xpPro to Linux. Automatically transform my data and programs? 1

[nat101]

Which Linux will get me as close as possible to the ideal scenario as follows.
1. Install on my current (CRASHED! thats why I am here!) xpPro system on a new partition.
2. Get all the data from/to equivalent programs.
Including, Outlook, Eclipse, Excel, Netscape, and various Java programs.
3. Configure the Linux programs to directly read/write my old datastore. Or transform it.
4. Understand my xpPro desktop, and build an equivalent desktop.

And tons of things I cant think about right now, because my xpPro is crashed.

Thank you all.
-nat

 

[pansophic]

Any of the major distros will handle all of your requests except for 4 with ease. Check out

http://www.distrowatch.com

for information about different distros and their strengths.

I think that you will find KDE's interface closest to Windows. KDE is a window manager that runs on X Windows. Most of the major distros come bundled with Gnome and KDE at least.

If you want to get a quick feel for Linux without having to install it, try KNOPPIX. It is a phenomenal Linux bootable CD. It loads KDE by default, and it should allow you to mount your XP partition to see what Linux will allow you to do.


pansophic

 

[nat101]

Thank you for the info. I have since peeked at (actually dowloaded MandrakeMove, but have yet to boot it. Before I try, I shall give Knoppix a twirl.
The question is, will either of these safely write to the NT partition? I mean, even if I only boot from CD?

Thanks again,
-nat

 

[sleipnir214]

It depends. How are your NT partitions formatted?

If FAT, no problem. Linux reads and writes those file formats. Probably better than Win32.

Last time I checked, though, Linux's support for writing NTFS is experimental.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[sleipnir214]

Sorry. Hit "submit" too soon.

In general, Linux's other file formats, ext2, ext3, ReiserFS, etc., are in many ways superior to FAT and NFTS. If at all possible, I would get the data off and reformat the partitions in a more Linux-friendly filesystem.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[pansophic]

NTFS reading is built-in to the kernel for many distributions. NTFS write is questionable on most pre-rolled kernels. I think that KNOPPIX supports read/write for the NTFS partitions.

But NTFS write is still experimental. Microsoft refuses to publish all of the file system particulars, so most of the time it will work, but frequently when you boot under Windows, Windows will find it necessary to "repair" the disk. I've never lost any data when I did this, but it seems kind of scary anyway.

Mandrake does have NTFS read rolled into their kernels. Last time I checked (Mandrake 9.0) they still did not bundle NTFS write. You'll have roll your own kernel for that.

But like sleipnir214 says, there are several good Linux filesystems to choose from, you'll be better off with those. ReiserFS and ext3fs are both journaling file systems, so even if you have a hard shutdown, you will likely lose no data. And the journaling file systems recover extremely quickly because the filesystem knows which inodes where potentially not sync'd at the time that the system shut down.


pansophic

 

[nat101]

I have NTFS.

Thing is, right now I am in "crash recovery" mode. So, I cant really clean up a drive. I figured that it might be easier to "recover" via Linux than a re-install via xp. I have too many things customized to re-do, and if I have to redo, I'll do it the right way with Linux. But I need the Linux apps to read my current configs and data...

-nat

 

[pansophic]

The KNOPPIX CD is great for recovering crashed Windows systems. I have used it many times to fix XP, 2K and NT machines.

The problem is that you really need to know what you are doing, because you can mess up your Windows system by deleting files that are necessary for Windows to operate.

So be careful!


pansophic

 

[nat101]

I have almost given up on it. I have the data, but since all programs need to be reinstalled, I may as well do it with Linux, and at this point I will likely free up a partition for Linux. Taking this into account, is KNOPPIX still the best to go with, or is that only due to being bootable/runnable from CD?
The priorities I guess, are:
1. Automatically detect my Linksys router and connect to the net. (Lindows docs say that they do it outta the box, and am hoping that other distros do so as well.)
2. Allow accessing another xpPro machine on the lan. (I am using those drives to off-load stuff from my current machine.)
3. Simply allow me to use my current data (including passwords) from a) Outlook Contacts/Email/NewsGroups (The hell with my appointments<g>!), b) Netscape, c)Eclipse, d)Excel, e) MultiMedia, f) Java 1.4.2, g) many power-user utilities, h) and things I forgot...

Thanks again
-nat

 

[pansophic]

I only use KNOPPIX for &quot;emergencies.&quot; I've used Slackware, RedHat, Mandrake and SuSE for permanent installations. I've also installed Debian (KNOPPIX is Debian based), but never used it as a primary platform.

