For those who have been thinking of trying Linux but flinch a bit at the thought of fiddling with their pc, repartitioning the hard disk and so on, there's an Installer Assistant for setting up dual boot through Windows (and uninstallable through Windows):

InA - the program

What's installed is a so-called live version of Linux but personal settings can be stored permanently.

I haven't tried the installer myself, but I use the Linux distro in question (fluxflux-sl) both on my eee and (dual boot Linux/XP) on my old Dell Inspiron 1100. Can't be of much help regarding the installer, but questions related to the Linux distro itself I'll try to answer as far as my knowledge go.

Among applications in the distro are OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Gimp, Mediaplayer, a cd ripper...

Edited 17 January, 201016 yr by swedishskoda

For those who have been thinking of trying Linux but flinch a bit at the thought of fiddling with their pc, repartitioning the hard disk and so on, there's an Installer Assistant for setting up dual boot through Windows (and uninstallable through Windows):

InA - the program

What's installed is a so-called live version of Linux but personal settings can be stored permanently.

I haven't tried the installer myself, but I use the Linux distro in question (fluxflux-sl) both on my eee and (dual boot Linux/XP) on my old Dell Inspiron 1100. Can't be of much help regarding the installer, but questions related to the Linux distro itself I'll try to answer as far as my knowledge go.

Among applications in the distro are OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Gimp, Mediaplayer, a cd ripper...

Now that is useful. Do you happen to know can I install linux on a second hard drive in the PC or does it have to be on the main one (ie same as windows). I basically just installed a new 1.5 Tb drive in my PC and it is empty. Would be nice to have windows on one and linux on the other

You can install it on the other drive, but there will be a bootloader on the first disk.

Might be of interest - no need to partition etc

Easily Install Ubuntu Linux with Windows Using the Wubi Installer

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/9142/easily-install-ubuntu-linux-with-windows-using-the-wubi-installer/

"No matter which route you take to install Ubuntu with Wubi, everything is installed to C:\Ubuntu directory.

....................

After the first reboot, you can choose between Windows 7 or Ubuntu at the Windows Boot Manager screen.

The uninstall process is extremely simple as well and consists of two screens. Verify you want to uninstall Ubuntu…

...............................

That’s it! It’s uninstalled and you have your hard drive space back. When you reboot your system, there’s no leftover funky GRUB or other bootloader to worry about. Your PC will boot directly into Windows.

"

Edited 18 January, 201016 yr by anonymouse

I just love it

Windowz, you can keep it.......

You can install it on the other drive, but there will be a bootloader on the first disk.

cheers. I can cope with a bootloader, just there's a whole 1.5 Tb of empty space, it seemd a sensible place to put it then they can each have their own space :-)

cheers. I can cope with a bootloader, just there's a whole 1.5 Tb of empty space, it seemd a sensible place to put it then they can each have their own space :-)

Don't think they care, actually

The wubi installer seems to be basically the same thing, so it's about which Linux version one prefers. Ubuntu is probably the most well-spread right now, which means that there are great opportunities for adding new applications and so on. Plus that it's seen as user-friendly and easy to adjust to for Win users.

But every Linux distro has its own peculiarities and might fit better or worse to the specific hardware. In my case I had troubles getting Ubuntu to work on my eee (e.g. wifi and 3G) and stumbled over fluxflux-sl which worked out of the box.

Don't think they care, actually

The wubi installer seems to be basically the same thing, so it's about which Linux version one prefers. Ubuntu is probably the most well-spread right now, which means that there are great opportunities for adding new applications and so on. Plus that it's seen as user-friendly and easy to adjust to for Win users.

But every Linux distro has its own peculiarities and might fit better or worse to the specific hardware. In my case I had troubles getting Ubuntu to work on my eee (e.g. wifi and 3G) and stumbled over fluxflux-sl which worked out of the box.

thanks guys. It's my work machine so I don't want to screw up windows. I think I'll try it on an old spare pc and see how it goes first

thanks guys. It's my work machine so I don't want to screw up windows. I think I'll try it on an old spare pc and see how it goes first

Good idea.

Another way of trying out various Linux distros is to create a 'live install USB'. You then boot and run from the USB, no changes on your original setup. Easy way to find out whether the user interface is friendly, logic, self-inituitive... some live install versions also allow you to store personal settings on the USB for the next time (others just revert to default).