Linux and Windows Live Happy Together

How to make your live with Linux and Windows installed on one hardisk, more happy and easy?
Here is some tips for you, dual-booter!

Tips 1. Make Your Windows Accesible from Linux

Yes, in new release of Linux today, you can easily access Windows NTFS partition, both read and write.

But how if you use older release that doesn’t support write acces?
You should installing ntfs-3g.
If you using Ubuntu, use this command:

sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

Then, add this line or change the existing line that point to your windows partition in your /etc/fstab to:

#mount partition /dev/hda5 (or drive D, I guess)
/dev/hda5 /home/user/mnt ntfs-3g ro,uid=1000 0 0

In Windows, to access Linux partition, you can install readext2fs from fs-driver.org.

Tips 2. Use One Partition to Save Data

Mount your Drive D (I Guest you save your data here), to a linux special directoriy in your home direktori. For example, we mount our Drive D (hda5) to /home/username/MyDocument.

Make a new directory MyDocument in your home direktory

amrinz@lomedia:-$ mkdir MyDocument

Deactive (unmount) your /dev/hda5

amrinz@lomedia:-$sudo unmount /media/hda5

or in some distribution (like ubuntu Gutsy 7.10)

amrinz@lomedia:-$sudo unmount /media/sda5

Change your fstab mount point to our new mount point. Open /etc/fstab file using your favorite editor as root.

amrinz@lomedia:-$sudo nano /etc/fstab

Change this line:

# /dev/hda5
/dev/hda5 /media/hda5 …..

or in some distribution (like ubuntu Gutsy 7.10)

# /dev/sda5
UUID=d58c05ca-3c61-474d-903d-53de614a9a7d /media/sda5 ………

to:

# /dev/hda5
/dev/hda5 /home/username/MyDocument ………

or in some distribution (like ubuntu Gutsy 7.10)

# /dev/sda5
UUID=d58c05ca-3c61-474d-903d-53de614a9a7d /home/username/MyDocument ……

And then, mount your new mount point, so you can see the result soon.

amrinz@lomedia:-$sudo mount -a

From now, if you want save your work, make sure you save it in MyDocument

Note: The dots mean keep the rest code. Only change before the dots ya.

Tips 3. Share your Firefox, Thunderbird and Pidgin Profile

Did you know you can save space and share your extension, plugins (not specific OS plugins and extension) between cross platform application such firefox, thunderbird and pidgin?

Here is the way: http://lifehacker.com/348858/use-a-single-data-store-when-dual-booting

Tips 4. Share Your Windows Font Without Re-Installing It in Linux

If you use the Tips number 1 in this article, now you can use your windows fonts in your Linux. So, Open Office able to open your .doc document with correct font.

To do it, make a symlink from your windows fonts folder (C:\Windows\Fonts) to /usr/share/fonts/truetype/winfonts directory.

Som now, open your nautilus as root.

Use Alt+F2 button, and type gksu nautilus or kdesu konqueror. In your file manager, find your windows font folder, right click on the fonts folder >> Make Link.

Right click again on the new link, Select Cut and navigate your file manager to directory /usr/share/fonts/truetype. Paste there.

Rename the new link to your like. I rename it to winfonts.

Mmmm, enough? No?, just wait for next tips ya!

Writen by amrinz
Permalinks: Linux and Windows Live Happy Together