KANOTIX (NTFS Read/Write)
I forgot to put this in my last post :crazy:
THIS IS STANDARD SOFTWARE FOR KANOTIX

Yeah. But you do need an install of Windows in order to use this, for it to find the needed driver files. So this only works for dual boot systems.

So, let me get this straight, for someone like me that has only NTFS hard drives under Windows XP home. It is impossible to install and run Linux unless I format my drives to fat32? (I am not talking about a livecd).

For example, I downloaded last night ubuntu 5.10 dvd version. Would it be possible to install it on my drive, without damaging the alreayd installed XP? Perhaps creating a partition out of the free space and formating just that partition to FAT32?


I had no idea that Linux still supported only FAT32. :blink:

Worse. Linux uses a completely different file system alltogether - one Windows can't read at all.

@eft: You don't have to reformat your disks to fat32. Only if you want to exchange data between your linux and win32 system bi-directionally using your HD you need a single Fat32 partition for that purpose only. If you however use USB memorysticks, floppy's or CD-Roms for data exchange you don't have to worry about that at all.
Linux supports many different file-formats (ext2, ext3, ReiserFS, JFS, Fat32 etc). The best thin to do is to create a new partition (first resize your existing ones and leave some free space on you HD). The size is up to you. Make it somewhere between 5 and 10 gigs. That should be more then enough to set up a decent Linux system. Next, when you're running the installer, point it to the empty space and let it partition that up further (automagically). It'll probably ask what filesystem you want to use. Just go with the default (usually ext3).
And as said before. Reading NTFS is no problem for the current Linux kernel. Writing is the only issue (and if you're daring and experimental you might get the NTFS-writing to work as well).

Knoppix: a complete system (even includes an "office", some simple games, ...) that boots from CD!

That's a pretty useless addition to this topic... Did you read any of the other posts?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Reup @ May 26 2006, 09:18 AM) [snapback]232327[/snapback]</div>Yes I did... I just thought for starters a live-cd is simpler; work with Linux without all the hassle :unsure:

Office Monk, does have a very plausible point, I for one use Linux and Windows and Knoppix is the best Linux distrobution that you can use to test out your system on Linux and see if its fully compatible
:ok:

Damn Small Linux - Live CD, as a matter of fact - was what allowed me to access my junk when my Windoze busted itself.