Member Avatar for veledrom

Hi,

My HDD is divided into 2 partition. I have Ubuntu installed on one partition and Win XP Prof installed on another. I obviously select one to boot my computer. Let's say I booted from WinXP and also want to use Ubuntu without restarting the PC. Is this possible. Do i have to reboot all the time?

Thanks

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Short answer: a native Ubuntu installation on a separate partition cannot be used at the same time as Windows XP without some form of virtualization or an OS-level compatibility layer. Only one kernel can control the hardware at a time, so running the exact, installed Ubuntu in parallel with Windows requires that Ubuntu be hosted (not natively booted).

As and noted, virtualization is the usual route; and pointed to cooperative/compatibility approaches and Cygwin. Performance and trade-offs matter: full virtual machines give the cleanest isolation and desktop integration but use host RAM/CPU; cooperative solutions (like those referenced above) can be lighter-weight yet have architectural limits and extra setup. Attempting to boot the same physical partition from both host and guest is possible in advanced VM setups but is fragile and can corrupt filesystems if not configured and backed up carefully.

If the goal is simply access to files or common Unix tools without rebooting, safer low-overhead workflows exist. Keeping a separate NTFS data partition (mounted from both OSes) or using network shares avoids dual-boot switching. When mounting Windows volumes from Linux, always ensure Windows is fully shut down (no hibernation) to avoid corruption. For command-line needs on Windows XP, POSIX-like environments (Cygwin/MSYS) supply many utilities without running a full Linux kernel. Third-party Windows drivers to read ext partitions exist but carry risk—use read-only mode or backups.

For most practical setups: keep the dual-boot for native performance, place shared documents on a common NTFS or network location, and use a lightweight VM or cooperative layer when simultaneous access is required. Raw-disk VM tricks and kernel-level hacks should be reserved for experienced users with reliable backups.

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Member Avatar for necrolin

VirtualBox

You can create a virtual machine and install Ubuntu inside Windows or vice versa. This way you can run 2 systems at the same time. What I did was I used OpenSolaris for the entire drive, installed Windows inside VirtualBox and never need to reboot. Note that this will not be running Ubuntu off of your second partition. You will have to actually do a fresh install inside Windows where it will appear as a really big file.

commented: Yay :) +36
Member Avatar for veledrom

I take it as there is no way of doing it without rebooting. Thanks. Not interested in VM thou.

Member Avatar for icyshout

something i used to run was cooperative linux it actually installs sidebyside with windows its pretty neat and not a virtual machine
http://www.colinux.org/
otherwise your best bet is running cygwin to get some unix-type functionality in windows.

Member Avatar for shido641

I take it as there is no way of doing it without rebooting. Thanks. Not interested in VM thou.

This does not require rebooting. Did you not read what i wrote?Or are you not to keen on that option too even though its not a VM?

Member Avatar for necrolin

This does not require rebooting. Did you not read what i wrote?Or are you not to keen on that option too even though its not a VM?

Actually Portable Ubuntu uses CoLinux to make it work. And here I quote the CoLinux website...

The memory settings currently suggested for the coLinux virtual machine range from 64 Mb (Windows machines with 160 Mb of RAM or more) to 128 Mo (Windows machines with 256 Mb of RAM or more), or even more.

So, yes it IS a type of virtual machine. ;)

Member Avatar for icyshout

Technically maybe it is a type of virtual machine but it runs totally different than any of the standard VM programs. The speed and memory impact with colinux vs something like vmware or virtualbox and the integration with windows is nice to work with if thats what you need.

My personal preference is vmware workstation or vmware server.

Actually Portable Ubuntu uses CoLinux to make it work. And here I quote the CoLinux website...

So, yes it IS a type of virtual machine. ;)

Member Avatar for veledrom

I don't want VM becasue, it slows down my computer. I used that before that's why i have 2 partitions in my HDD for each OSs. However, i can try other options to see how fast or slow they are.

Member Avatar for Salem

Well if you want them both at the same time, then some kind of VM approach is the only way AFAIK.

Unless you want to jerry-rig a second motherboard and convince them both to use the same HD.
It would be a lot easier to get two physical machines for what you seem to want to do.

As for slowing down, well that depends on what you're doing doesn't it?
Sure, you might not get 60FPS from your latest game inside the machine which is VM'ed, but do you really need it?

Member Avatar for icyshout

either that or setup a new box and just put vnc on it to be able to remotely access it

Member Avatar for veledrom

Thanks for your help guys. I think it is time for me to decide what to do.

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