement so as to use that special button instead to boot up Linux. The bad news is that it is hard if not impossible to remove Dell Media Direct cleanly and totally, and if it remains and you aren't careful, that button can mess up the MBR and/or the "grub" and you end up in infinitely deep trouble.
So I am shying away from installing Linux Lite on this laptop for two reasons. As there are four partitions on the hard drive already, I'm not sure whether or how Linux can be installed alongside XP as a dual boot. Is there scope to create the two more partitions (a system one and a swap one) needed for the Linux OS, and can the auto-installer do this? And even if it can, I assume I would still be left with the Media Direct partition; and the special Media Direct button on the keyboard then becomes like the nuclear button - press it and the screen goes black or the system seizes up. Not nice.
Can anyone offer advice (in plain English, please) on whether or how to successfully install Linux Lite as dual boot on a machine which has this Dell Media Direct thing lurking on the hard drive?
Meanwhile, I thought about option B - trying to install Linux as a dual boot on my other, even older, laptop. That's when a curious thing called "pae" (or rather the lack of it) reared its ugly head. As that's a different problem, I'm posting it in a separate thread.