[scorpio]

Well, I'm thinking of running Gentoo right now(currently running XP), but I want to be able to use some software that's for Windows. Also, I have a lot of stuff on a second hard drive that's been formatted for XP and I want to know if there is a way for me to be able to see them in Linux without having to format over. Is there a way to allocate my first hard drive for Windows and Linux so I can log into whichever I want to?

Never really used Linux before so help would be greatly appreciated. =)

[m3trj]

Are you putting Linux on a different hard drive? If so, then make sure during the install to install it on the right one, and the bootloader (LILO or Grub) will detect Windows, so when you start your computer you'll have the option to boot either OS.

You should be able to see your Windows partition if you mount it correctly.

[scorpio]

Should I install Linux on the master or slave drive?

[m3trj]

That doesn't make any difference. Just as long as the bootloader is installed on the master drive, but this will be by default. Either drive will be fine.

[Amd64Boy]

You can use "Wine" to run most windows programs on linux

Before you go installing linux get and read some books on "gentoo linux" and "linux for beginers" books

[Qiranworms]

Originally posted by Amd64Boy
You can use "Wine" to run most windows programs on linux

I would argue "most"...it depends on the types of programs your running...and often it's an effort to get something working, and quite often, certain components of a program will not run. If you depend on a large amount of Windows-only software for professional or otherwise serious purposes, I wouldn't depend on WINE to do it...

[macdude425]

And if your program depends on DirectX, it certainly will not run in Wine.