"JJG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [...] I will install 98 first and verify the all the hardware is functional. I > will make a share for the 9 gigers so I can put them to use immediately and > start organizing the files I have scattered across machines. This will buy > me the time I need to learn linux. I can now take my sweet time getting > linux running and proper. When I feel comfortable, I will stop booting 98 > and let Linux run the show.
Sounds like a reasonable approach. > I will install NT on another survPC (yes, I have collected quite a few of > them over the years) to play with on the real off hours. I do really want > to know NT to compare Linux with and those certification manuals stare at me > daily. Oh, hmmm. The availability of a second machine DOES raise some other possibilities. The CORRECT answer is, of course, "put Linux on BOTH." :) You COULD set up the machine with the SCSI drives as a rudimentary server running Win98/Linux in a dual-boot configuration. But what is the second machine running? My thinking is you could make IT the server (NT if you want the experience), and store files there via Windows networking. That will let your accomplish your goal of learning NT, while still freeing up a machine for Linux. Put the big drives on the server, and a smaller drive on the "learning" box. The server stays stable, while the learning box (client) is subject to reinstalls and experimentation with no risk to your data cache. I use a server approach, although I use Linux running Samba as my server, and access it via Windows 98, 2000 and Linux clients. Again, the server is "stable" and that's where important stuff goes. Everything else is a lab rat. This make doing hardware mods or software upgrades on the clients (family uses three Win98 desktops, plus my notebook and various oldies that I fire up occasionally) MUCH easier. Worst case, my kids' high scores get reset when I wipe a machine. At worst you should be out $10-20 apiece for ethernet NICs, and the cost of a cheap hub (if you don't already own one). At some later date you might want to convert the server to Linux once you're familiar enough with it. You could still set up the learning/client computer as a dual-boot Win98/Linux machine for the reasons you describe. Keep in mind that most mainstream Linux distributions will still want SOME space for a Linux (ext2) partition. 1GB is plenty, 500MB can work (as can far less). I wound up with one of those removable IDE drive bays, and a bunch of old drives, ranging from 100-3GB for experimentation. I just swapped them out and tried a bunch of different configs and distributions. You mention other machines. Why not get them into the act as well? Are they 386 or above CPUs? > My plan now brings me back full circle to my first post on combining drives > with a slight twist. Does anyone know a way that I could combine these 2 > drives to one win 98 share? If there is a way, will it effect linuxes > ability to read the drives. Under Win98, I don't think so. I *think* NT has an option to span a volume across partitions, but I'm not 100% sure. Under Linux, you can always get creative with symbolic links to make a single filesystem span multiple drives. > Thanks again guys, Everyone input helped me come to this plan. Hah! You just threw new toys into the mix. We're not through yet! :) - Bob To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
