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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Tips on running multiple distros together on my laptop? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hello all, sorry for such a newbish question, as I should probably know how to properly partition a hard drive, but I really don't know where to start. So what I'm looking to do is install a Debian distro, RHEL, and Arch. Want to go with Mint LMDE, Manjaro, and Fedora. I do not need very much storage, so I don't think space is an issue. I have like a 500+ something GB ssd and the few things that I do need to store are in a cloud. I pretty much use my laptop for browsing, researching, maybe streaming videos, and hopefully more programming and tinkering as I learn more; that's about all... no gaming or no data hoarding.

Do I basically just start off installing one distro on the full hard drive and then when I go to install the others, just choose the "run alongside" option? or would I have to manually partition things out? Any thing to worry about with conflicts between different types of distros, etc.? hoping you kind folks can offer me some simple advice on how to go about this without messing up my system. It SEEMS simple enough and it might be so, but I just don't personally know how to go about it lol. Thanks alot!!

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

All these people saying don't do it - clearly, they're trying to learn something and are not necessarily after a fully usable, encrypted production system. Instead of telling them it's too complicated, we should encourage to play around and figure it out, so in the process maybe they find out on their own why this configuration might not make any sense in most situations.

So @op, just go for it, you're going to learn a lot from this!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thank you. Its seeming that the VM route is more doable. I'm just curious if a VM for a linux distro will keep everything as is, like your files and filesystem, settings, tweaks, configs, etc. I essentially want three workstations. I dont want to keep starting over on a clean slate ya know? And if so, do you have a recommended virtualization platform that you would recommend for this project?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

VMs are persistent unless you configure them not to be.

VirtualBox is the go-to easy-mode virtualization software. You'll likely quickly outgrow it as you learn it's limitations, but, it will teach you all the concepts you need to know, and they'll largely be transferable to more robust systems like esxi or proxmox.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Thanks again