preparing a windows machine for dual booting

[Chuck Hallenbeck]

Hi Greg,

Many thanks for that outline, I'm sure it will do the trick here.

You are right about my Windows aversion, in fact it's a GUI aversion,
but I need to keep my options open this time for a number of reasons.

1. I may be about to receive a gift of a Thinkpad laptop of an as
yet unknown model, and the initial investment in the Windows software
is unavoidable.  To blow it away without considering its possible uses
seems unnecessarily hardnowed, assuming the hardware has sufficient disk
space to support both OS's.

 2. Also, I've been using Verizon DSL for some months now, and my
 available browsers allow me to do most, but not all, of the things I
 would like to do with their internet gateway (modem+router).  Verizon no
 longer comes with a CD, one needs to download the modem administrative
 software from Verizon, and Verizon is as hardnose about Windows as I
 am about Linux. One of us needs to blink.

 3. Third, I recently acquired a wireless printer/scanner/fax unit with
uncertain support in Linux for the scanner section, and Windows supports
the entire unit just fine.

 4. Finally, it is possible that I might have to time-share access to the
Thinkpad with my wife, who is a very occasional user with only minimal
Windows skills and a bad attitude toward computers.  There will be no
new learning going on in our house!

Otherwise, you are absolutely correct, I would blow the sucker away
without a second thought.

Thanks for that rundown, it's just what I needed.


--
Chuck in Hudson.