On this page I will make my case for why I think a computer should have at least two operating systems on it.

One morning recently I started my computer and attempted to boot into Windows XP. I was greeted by the infamous BSOD [blue screen of death] with the error message BAD_POOL_CALLER STOP: 0x000000C2 I had no clue what the cause of this error was, and things looked pretty bleak.

Fortunately, I had recently installed Ubuntu Linux on my eMachine T3410 in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP Home. I re-booted my machine to Ubuntu, and within a few minutes of searching with Google I found a likely cause for the error.

After a boot into Windows Safe Mode to start a diagnostic tool, a boot to normal mode to run the diagnostic, and a boot back to Safe Mode to un-install a bad driver that was found, I was back up and running again.

If I hadn't recently installed Ubuntu on my machine, there would have been no way for me to research, and fix my problem with Windows, as I have no access to another computer. I would still be sitting here with a broken system, and no idea how to fix it.

I don't think it really matters what two operating systems you have on your machine, but you should have at least two operating systems on your machine in case you have troubles with one of them.

I chose Ubuntu because it offers a Live CD which you can boot from, and run Ubuntu right from the CD with no changes to your system to see if Ubuntu works with all of your hardware before you decide to install it. It is also very easy for someone used to Windows to use, as things are similar, drop down menus, icons on the desktop, etc...

The Ubuntu install also handles the process of setting up your machine with a boot menu so you can select between the operating systems you have installed. Did I mention that Ubuntu is free?

Here are some links to sites that talk about dual booting.

How to dual boot Vista with XP This is a step by step tutorial on dual booting Vista on a system that had Windows XP first, and includes a link to a tutorial on how to do it if you had Vista installed first.

Dual booting Windows, and Linux the easy way This page has a few videos to watch that explain the process of preparing your Windows system to add Linux in a dual boot configuration.

Dual boot Ubuntu, and Windows This is the official Ubuntu page on how to set up dual booting. It includes instructions for Windows installed first, or installing Windows after Ubuntu installation.

Illustrated Dual Boot Site This site has tutorials on dual booting Windows, and several versions of Ubuntu.

Dual booting Vista, and Linux with EasyBCD This site explains how to dual boot Windows Vista with Linux with the EasyBCD boot loader.

Dual booting Ubuntu, and Vista This page shows how to install Ubuntu with Windows Vista, and use the EasyBCD boot loader to choose between them.

Dual booting Windows 98, and Windows 2000 This page is pretty old, but some users are still using the older systems so I've included it here.