Re: Dual boot default and Compatibility

[Tom Cook <tom.cook@adelaide.edu.au>]

On  0, John Lynch <johnlynch6@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> Well, I've partitioned my harddrive with Partition Magic.
> And I am currently downloading Mandrake GNU/Linux, because of everyone's 
> advice.
> 
> NOW I know this is for DEBIAN GNU/Linux BUT I have to ask in here (because 
> I don't want to be added to yet another mailing list) and I figure someone 
> might know seeings how everyone kept telling me to get Mandrake GNU/Linux.
> 
> 
> Does anyone know how to create a dual boot system with Mandrake GNU/Linux 
> and Windows XP, with Windows XP being the system that boots up as the 
> default OS making it so the computer will AUTOMATICALLY run Windows XP 
> unless I tell it to run Mandrake?

I don't know how to do this in Mandrake, and probably not too many
people here will.  In general Mandrake has a Tool for Everything(TM)
so there is probably a funky tool for this as well.  The Real Way(TM)
(and hard way, it must be said) is to read 'man lilo.conf'.  It will
tell you how to add different OSs to the list of things you can boot
into, and how to decide which one is the default ('default=dos' from
memory, if you call your XP option 'dos').  You are far better off (a)
using GRUB and (b) asking this question on a Mandrake list, because
they will know all about the Funky Tool.

> ALSO
> 
> Is Debian software (such as abbiword) compatible with Mandrake GNU/Linux 
> and vice versa?

'Debian software', as such, is, I suppose, compatible with Mandrake,
but is probably a pain to install (there will not be a tool for
installing software from .deb files) and the automagic dependency
checking will not work.  This means that some software might not run
because you don't have, for instance, the correct libc installed.

> in fact is ALL Linux software compatible with the different OS's of Linux?

So long as you have the correct libraries installed in the correct
versions and places.

> Thanks once again for helping me with my questions.

No worries, but I think there are other places you could find better help.

Tom
-- 
Tom Cook
Information Technology Services, The University of Adelaide

"That you're not paranoid does not mean they're not out to get you."
	- Robert Waldner

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