Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

[Guest]

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a 180% newbie to Linux. I used UNIX some in the past in college, but I am hardly proficient. My experience is with Windows almost exclusively. I have installed Linux in the past (various distributions) as dual boot, and always ended up back with Windows as a sole boot. Maybe it's because I don't really have the time to hack too much (I work full time and am a full time Masters student). I need SIMPLE, step-by-step (think complete idjit) instructions on how to do what I want (if it's possible). With that being said, here's where I stand:

HP Pavilion dv1510us laptop with 160 gig HD (approx 100 of it is for Windows right now)
1GB main memory

I installed Kubuntu 7.04 from the CD as a dual-boot and here's what I want to do:

1. How do I edit Grub so Windows is the default OS (mainly for my wife's benefit)?
2. How do I set up Kubuntu to automatically mount my Windows partition as a readable/writable drive every time I boot up?
3. I have Microsoft Office already installed on Windows. Is it possible to use wine (leaning towards Crossover because of it's ease of use) to "point" to the Office installation already in place and run it on Linux? I don't want to have two installations. This also applies to all the applications I have installed that I'd want to run under wine (Adobe Photoshop 7, iTunes, etc...)
4. In the same vein, is there a way to "point" a Virtual Machine to my current Windows Installation so I don't have to start over there?

Those are the big ones right now, what I want is Kubuntu and Windows living in perfect harmony on my laptop. I want to dual boot, as well as have only one installation of Windows/Office that can be run in Linux as virtual machine AND wine. Is this even possible? I also want whatever I do with installations, virtual machines, wine, whatnot - to have no effect on my Windows partition (i.e. I boot into Windows and it's as if I haven't done anything), again mainly for my wife's benefit.

Thanks for all the help in advance.

[Ant2ne]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

1.
/boot/grub/menu.lst
Open your konsole and type

sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst.bk
sudo kate /boot/grub/menu.lst

The first line makes a back up. The second actually edits it.
here is a copy of my menu.lst

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.20-16-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-16-generic root=UUID=d077e9d2-06d3-4105-a557-079179b178bf ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.20-16-generic
quiet
savedefault

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.20-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-16-generic root=UUID=d077e9d2-06d3-4105-a557-079179b178bf ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.20-16-generic

title Ubuntu, memtest86+
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

#title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
#root (hd0,0)
#makeactive
#rootnoverify (hd0,0)
#chainloader +1

Up above all of that, there is a line that says

default=0

so I default boot from the first #title. If I wanted to boot from the fourth #title (that is, Vista) I would make default=3. Get it?


2.
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3080722.0

If you install the NTFS-3g driver which you can get in kubuntu and ubuntu repositories (here is a site with helpful instructions http://www.ntfs-3g.org/ ; or go to the ubuntu forums and do a search for NTFS-3g). I have had this installed and my system is working perfectly fine. I have been able to read and to write to my NTFS partitions with no problem

.

3.
I don't think wine works that way. Use OpenOffice, you'll like it. Wine is a great tool, but I'm pretty sure that it needs to reinstall the programs to run properly.

4.
VMware doesn't work that way either. At least not the free version that I'm running.

5.I don't think you can achieve the level of harmony you are looking for. You can get close though.

[askrieger]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

3.
I don't think wine works that way.

Actually, I think it does. I believe Crossover Office uses your existing M$ Office installation running under a customized (commercial) version of wine. All you have to do is to make sure that you can mount the windoze partition that has your C:\program files\... directory. I'm windoze free now so I really can't check, but for the amount that you have to pay for Crossover Office they should have good setup instructions. But, I also think that you should switch to OpenOffice on BOTH windoze and Linux.

4. I believe, Ant2ne is correct, unlike Wine ("Wine Is Not an Emulator) vmware IS an emulator. So, I don't think you can mount a real windoze partition in your virtual windoze machine.

[dibl]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

I don't think you can mount a real windoze partition in your virtual windoze machine.

Right, that is true. But you CAN share files, via Samba, between the virtual Windows filesystem running under VMWare and the real filesystem under Linux. So you would have to re-install the MS Office applications, but the data files could be shared.


p.s. Concur that Open Office is a completely suitable substitute for MS Office, and you can't beat the price!

[penguin.ch]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

Just virtualize the given Windoze by "(clone-)converting" it and everything is going to be alright 8)

[Ant2ne]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

3.
I don't think wine works that way.

Actually, I think it does. I believe Crossover Office uses your existing M$ Office installation running under a customized (commercial) version of wine. All you have to do is to make sure that you can mount the windoze partition that has your C:\program files\... directory. I'm windoze free now so I really can't check, but for the amount that you have to pay for Crossover Office they should have good setup instructions. But, I also think that you should switch to OpenOffice on BOTH windoze and Linux.

