Adding Reply Archived Topic: It will not be bumped to the top of the forum. Topic Moving from Windows to Linux... Membername   Not a member? Sign Up Free (takes 20 seconds) Password   Forgotten your password? Post Font: Verdana Arial Black Georgia Comic Sans Impact   Size: Tiny Normal Big Huge   Color: Default Dark Red Red Orange Brown Green Olive Cyan Blue Dark Blue Indigo Black [ Check Spelling ] [ Post Preview ] [ LiveTags ] FAQ Keyword Search: Post Options Favorites Manager Notify me of new replies to this topic by email Notify me of new replies to this topic by private message Original Post yoshiness Posted at 2:31 pm on April 5, 2008 I want to move to Linux, but my computer does not have the ability to partition if I want to keep anything from Windows... I'M PRETTY SURE IT CAN NOT BE PARTITIONED WITHOUT FORMATTING. I don't have time to back up all system data... >.> My second problem... Can I use my printer that appears to only have MacOS & Windows installation executables? Same with my scanner... 3rd... Would DSL be best for my computer, as it has less than 400 MB of RAM? Or would some other distribution be better? I'm planning on running a website from my computer... That's also a "Which one allows...?" 4th... I have lots of computer programs. Some of such as Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop, and some others... I heard there's a way to run Windows applications on Linux, but with some certain software or something... Does Linux have it's own distribution of these softwares?

Replies espresso8097 Posted at 5:56 pm on April 5, 2008 O, since you are new I will suggest something like Ubuntu; of Ubuntu variants I like a 3rd party one called LinuxMint. For partitioning you can do it from a Linux live-CD.  Boot up from the CD and shrink your Windows partition from the partition manager (GParted is the name I think).  Then install to the new free space.  Then you can configure GRUB (boot manager) to have both OSes installed. As for printing, could emulate or try to find working drivers.  Some printers have pre-made drivers already integrated into the OS or available in repositories or tools to emulate them. DSL (damn-small-linux) can run on just about everything, but using it normally can be harder to learn.  More things have to be installed/managed manually by the terminal.   As for your Windows programs, some may run with WiNE, some may not.  There are freeware (GPL) programs that can do many of the functions of many of the costly programs, but will not have as many features.  You can just keep Windows around to use those programs with the way of dual-booting I mentioned above. Ryan Potter Posted at 2:38 pm on April 5, 2008 you'll need to find an emulator if you want to run native windows programs on Linux... be very familiar with Linux before switching, because if you're not, you'll be lost. mike is teh sex Posted at 2:35 pm on April 5, 2008 Quote: from jake619 at 2:32 pm on April 5, 2008 mmm great help there buddy ask a professional if u need help... linux should have a support site or something like that jake619 Posted at 2:32 pm on April 5, 2008 mmm All 4 previous replies displayed.