windows emulator and X setup?

[Rick Stevens]

Marty Landman wrote:
> I've got a 600MHz machine with 256 RAM and a 20GB SCSI hd on it. It's 
> running Win ME in DOS compatibility mode for all three partitions 
> although otherwise seems to be running properly. Windows device mgr 
> shows a PCI mass storage controller with yellow exclamation mark - 
> presumably the SCSI. Also has a CDROM/DVD player which is its only IDE 
> device currently.
> 
> This is a game machine for my kids in the family room and I'm debating 
> whether to install RH 9 on it which raises a few questions:
> 
> 1. is this adequate hardware for a full RH9 install including X?

The odds are, yes.  It rather depends on the video card and how you have
the hard drive partitioned.  For a RH9 installation (with X), I'd
recommend at least 8 GB--more if you plan to do any development work.

> 2. will RH likely have a suitable driver for my SCSI?

The vast majority of SCSI controllers are supported.  It's the
controller that matters--not the drive.

> 3. is it possible for me to get this machine running RH9 and able to run 
> windoz apps, especially games?

Ugh!  Well, yes, but it rather depends on which windows apps you're
speaking of.  Wine will run most business apps but not a lot of games.
The problem is that games take advantage of several "hooks" in Windows.
You can run things such as Win4Lin (where you actually run a copy of
Windows as a task under Linux), but it won't work with games that use
DirectX or any direct hardware access.  VMware is another option, but
there are also limits as to what games will work with it.  Note that
both VMWare and Win4Lin are commercial products.

My recommendation is that you set up the machine as dual-boot.  When
you want to run Linux, you boot it in Linux.  When you run games, you
boot it in Windows.  You just can't do both at the same time.

If you plan to dual-boot, you may want to get a bigger hard drive.

> 4. re. #3, what kind of effort, heartache, & misery am I looking at?

If you set up dual-boot it's not hard...you just have to reserve some
of the hard drive for Linux.  You could:

	1.  Shrink your existing Windows partitions using something like
	    PartitionMagic or gparted

	2.  Replace the drive with a bigger one and ghost over the
	    existing Windows partitions.

	3.  Install a second hard drive for Linux only.

If you want to have the system run Linux and Windows simultaneously,
I think you'd better look at VMWare.  It ain't cheap, though, and I
won't guarantee it'll run all your games.

> FWIW I don't mind spending a day or two on this and then finding out 
> it's not going to work. My kids have gotten used to the inconvenience by 
> now. :)

I'd also like to say that you would be happier installing Fedora Core 2
rather than RH9.  RH9 is essentially dead, although the Fedora Legacy
project is still doing updates for it.  For non-techies, FC2 is the
latest "stable" release.

FC3 is very new, and I don't necessarily recommend it for the average
user just yet as there are still some teething issues involved.  I
suggest that average users wait until December to use FC3 to let some of
us get a better handle on the more common problems that people will run
into.  I mean, hey!  We're just now getting good at FC2!
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- Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
- VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
-                                                                    -
- Life:  That which happens while you search for the remote control. -
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