I have a current dual boot desktop that I must reload. Currently, it has Windows XP and openSUSE 13.2. I never use XP. And, it appears that the application software has been corrupted.
This box is only used with a single Linux application, and the provider of the application has certified it for use with Leap 42.2. Therefore, I plan to install this version of openSUSE.
My question now is whether or not there is any good reason to install this as a dual boot machine again. I seem to recall that there were some reasons to go dual boot if the machine being used was a former Windows machine. That may or may not be the case, but I am sure the folks on this forum can tell me whether or not to be concerned about this.
When WinXP reached its end-of-support, I changed my dual booted machine to openSUSE only.
And that worked fine. Alas, it was a 32-bit system, so I could not upgrade it to openSUSE Leap. And it was old and slow. So I eventually sent it to the electronics recycling center.
to make you aware that you can download and use windows 10 for free. VMs are the way to go but i dont think you have enough ram. other reasons to keep windows native might be bios updates though unlikely required on an old machine.
If it has an Intel CPU and shipped after 2004 it’s more likely 64bit than 32. AMD CPUs went to 64bit sooner. 13.2 can tell you if it’s 32bit or not by checking the last several lines of ‘cat /proc/cpuinfo’ or running ‘uname -p’ (or -a or -i).
I have 32 bit TW running on a bunch of PCs, most of which have less than 2G RAM. To run only OP’s single app, there’s no reason I can think of that TW shouldn’t do at least as well as 13.2 did. IceWM is seriously light weight, installs as a part of the base Xorg pattern, and should be more than adequate for most any single application even with only 1G RAM.
Your question says “dual boot or not?”, but IMHO it really means “multi boot with Windows or not?”
I always wipe Windows from all my systems (without ever using it for one moment) immediate after delivery by installing openSUSE using the “use whole disk” feature. But that will not say I am not using multi boot. Often I install a newer openSUSE version alongside the production one to check it and thus have dual boot between two openSUSE versions.
In any case having no Windows on a system is something you can do very easy. In fact that is where it is made for. The whole multi boot feature was specially made for those poor people who think they can not live without it. :’(
Multiboot was invented long before Linus had his kernel up to v1.0, while IBM and M$ were still partners in OS/2 development, for having DOS and OS/2 bootable from and in separate partitions on the same or separate HDs. Dual boot, released in conjunction with multiboot, was for making both DOS and OS/2 bootable from the same partition.
I’ve been multibooting around 25 years, since long before Win95 and OS/2 Warp.
Yes, of course the idea is much older. I remember using a “main frame” (not an IBM one) system that you could boot in two different operating systems around 1970.
On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 00:26:01 +0000, nrickert wrote:
> When WinXP reached its end-of-support, I changed my dual booted machine
> to openSUSE only.
>
> And that worked fine. Alas, it was a 32-bit system, so I could not
> upgrade it to openSUSE Leap. And it was old and slow. So I eventually
> sent it to the electronics recycling center.
I went the same path (2 with 32-bit, 1 single core, 1 dual core) but
followed the cheapskate route and put Tumbleweed 32-bit on both. The
only issue I’ve had is that a few factory BIOS updates require a Windows
system to install but these machines are so old that such factory support
has been dead for years anyway. Both machines are quite usable this way.
Henk, can you please try to convince the Sigma folks located in Kanagawa, Japan that, they should release the application needed to process the RAW files produced by their cameras, and the application to upgrade the firmware in their lenses and flash units (it also allows one to recalibrate the focussing of the lenses), not only for MS Windows and MAC OS but, also for Linux?
If possible, you could also attempt to convince Adobe and Phase One to release their photographic processing applications for Linux.
More than a few photographers would be extremely thankful if, you could achieve these tasks.
DigiKam is a “killer” application – unfortunately, at the “deep end” Linux is (still) left out in the cold.
I see the post about going to Tumbleweed, for 32 bit, instead of Leap. And, I found the minimum requirements for Leap:
The following requirements should be met to ensure smooth operation of openSUSE Leap
Pentium* 4 1.6 GHz or higher processor (Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or higher or any AMD64 or Intel64 processor recommended)
Main memory: 1 GB physical RAM (2 GB recommended)
Hard disk: 3 GB available disk space for a minimal install, 5 GB available for a graphical desktop (more recommended)
Sound and graphics cards: supports most modern sound and graphics cards, 800 x 600 display resolution (1024 x 768 or higher recommended)
Booting from DVD drive or USB-Stick for installation, or support for booting over network (you need to setup PXE by yourself, look also at PXE boot installation) or an existing installation of openSUSE, more information at Installation without CD
[LEFT]The GRUB bootloader co-operates with other operating systems on the same machine. openSUSE can be installed on one free harddisk partition, while preserving existing installations on other partitions.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]
Is the minimum configuration for Tumbleweed the same?
IMO mostly,
But…
Even older Pentiums will probably also be fine.
Graphics cards will be the big bugaboo. Today, graphics drivers are distributed through the Linux kernel which both makes drivers more reliable and automatically installed, but some of the oldest graphics drivers are not supported… And a few like the matrox have never been supported well. If a graphics device isn’t supported, it’s likely you’ll still be able to use a standard VESA driverr. with its usual limitations.
The general recommendation is to backup anything valuable and just try it out (maybe buy a replacement drive? Might A second hand 60GB drive that fits your machine might cost $10-20).
Henk, people such as myself, who buy photographic equipment made by Sigma do so because, we appreciate the art of photography – we absolutely enjoy the photographic results we’re achieving with the Foveon sensor and the performance of the Sigma lenses and Flash units.
In my world, art comes before the pain of having to put up with non-open-source applications – despite being a founding member of the “I disapprove of Bill Gates” and “I disapprove of Steve Ballmer” clubs.
Looking at the Intel Pentium E2140 data sheet, it was introduced in 2007, has Intel 64 bit architecture, Conroe product code, doesn’t support Virtualization, doesn’t support the AES instruction set.
So yes, depending on the graphics card (also possibly not the newest and therefore OK), should be OK for most desktop purposes with Leap.
A suggestion is however, check the BIOS version and, try to update to the last published version.
