UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

question:
1. Which partioning wizard is better to use, System Commander V7.0, or Partition Magic V7.0?

2. Which version of linux is better to start with for beginners Mandrake, SuSe, or Corel?

1.) i personally prefer partition magic, since ive had no problems with it in the past and never lost any data due to resizing with it as of yet

2.) this is more difficult to answer. Depends on personal preferance and what your used to i think. I would reccommend SuSE to you since the box sets come with excellant manuals. YaST2 has come quite far for newbie installs and makes it quite easy.

PM 7.0 is easy to use,interface is user friendly and reliable.

my next question is how do i go about setting up a dual-boot if I resize my windows partition to 20 gigs, and leave 10 gigs available for the linux partition?

That should work fine. In the beginning of the drive id put about a 50meg linux partition for /boot so the kernel will always be under the 1024cyl limit. Then make your windows partition, then your linux swap and rest. Install windows on box first and use Lilo or grub for boot loader.