Mix Linux with Windows_unix Linux

On personal computers, WinDOS systems and Linux systems can be used to complement each other, and in this article we'll show you how to use both systems on a single computer, including the best way to start, what files to use, and more.

In the past few years, Linux has been well established as one of the options for server and workstation operating systems.

Many professional users found that Linux is still a very safe web surfing platform. Linux may not have less security vulnerabilities than Microsoft's operating system, but systems like SuSE, Knoppix, Red hat and so on are rarely hit by viruses because these systems are not the primary targets of hacker attacks.

On the other hand, Windows is an essential operating system when it comes to multimedia, especially video editing and DVD-ROM production. For Office software and image editing, Windows is still a leader in this area. As a result, many professional users use dual systems.

In this article, we'll show you the best way to use two systems on a single machine. If you're preparing for this transformation, there's really no need to worry about the problems that can result from incompatible systems and read files in Windows in a Linux environment.

And these Unix-originated operating systems are now recognizable and able to work with a large number of Windows-formatted files. If necessary, you can even run a mature application in a Linux environment, such as running Microsoft Office in a Linux environment.

　combine Linux with Windows

As for the use of Linux and Windows on a personal computer, there are at least half a dozen. However, the most common method of these methods should be to install two operating systems simultaneously on one hard drive.

This approach is easy to implement in addition to configuring multiple boot managers, but this method requires a large amount of hard disk space. If you've decided to use a Windows partition and find that you still need 3-4GB space to save Microsoft files so that you can regularly view certain files, you'll find it very troublesome.

In this approach, each operating system is stored separately in its own partition. The current version of Linux, such as red Hat 9 or SuSE 8, takes into account the existing Microsoft operating system and integrates the system into the boot options. However, it does need to have enough free hard disk space, and to achieve a standard installation, you need probably 3-5GB disk space that is not used or has no partitions.

If there is enough space, the installation tool will automatically compute a reasonable partitioning scheme for Linux. If necessary, expert-level users can simply enter the desired partition size without considering the recommendations of the installation tool, but by manually intervening.

After a successful installation of the system, you can access different systems by selecting the system you want to enter through a boot menu at the time of booting the system. The Linux bootstrapper also allows you to specify startup options and can pass these parameters to the kernel.

Best Partitioning method

If you want to use both Windows and Linux as easily and securely as possible, you must ensure that the best partitions are implemented. It is important to consider how many partitions to use, and how much space each partition should take (the partitioning scheme). These parameters are based on your security needs, the procedures used, and the number of registered users.

It is wise to take advantage of Mount point to place the Linux system directory (root) on its own partition. As a result, the system can be easily recovered when there is a failure. User programs are usually placed in the/usr directory and the/opt directory, but personal files are generally placed in the/home directory, while temporary files are stored in the/var directory.

Generally speaking, there is no need to put these folders on separate partitions, of course. Swap partitions are an exception.

If you want to implement additional protection against e-mail viruses or spam, add/var directories to their partitions. An automatic partition for a good Linux product should include the following partitions: root,/home,/var, and swap partition. For beginners and those who convert from Windows, having a system partition (/) and a swap partition is sufficient.

Regardless of which provider you choose to distribute Linux, it will include free partitioning tools, such as Fdisk and Cfdisk, which, although powerful, are not easy to use for beginners, since none of these tools have a graphical interface.

Most new users like to use graphical partitioning tools, which are typically included in each distribution's installer. For example, the SuSE installation and Configuration tool YaST contains a very easy to use partition program.

If you are willing to partition the Windows interface before installing the Linux system, you need to use commercial tools such as PowerQuest's Division magician (Partition Magic) to partition.

　　using Cfdisk to partition

The traditional Linux system partitioning tool is cfdisk and can be used during hard disk installation using Knoppix. You can run the tool by typing the cfdisk command from the command line. The program lists all the hard drives it finds and the partition information for each hard disk. Full Control of the Cfdisk tool can be achieved using the keyboard.

With the help of the mouse and the ENTER key, you can choose a different function button. You can easily create a new partition on a unpartitioned hard disk, or delete an existing partition. If you want to delete an existing partition, simply select the partition by using the mouse, then select the Delete command, and finally confirm by the ENTER key.

You can create a new partition in a similar way, not by selecting the Delete feature, but by selecting a new feature. For a minimal-installed Linux system, it requires a root partition and a swap partition. To create a new swap partition, select the base partition to create a new basic partition. The size of the swap partition depends on the size of the available memory, but in any case, the size of the swap partition is not necessarily greater than 512MB.

You can specify the size of the partition by entering the starting sector or by entering the end sector or the corresponding size in megabytes (MB). It is recommended that you set the start as the starting sector for the first partition. Select Type 82 as the type of the swap partition.

This method can also be used to create a Linux root partition. Here you still use the option new and basic partitions to create the basic partitions. The size required for this partition depends on how many packages you want to install. If you are transitioning from a Windows user to a Linux user and using only a single Linux root partition, the default installation requires only about 2-3GB space.

However, with the advent of many multimedia files and a large number of applications, the partition size generally takes at least 10GB of space. Of course, you can choose to use the entire unpartitioned disk space as the current partition size. Select partition Type 83 as the root partition.

Once the partition is done, use the Write feature to save and apply the current changes. The partitions created in this way can be easily used for subsequent new Linux installations.

