Dual Boot

Chas sez-

I'm attempting to install OSE linux next to ubuntu and windows. I'm wondering if either of you have noticed OSE Linux and Windows fighting and crashing the computer/motherboard for the dual or multi-boot type users. I'm noticing it becoming a repeated issue with my desktop and am curious if it's an unaddressed common problem either of you have experienced.

Christian Rupp sez-

As I am working with Linux only, I cannot say that I encountered such a problem. There are however two thoughts I'd like to share on this issue, maybe they give some perspective on the problems:

1. While Linux has no problem with setting up a Dual Boot via GRUB and sharing space with Windows, Windows on the other hand has some ways of working that clearly were built with not having such a scenario in mind. The most apparent one is the fact that installing a Windows System parallel on a Linux System will overwrite the installed GRUB, making the part of your System that is responsible for dual Boot unavailable and in need to be rewritten onto the Hard Drive. So on a Dual Boot System, it is necessary to install Windows first and the Linux second if you are not willing to do some Voodoo on the resulting setup.

2. In general, there is no way that a Dual-Booted System is aware that it has a second OS installed once it started. The other OS is on another partition and generally not used (Windows is not even capable of reading the default Linux File System) and therefore not a single Bit on the other System can and will be changed. So no, I can't see how these partitions would "fight" each other. Driver problems being of course another problem, however it's been a while since this was a problem on any of my Linux Systems and even longer on any Windows System. Driver problems would of course not be dependent on Dual Boot, but a general problem of the specific OS.