A dual boot question

Hi all,

my AA1 150l has arrived today. My main computer is a Macbook Pro and I want to use the Aspire mainly for "real" mobility and tweaking. It's been a while since I last checked out Linux and I'm ready to do it again, but not with a half assed version like the one preinstalled. So, after reading a lot here and at other places, I decided to give Eeebuntu a try, maybe with some custom Kernel. But I also want to find out what's possible audio wise and I'm not ready for ambitious audio on Linux. So, I thought I'd get out my old XP Cd or maybe try Ron's Tiny XP image. But although I've used the search function intensely I haven't found out how to go about setting up an Eeebuntu/XP dual boot system from scratch.

I have a bootable 4 gig USB stick, an Aspire One and a Mac with internet connection.

So, here are my questions:

What do I install first? XP or Eeebuntu?
Ah, how do I do it? Links veeery welcome. But please no "use search function". I've done that and while there are quite some dual boot threads these two basic things I haven't found answered.

I don't want to install Ubuntu inside Windows as suggested by some. I want the "real" thing, on a dedicated partition.

I have spent more than one night setting up systems with Linux (Suse) as well as every flavour of Windows in my time. But 6 years of using Macs have made me forget about bootloaders and stuff. So I feel like a complete newbie again.

Thank you very much in advance.
Cheers,
A.

 

I'll answer the easy questions....

XP. Linux distros all (in my experience at least) play nicely with other operating systems they find, and install themselves into free space. Windows overwrites things.

Installing XP I can't help with. Installing eeebuntu from USb is covered on this website.

Linux distros these days usually do all the bootloader stuff for you for straightforward stuff like dual-boot. Of course you can then tweak it yourself, if you're feeling brave .

 

Thank you for your answer. I've tried to get a bootable USB stick and I've failed miserably. I used Unetbootin and installed a FreeDos version but when I try to boot with it the bootscreen shows a countdown from 10 to 1 that resets each time it reaches 1. Hitting Enter also causes it to reset. What am I doing wrong?

 

I don't know, to be honest; can the FreeDOS people help? It might be worth posting something to their FAQ page.

 

I solved the problem by using a friends ide to usb adapter and a regular cd rom drive.



I would never have thought though that trying to boot from a usb key would be such an adventure.