To reduce the size of existing partitions, you need to use additional tools such as free tool parted (you can find the tool through the Linux search engine www.rpmseek.com) or use other commercially available Windows programs.

using Linux files under Windows

Linux users often need to access Windows partitions and their files that are installed in parallel, and vice versa.

With free windows-based tool EXPLORE2FS, Windows users can arbitrarily use partitions in the Linux EX2FS file system. EXPLORE2FS can display all available hard disks and can display all of the Linux partitions in a different Windows browser.
　　
To access data on a Linux partition, you can use the drag-and-drop function to implement it. Currently EXPLORE2FS is free, and the tool can be used on all systems between Windows 95 and XP.

　　Using Windows data in Linux　

You can read to the Windows partition without hindrance under the Linux system. During the installation of the Linux system, the operating system automatically recognizes any existing Windows partitions and merges them into the Linux directory structure.

You can access the data and programs on these partitions by using the File Manager or command-line approach. Since Linux releases are currently released to automatically mount Fat16 and Fat32 partitions on the system, and may even be made available by creating an icon on the desktop, the Linux system and Windows systems, including older versions of Windows, Or even the ME system, there is basically no real obstacle to file Exchange.

However, the problem persists when you exchange data with NTFS partitions, which are often used in Windows nt/2000 or Windows XP. Linux provides support for this file system in a way that matches the driver, but these drivers have some drawbacks because these drivers can in some cases corrupt the file system.

Because of this, it is best to use read-only mode if you are using a bound Linux kernel based NTFS driver. Fortunately, the driver does not activate write permissions on NTFS partitions by default.

windows under Linux

Any user who wants to use a Windows application in a Linux environment will inevitably encounter wine. Although people think it is not mature enough and very complex to use, but in this section we will introduce you to what wine really capable.

Many Linux enthusiasts still keep windows on their hard drives in the hope that they will continue to use certain applications, but some do not want to have a large operating system at all. Today, with the help of a widely distributed Windows emulator wine, you can run many Windows programs directly in a Linux environment. It can simulate almost the application programming interface in the entire Windows environment.

In addition, wine can almost provide all of the important operating system features, as the Windows system itself calls these features. In theory, Windows applications almost never feel that it is running in a Linux environment. The system runs itself on a virtual system partition. As an option, you can use the Real Windows Library Program (DLLS) next to the library program provided by wine as a backup, in the event that wine your own library program can be used.

When using wine, you will find that you can install a number of regular applications, and you may be able to install a simple Windows program directly on the virtual system partition. Some expert-level users are already familiar with this, so you can install more complex applications such as word 2000来 to do some work. However, this process is quite complex and there are problems with stability.

Generally speaking. To run a Windows program under wine, you only need to use the terminal window and enter the command: Wine "path and program name." For example: Wine/home//wine/c/program/winword.exe.

a variety of different versions of wine

There are a lot of wine versions now, and there are a variety of different variants. Each Linux version currently contains a basic wine package that can be customized using a graphical configuration front-end.

However, the latest version of wine is different and requires a comprehensive configuration through the command line. Another option is to commercialize the product Winex. On this extended version of wine, you can use the latest DirectX-based Windows programs.

　　Limitations of wine

From a technical point of view, the use of Windows Simulator is an interesting choice, but so far, it is still unable to replace the installation of Windows on your computer system. Software that is specific to hardware, such as drivers or system tools, is not available in wine in a Linux environment.

Through the analog interface, you can use most of the current hardware, such as printers, joysticks or modems, but if the printer requires a specific Windows driver, and there is no corresponding driver in Linux, then it will not be used in wine. Multimedia applications that rely on Windows encoding are also experiencing problems here, so Windows users who want to make a permanent transition should keep an eye on the current Linux technology development.

　　Microsoft Office in a Linux environment

If you really want to run Microsoft Office in a Linux environment, the best option is to use the crossover Office package. The cost of buying this package is about £ 40, which is now included in the SuSE Linux Office desktop environment and the lindows system. Crossover is based on wine, and using this package makes it possible to install Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in a Linux environment.

Using this method does not seem to be a problem, and crossover office is currently stable. However, in a Linux environment, it is not possible to install Microsoft Access by using the version 1.03 (still released) of crossover office. The new version 2.0.1 supports Office 97,2000,xp and Adobe Photoshop 7.

　using crossover Office

After you set up crossover office, it is easy to configure office in a Linux environment. To install crossover Office 2, you will need the appropriate installation script file. You can get a free beta version from the Code Weavers company. Both the beta version and the full version cost 59.95 dollars (about 38 pounds), and they can be installed in KDE or GNOME environments by performing a virtual script.

In a Linux environment, you can use both Superuser and standard user mode to implement crossover Office installation. The advantage of an administrator-mode installation is that all system users can load Windows applications by crossover Office. On the other hand, if crossover office is installed in a standard user mode, only that user is allowed to load the Windows application.

After the script file is invoked, the Crossover office graphical installer starts. In the global option, enter the path to install the package. If you accept a preset path, which is your own home directory, click the Start Installation button to start the installation.

After the installation is complete, configure the application using the start configuration now. The main window of the installation area contains an overview of all applications that are already installed in the system.

To configure more Windows programs, clicking on the Install button is sufficient. The next task is to select the program you want to install from a list of supported Windows programs.

Highlight the appropriate program you want to install. and click the Next button. Of course, you must have the original installation CD. If you want to install an application that is not in the list, check the installation does not support the Software selection box and specify the directory where the installation data resides.

Generally speaking. You can do all the installation by clicking the Next button in more dialog boxes.