[White_Wolf]

I have been nothing but a Windows user. Mainly because it's what came with my computer, and it's what's on all of my friends computers, and the OS I learned on.

But now I am wanting to created a some partitions on my spare hard disk and install a variety of operation systems: Win98, WinXP, Linux, and possibly some version of DOS.

The WinXP will be used as a backup OS in case I screw up XP on my primary HDD.

I've never used Linux; I have no idea how it works. What version of Linux should I get? And how should I format its partition?

Win98, from what I remember comes with DOS. But is there another version of DOS I should get to play with?

[zmatt]

DOS is 16bit and outdated. Also why do you want win98? It stank and is useless. As for Linux the best beginner distro is ubuntu. it is easy to learn and use and has a large support community.

[techpro5238]

I actually like PCLinuxOS 2007, it looks like Windows but functions differently. It is for 1st time users switching to Linux and it was my first linux from XP to . I actually liked Windows 98 and I still use it as a gaming machine virtualized. In my consent yes it is dead and outdated now but back when it first came out it had:

1. Plug and Play Support for the first time
2. Was very secure by the Second Edition
5. It was a great step over anything Windows had at the time

Not to go against you zmatt ofcourse but in my opinion Win98 SE was a work of art

[zmatt]

well yeah it was good for its time but now its just useless unless you are running it in a vm for compatibility reasons. DOS was and still is oodles of fun but of course its not very useful either.

[CalcProgrammer1]

I think the best OS's are Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Ubuntu Linux 7.04 or 7.10 beta.

Windows 2000 is decently supported by programs and drivers, yet works on my old Celeron 500 quite well. It came on my used ThinkPad as well. XP is good because it is most compatible. It's better than 2000 and it doesn't have the bugs of Vista. Ubuntu is the nicest Linux distro I've used yet, it has a nice looking interface with seemingly infinite customization. It is based on Debian so it has the APT package management system, which makes software installation easy, plus it has Alien to convert Red hat, Slackware, etc packages into Debian format. 7.10 also makes Compiz (an advanced desktop management system that provides awesome effects similar to, but nicer than Windows Vista such as glass title bars and desktop cube) a snap to install (if on Radeon X1K series cards, you must install fglrx and xserver-xgl, but that's not hard).

As for DOS, I'm not really sure why you'd want it...

You could always use the command prompt in Windows, and if that's not good enough, DOS Box or some other DOS emulator should run well on a modern PC.

There are also some open source DOS clones (look for FreeDOS) that may be more up-to-date on hardware and drivers than the old MS-DOS from 1980-90's.

[jakec]

Kubuntu
Kubuntu - The KDE Desktop


Mandriva
Welcome / Home - Mandriva Linux

PCLinuxOS 2007
PCLinuxOS


This is the distro I use and recommend, Why because it works right out of the box. No need to configure Everything, everything just works. It also comes as a 1 CD install that is a live CD that you can install later if you wish.

Mephis
MEPIS | discover the possibilities...

Also try the distro chooser in my sig. It asks you a series of questions, then based on your answers gives you a distro that best suits your needs

In terms of partitioning try Gparted: GParted -- Welcome

Please read the documentation: GParted -- Documentation

Depending on what version you choose there are a number of install guides

Good hunting

Jake

[SirCyber]

linux-xp @ linux-xp.com
This is a windows emulator that I use on one of my other pc's. it's very much like WinXP, has great support between OS's, and looks really clean
ubunto @ ubunto.com
Ubunto is really easy to use, easy to install everything. run it off a live CD, check it out, feel how it works. easy to get addicted to

Mac OS 10.4.9 for Intel AMD
Mac users unite!! here is the legendary Mac OS, and it's now ready for PC's. I am currently working on this project, building pc's with Mac in mind. for now, I don't have a website, anywhere to download it from, or much information. my colleague and I are working on producing several pc's with leapord (the 10.4.9 name for the os) installed on it. Apple has had a notable customer service, and most gaming infrastructures can talk to the apple os easily.

[zmatt]

you spelled ubuntu wrong.

but the mac oS for pc sounds fun, right now i have tiger-x86 installed as a vm in vm workstation 6 and it runs pretty slow seeing as i only have 1 gig of ram to plit between xp and mac os. But to run it native would be a big boost. i would love to dual boot mac os and windows.