On Mon, 2011-08-01 at 10:13 -0500, jacquespotter wrote: > Thanks. Could I do the same thing with two hd's with one as a slave to > the other or should I just set up two different computers. I can do > both pretty cheap when I have the funds. > Of course. You can leave the first disk as an unmodified Windows disk except for installing GRUB on it and put Linux in a second disk. The result will dual boot OK, and you can easily mount the Windows partition(s) as part of the Linux filing system. However, there's a lot Linux can do as a networked system that you simply can't see and play with easily unless its on its own hardware and so can be run alongside the Windows PC. As I said, you can use quite old, and therefore cheap, hardware to run Linux, and you only need a screen and keyboard on that system for installation and initial setup. After that there are several options for running stuff on it from the Windows screen and keyboard. If you have a Windows X-server or use VNC you can use the Linux desktop and all the usual graphical tools. VNC runs as either a Windows app or within a web browser. You can also use PuTTY as a text-only terminal. I've held down a developer's job before now using just VNC and PuTTY to talk to a RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) server. IMO this is a good way to get used to using Linux. Martin
