Posts by wiredstag51

Bryan Palmer9 said:You can handle partitions via an Ubuntu LiveCD—you have access to Windows NTFS, FAT32, and everything else without needing a full installation. It’s quick and straightforward enough.

Now, regarding the technicalities—DirectX 10 is proprietary Microsoft technology, which means it isn't natively built into Linux. Linux relies on OpenGL, which continues to see incremental improvements over time. If your goal is to play Windows games—specifically those requiring DirectX 10—then one must investigate whether Wine (the compatibility layer for running Windows programs) supports them. Wine releases updates roughly every two weeks, typically bringing marginal improvements in compatibility for various titles. I cannot speak definitively on DirectX 10 performance, however, as I lack a graphics card that supports it; furthermore, my understanding is that DirectX 10 is playable on Windows Vista, though many Vista users seem rather disappointed by the actual experience with DirectX 10 titles.

Fine, I will take all of that into account.

I am currently weighing my options between installing Ubuntu or moving to Windows Vista...
The inclination toward Vista is driven by DirectX 10 support, yet I have heard quite a bit of praise regarding Ubuntu Linux.
Then again, there is the matter of Vista itself—I have heard reports that it is quite resource-heavy, taxing both the CPU and the GPU, which arguably negates its supposed improvements...

Can I trust Vista to not wreck my system? Will my games actually run smoothly? My plan is to maintain a dual boot setup with Windows XP and Vista...

northernjackal37 said:just grab a LiveCD of some Linux distro and give it a shot
though I’d definitely suggest sticking with XP

Alright, I am currently downloading Partition Magic to set up a new partition...

However, I have one more question regarding Linux—I am running version 8.04
which you all asked me about previously

And secondly—can I actually get DirectX 10 running on it, or is that supported...?

Douglas Phillips4 said:it is actually quite straightforward—both the process and the daily usage. personally, I would suggest Ubuntu, though I recognize it isn't everyone's cup of tea.

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_w...lled_first.htm

However, your best bet is to prepare an empty partition first. It makes everything practically automatic; you will eventually be presented with a boot menu where you can simply select your preferred OS upon startup. If you have that empty space ready, you just select "manual" during the installation, pick the partition, format it to ext3, and—well, that is essentially it. The installation itself takes mere minutes.🙂

I am doing fine, thanks for asking.

I understand the logic, but I am stuck on how to actually prepare an empty partition. I have a 320GB drive, but there are no free partitions available at the moment. Could you perhaps elaborate on how to handle that?

Bryan Palmer9 said:Look, my suggestion is to set up a dual-boot system—running both Windows and Linux on the same machine. You really ought to install Windows first, followed by Linux; if you do it the other way around, Windows tends to overwrite the Linux bootloader. Not that it’s an impossible fix, mind you—it can be repaired quite easily—but it's better to avoid the headache.
Just take your time and explore what Linux has to offer. 🙂

I was also wondering if you could walk me through the process of installing both Windows and Linux on one computer. I already have Windows XP Professional SP2 running, so I'm curious about how to add Linux alongside it.

First off, if you could clarify what kind of advantages Linux actually offers—and whether it truly holds its own against Windows XP Professional? I ended up with Linux bundled with my computer, so now I'm left wondering which one is actually superior, particularly when it comes to gaming and general performance perks.