The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook

Checking Hardware Compatibility

After you've determined that an OS is at least likely to suit your needs, you should check that you have appropriate hardware for running that OS. Most modern OSs support a wide range of hardware, but none—not even Windows 9x—supports all the hardware that's available today. In general, hardware support is best for Windows 9x and worst for the more exotic OSs such as Plan 9 and the rarer varieties of UNIX. Of the OSs I concentrate on in this book, BeOS has the most limited hardware support. Windows NT, OS/2, Linux, and FreeBSD have intermediate levels of support—good enough to handle most or all hardware found in most modern computers, although support for the latest and less common hardware might not be present. ...