Boot menu with three options

I have two OS,s on my computer and , shortly, will put another one on. Presently I have W7 which I boot into and use. I have Ubuntu which I am learning and shortly, as soon as I get the disk, I will install Zorin.

Presently, I have no way to get into Ubuntu. I am hoping that when I install Zorin that I can use its grub file to create a menu with three options. If it doesn't have a grub file I'll have to us the one with Ubuntu. I might have to uninstall Ubuntu and reinstall.

Any words of wisdom are appreciated as I am waiting for the Zorin disk to arrive.

Bill

Bill, you really don't need a Zorin disk, there's a link for it in this: VMware Player - Install and Setup Zorin

If you install Linux to the same drive as one that has a windows install, the grub loader may remain after you uninstall it and prevent Windows from booting.

Installing 3 systems in triple boot is a difficult proposition - especially if you want to uninstall one of them. A much better scheme is to run Windows as a host and the Linux distros as virtual guest machines.

Here you find all the materials to do that and a few demos how it works. I use Zorin, Mint and Windows 8 as examples.

Btw - why did you get a Zorin disc. It is very easy to download. There is also a very useful Zorin Forum in case you need help. Just be aware that Zorin is a minor Linux distro and that it is not bug free. A lot of the functions that are standard in other distros (e.g. Mint Mate) do not work in Zorin. But it is a fun system. Have a look here:

whs said:

Btw - why did you get a Zorin disc. It is very easy to download. There is also a very useful Zorin Forum in case you need help. Just be aware that Zorin is a minor Linux distro and that it is not bug free. A lot of the functions that are standard in other distros (e.g. Mint Mate) do not work in Zorin. But it is a fun system. Have a look here:

I purchased the Zorin disk because my attempts at downloading were unsat. Checksums never agreed.
After receiving the disk I found that it would not bootup either, so, I decided to try the download again. This time I got a good ISO and was able to burn it to a DVD. Saving that disk until I feel confident about how to use it. I also got it because Zorin, allegily, could emulate the WXP or the W7 OS desktops. With MS stopping support of WXP. I understand that Zorin is a good replacement for WXP.

BILL

I don't know. I am afraid you are going to be disappointed. Zorin is a nice little distro to play around with, but it is not (yet) a serious OS which you can use day-in day-out. It has too many bugs and a lot of the standard Linux functions don't work. But don't get me wrong. I still like Zorin because it is kind of cute.

I suggest you install it in a virtual partition of VMware Player and try it out. But in any case make an image of your current system (I asume that is XP) before you plunge into Zorin. Then you can always backpaddle.

A much more complete and more reliable Linux Distro is Mint Mate. And that is also very Windows-like. If you want to have a look, here is a recent demo I made - running it off a USB stick (but I also have other versions). In case that is attractive for you, post back and I will be glad to get you started.

WHS
Your correct. I am a little disappointed in Zorin. So, I'll try Mint. You talked about, in your video, putting Mint on a flash drive. Do you boot from a USB flash drive or are you setup to boot from your HDD?
My computer does not have the capabibility to boot from USB. The ideal situation, for me, would to have the boot menu on the HDD, Mint OS on a DVD and any data that I have, create another partition. Before I start putting Mint in I'll wait for your advice.
Bill

I use Mint, it`s fine, yes you`ll have to put it on a dvd, it won`t fit on a cd. At least Petra won`t.

http://www.linuxmint.com/index.php

http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=21

blockie said:

WHS
Your correct. I am a little disappointed in Zorin. So, I'll try Mint. You talked about, in your video, putting Mint on a flash drive. Do you boot from a USB flash drive or are you setup to boot from your HDD?
My computer does not have the capabibility to boot from USB. The ideal situation, for me, would to have the boot menu on the HDD, Mint OS on a DVD and any data that I have, create another partition. Before I start putting Mint in I'll wait for your advice.
Bill

If you cannot boot from a USB port, It would be best to run Mint Mate in virtual. Here is how, You can download this tutorial PDF from here. If you allocate 1GB and 1 processor core to the virtual machine, you should be OK.

A double boot is possible but I do not recommend it due to the complications with the bootmgr (the Linux GRUB).