I'd recommend that you use one of the installed distros. You said that you already have Mandrake, so that will do. As to your other questions:

1. If you are using DHCP and a wired LAN, then it will happen without you doing a thing, unless you have some unusual NIC card (I haven't found one in years that didn't auto detect, but in the mid 90's it did happen).
2. You can mount Windows shares using smbclient, part of the Samba package.
3. You will be able use your data to a great extent, but I would guess that any passwords that you had stored in some proprietary application (like Outlook) will not be recoverable simply, and none of the Linux apps will use the Outlook data as far as I know. You can import the mail, I believe, don't know about the contacts and Newsgroup stuff. I hated Outlook even when I used Windows, so I had always used Pegasus and Eudora. Their data was in industry standard formats, including mbox formatted mailboxes, so porting was as simple as moving the files and directories into the Mail directory.
b) Netscape Navigator/Communicator comes bundled with many of the major distros. If not, it is a simple download.
c) Eclipse comes in a Linux version as well, but I like the functions under Windows better. It just &quot;feels&quot; better under Windows (unusual for me).
d) Instead of Excel, you will want to use OpenOffice, or alternately koffice. Both read and write Excel, as well as proprietary spreadsheet formats. OpenOffice uses XML, which is what the next version of MS Office is supposed to do.
e) Various multimedia applications are supported. I personally don't like sound coming out of my computer, so I haven't done much with it, but I have tried audio and DVDs, so yes, it does work. LOTS of choices here, so you will have to decide what you like on your own.
f) There is a Sun and an IBM version of the JRE and JDK for sure. May be others as well. I've used both, but the apps that I have written are so simplistic that I couldn't tell the difference.
g) There are hundreds, maybe thousands, that come either bundled or can be downloaded and compiled on your system. All of the distros come with compilers and interpreters, so you will have a great choice.
h) One of the nice things about Linux is that almost everything that you could want, someone else wanted and built. You may want to start visiting

http://sourceforge.net.

Absolutely loaded with open source software, most of which will run on your new Linux system.


pansophic

 

[nat101]

Thank you very much.

I have researched some more and tried reading some technical articles. I must admit that the feeling of becoming a complete novice with my os is hindering my leap. From a Windows &quot;power user&quot;, a Novell CNE, and all of a sudden work with an os, where the Linux for Dummies book outshines my abilities.
I really need to give thought about the repricussions over the weekend. Not only the psychological effect, the reality of having to hit &quot;Help&quot; and google for every little chore.

Thanks again,
-nat

 

[thedaver]

Let me comment that a situation when you &quot;have to&quot; do something is really not the best way to engage an OS - or buy a car. You will make mistakes, hasty decisions, and ultimately you'll often end up with buyer's remorse.

I think you'd do better to
1) Fix XP
2) Install Linux in some extra disk space
3) Play with linux
4) Love linux
5) Kill XP
6) Live free.

Surfinbox.com Business Internet Services - National Dialup, DSL, T-1 and more.

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[TheBigBasicQ]

Ok, heres what I do when I have to recover from such a bad crash:

1. Take my HDD out.
2. Make 'em slave and put 'em in another XP computer
3. Copy all my docs/important stuff to the other HDD
4. Format my HDD.
5. Reinstall XP
6. Restore my docs/imp. stuff

About using XP, i hardly used it for a few days. After that I trashed it. I've got WinME since my non-Linux family members dont like Linux very much.

I'm in Love with RedHat =P.

P.S.: what exactly do you mean by a crash? XP doesnt boot up no matter what you do?

Nobody is perfect =(
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.
.
.
I am nobody =D

 

[nat101]

Ok, thedaver, actually I have spent my time taking exactly the route you advised, for the same reason. (Although one reason for going to Linux, was to actually help RECOVER some data.)

Let's see your list:
> 1) Fix XP
Re-installed. But many apps have to be re-installed and re-tweaked.
>2) Install Linux in some extra disk space
Have freed up a 25gig+ partion and formatted with fat32 to allow sharing between Linux and xp.

>3) Play with linux
Really looking forward to it. But I need apps that can cleanly replace MS Office including email/news and collabaration, sharing/sync with pda...

>4) Love linux
Thats a no-brainer! (When everyone was on Win-95 I was using os/2.)

> 5) Kill XP.
Actually I'll just ignore it...until it goes away...

> 6) Live free.
And how much does THAT cost?

And for bigBasicQ and whoever cares to know what I went thru with xp, take a click:

thread779-779296 you you all;
-nat

 

[psilons]

About using XP, i hardly used it for a few days. After that I trashed it. I've got WinME since my non-Linux family members dont like Linux very much."

You went back to WinME. That thing is piece of garbage. It's worse than WIn98. I can't believe Microsft convince people to buy that JUNK. I hate to admit, but I love WinXP. I might change my mind once I learn to use Redhat9.

 

[TheBigBasicQ]

IMO WinXP is trash. It has so many vulnerabilities, so many virus attacks. Try securing your computer with XP. NTFS is the worst FS I've seen. I love my EXT3 FS on my Linux partition or Fat32 on WinME.

I've never suffered from a virus infection in several years. Maybe its not because of WinME but my security precautions, firewalls, antivirus scanners etc...

P.S.: Try running XP on a 450MHz PIII with 192MB RAM. It just hogs you're resources.

Nobody is perfect =(
.
.
.
.
I am nobody =D

 

[nat101]

I thought I was safe with xp because NAV 2004 was always running. At the end, a [it seems] virus brought it down.
-nat