Is it possible to run linux in an alturnate user accout? not the whole computer.?

Question

just kinda confused a program i want runs on linux. and sadly i hav vista.

Answer 1

There are a few ways of handling this.  One of the more common ways of handling this is create a 2nd partition on your hard drive and install Linux on it.  Then your computer will allow you to choose between which operating system to chose from when you start it.  This type of installation is most likely to work, however it is also the hardest to do, as you need a hard drive which sufficient space that has not already been formatted for Windows, which is pretty rare.  So it will very likely require you to add a hard drive.

Another option is to install a virtual machine within Windows.  See http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ for details about this.  The way this works, is that it you install a player which allows you to run a virtual machine within your existing computer.  Then you download a virtual version of Linux, and run it.  The trouble with this approach is that  there are no guarantees that the virtual Linux machine will support the program you are requiring.  Since it is a virtual machine, it doesn't run as fast as a pure Linux installation, and some things may not work exactly as you would expect.  

In summary, neither of these options are what I would consider simple solutions, but they are the only solutions I am aware of.

Answer 2

http://wubi-installer.org/

Wubi lets you install Ubuntu Linux on your computer. It lets you install linux without partitioning your hard drive.

Answer 3

Yes, install it in Virtual Box.

http://virtualbox.org/