Install inside a folder

[fastc0der]

I am new to linux, after much thought i decided to shift to linux, of the available flavors vector seemed to fit the bill

Now i don't want to completely abandon windows(xp). Problem is, can I install vector inside a folder on an existing partition, is mandatory to create a seperate partition or use a whole partition for it.
Secondly, should i necessarily create a paritition for swap separately, cant it be done like in windows where the page file does not take a separate partition?

[stoichyu]

I am new to linux, after much thought i decided to shift to linux, of the available flavors vector seemed to fit the bill

Yehey!

Now i don't want to completely abandon windows(xp). Problem is, can I install vector inside a folder on an existing partition, is mandatory to create a seperate partition or use a whole partition for it.

No you can't install it in a folder, sorry. You have to create a partition if you want to install it to the hard drive. You can however, use the livecd to try vector, and you can make it save changes to a file in your hard drive.

Secondly, should i necessarily create a paritition for swap separately, cant it be done like in windows where the page file does not take a separate partition?

You don't really have to make a swap partition if you don't want to, but it would be good to do so. Yes, it is possible to create a swap file, however I'm not quite sure of the performance.

[saulgoode]

Problem is, can I install vector inside a folder on an existing partition, is mandatory to create a seperate partition or use a whole partition for it.

Not really. There used to be a distribution called DragonLinux which employed this method, but it is to my knowledge no longer available.

What you might try instead is to install VirtualBox and then run Vector as a guest OS.

Secondly, should i necessarily create a paritition for swap separately, cant it be done like in windows where the page file does not take a separate partition?

Adding a swap file is quite easy in Linux.

First you have to create a file (one filled with zeros will do):

dd if=/dev/zero of=/swap.img bs=1024k count=256

The above command will create a 256 Megabyte file in the top-level directory. You will want to be 'root' when you create it.

Second, you format the file as swap:

mkswap /swap.img

Finally, you add the following line to your '/etc/fstab' file:

/swap.img none swap sw 0 0

Executing 'swapon -a' will then activate your swap file.

[lagagnon]

Problem is, can I install vector inside a folder on an existing partition, is mandatory to create a seperate partition or use a whole partition for it.

I don't think so but it is not really a big deal to create a seperate partition, even assuming Windows has consumed your entire hard drive with its own partition. The steps would be:
1) clean up your Windows files and defrag.
2) get a Linux Live CD such as qtparted CD or system restore CD or almost any other Live Linux CD.
3) boot your mahcine from the Live CD
4) run qtparted and reduce the size of the Windows partition to give you empty hard drive space.
5) run the VectorLinux install CD ...

[fastc0der]

I am sorry that I forgot to mention a problem I have with my hardware. I have a 2.4ghz p4, 512mb, d845gvsr mobo.This setup was running without any problems for the last 4 years, until recently I have been experiencing overheating problems with the cpu. If I use it with more than 85% cpu usage for more than 5 minutes, the system turns off immediately, but if I manage to keep it under that value I can run it without any problems for the whole day. I tried many solutions from the net, but they didn't last.

Now when I was installing vector, after the initial setup, it started extracting the compressed files, this is where I think the cpu was used at 100% and within minutes my system turned off. Now I think, I cant install any os, not even windows coz it will also use the cpu to the maximum during installation. So is there any way that I can install it on a virtual machine and transfer it to the partition coz I can limit the cpu usage using third party applications when its installing on the virtual machine. I've seen real machine being replicated on a virtual machine, is it possible the other way?

[roseway]

It sounds like you need a new cooler on the CPU.

[rbistolfi]

It sounds like you need a new cooler on the CPU.

Thats probably is. I had similar symptoms before and the new fan solved it.

About the install, I think the best quick fix is to unplug the hd, plug it in other box, run the vl installer as usual. Then put back the hd in the original box, login into tui mode and run the hardware config again from vasm. That will live you -hopefully-  with a working system.

[lagagnon]

Before you try replacing the fan - two things: 1) are all the fan fins clear of dust and I assume the fan is actually working? 2) have you renewed the heatsink compound between the fan base and the CPU die?