This is the first I've heard of a commercial version of wine. More info please. Do you have a link?

[askrieger]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

http://www.codeweavers.com You will have to look at the FAQ though, they have had problems with (*)buntu in the past and may still have them now.

[Ant2ne]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

http://www.codeweavers.com You will have to look at the FAQ though, they have had problems with (*)buntu in the past and may still have them now.

Nice read. I hate to hijack this thread, but it is still relevant to the subject.

Notice what Wine HQ says about running MS Office in wine. (link below) Not so pretty. But Crossover only rated MS Word as Bronze. (again, link is below) 60 bucks is still a lot cheaper than a new Windows install. I don't know about that price tag for Crossover when compared to what they guarantee (You still gotta buy the MS Office Suit just to find out you got a Bronze performer.) What can MS Office do that OpenOffice can not?

Crossover might be a worthy investment for a die hard gamer who wants to run linux. I still think the gamer is going to run into a lot of DirectX difficulties that Crossover wont solve. I run 2d Ultima Online though wine with no problems. I hear World of Warcraft can be made to run in wine. And is given Gold rating in Wine HQ. In Crossover, they rated WoW as silver.

I do like the fact that Crossover donates to the Wine project. 8)

http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=31 http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibi...ASC;curPos=100

[askrieger]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

Crossover is actually a fork of Wine. As I understand it (I may be wrong) the Codeweavers guys were active among the original developers of Wine. They lost out in one of the political battles that plague volunteer efforts in Linux (e.g. the recent disintegration of Gentoo), so they "took their baseball and went home".

There is at least one other fork of Wine, that may be of interest: CEDEGA. To quote from their website:

Cedega delivers an amazing gaming experience that matches or even surpasses the original Windows version. Support for features ranging from installers to copy protection to advanced graphics capabilities mean you get the best gaming experience possible. Blistering speeds, beautiful graphics and the smoothest game play mean the latest blockbusters can be enjoyed along side the Linux capabilities you've come to rely on, without ever having to reboot.

Basically, they sell you a "subscription" for $55/yr. As you can see from the quote, they really do "sell" (hard). I have heard good things about their product, though. but I've never used it.

[Guest]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

Everyone, Thanks for the help. I've now gotten my Linux working to the point that I may actually be able to convince my wife that it's a better idea then Windows. Is it possible to change the order of items in grub, just by moving them around the menu.lst file?

I've since purchased Crossover, and installed Office XP and Adobe Photoshop and they're great! My wife was very impressed with it, and we may actually fully switch (at least on my laptop). I use (and prefer) OpenOffice on both Windows and Linux, however for both my (and my wife's) Master's classes, we use a plug-in for Microsoft Excel that doesn't work with Open Office. Hence the reason for the need to use Crossover...

As it stands, I've got the dual boot still going on, and once my wife is sold on the idea, I'm probably going to shrink the Windows partition and use just Crossover/Virtual PC software. Speaking of virtual machines... Which is the cheapest/easiest way to run one? Which is the best?

[Ant2ne]

Re: Want to do a whole bunch of stuff, don't know if it's possible.

Everyone, Thanks for the help. I've now gotten my Linux working to the point that I may actually be able to convince my wife that it's a better idea then Windows. Is it possible to change the order of items in grub, just by moving them around the menu.lst file?

I've since purchased Crossover, and installed Office XP and Adobe Photoshop and they're great! My wife was very impressed with it, and we may actually fully switch (at least on my laptop). I use (and prefer) OpenOffice on both Windows and Linux, however for both my (and my wife's) Master's classes, we use a plug-in for Microsoft Excel that doesn't work with Open Office. Hence the reason for the need to use Crossover...

As it stands, I've got the dual boot still going on, and once my wife is sold on the idea, I'm probably going to shrink the Windows partition and use just Crossover/Virtual PC software. Speaking of virtual machines... Which is the cheapest/easiest way to run one? Which is the best?

Congrats on the wife convert. I'm still working on mine. You should be able to modify the menu.lst by moving the entries around. And there was this lame add on that my wife needed for one of her classes, and the add on would only run in excel. Give us an update in a few weeks as to how well Crossover is working for you. I'm interested in it.

Check out VMware player to run a virtual machine. http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ You will still need a registered windows copy, i think.