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Running Linux/Solaris

 
Ranch Hand
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Hi
I have Windows XP installed on my laptop.I am thinking of purchasing 200 GB hard drive connected visa USB to laptop.Can i install Solaris/Linux on hard drive and then select it while laptop boots?RAM is 512 MB.
 
Greenhorn
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In short:
Yes, it is possible.

A bit longer:
I haven't tried it with Solaris, but it is almost exactly what i do (with Linux). A thing you have to really care about is where to install the bootloader. If you don't, it is possible to destroy your existing windows installation so that you aren't able to start it anymore.
 
Bartender
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Our Linux FAQ has some pointers on installing Linux.
 
Ranch Hand
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Or you could install a VMWare virtual machine on your Windows laptop and from it run whatever installation of Linux or Solaris that you want.

That's what I am doing, since at work I am required to work under Windows. And a license of it costs around $180.
 
Java Cowboy
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VMWare is free for personal use, as is VirtualBox.
 
Frank Bacher
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I tried VirtualBox (and sometimes still use it) and it works. But with 512 MB of RAM it is really slow. Another point is (or at least was, when i tried it) that if some hardware doesn't work on your host system, it won't work on the guest.
 
Jesper de Jong
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It's not necessarily true that if a piece of hardware doesn't work on the host OS, it also won't work on the guest OS.

On my desktop PC I have a Microsoft webcam. It doesn't work under Linux. However, on Windows XP running in VMWare the webcam works as it should. I configured VMWare to connect the USB port that the webcam is connected to to the VM.
 
Frank Bacher
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When I last tried it, it didn't (ok, i must admit it is some time ago and new versions have emerged). But it is nice to hear that it possibly works now. Even better in my case is, that i didn't need to try it anymore because the piece of hardware which was the reason of my trials (a cheap dvb-t usb receiver) now works native under linux ;-)
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