How To Dual-Boot Windows and Ubuntu
The only comprehensive how-to on the World Wide Web
Introduction
Hello everyone. My original post regarding this subject seemed to gain a lot of interest. It was only after Pvt_Tracy asked me to share my post in his forum that I began to think of the most effective ways in which I can share my knowledge on the subject. Let me also say this information took me well over 24 hours to accumulate and just over 3 days to write out. While some of the procedures are tricky, this tutorial provides all the information you will need in order to manually install Ubuntu alongside Windows.
* If you would like to learn more about Ubuntu before reviewing this tutorial, knock yourself out here. *
Precautions
I will say this now and most definitely repeat myself many times by the end of this post: THESE STEPS AND PROCEDURES ARE HERE FOR A REASON!
If you think you will be able to skip a step feeling as if it is useless information, that is fine; but at the very least back up every file on your PC and have a fresh Windows install disk at-hand so you will be able to run WinRe to repair your hard drive in the scenario that your thinking was wrong. (And it will be.)
If you follow these steps, everything should run smoothly. On the other hand, there is always the possibility that you will misunderstand the procedure. In that case catastrophic results are possible. The two that I have come face-to-face with is the inability to boot into Windows, and nearly deleting all my files.
* If you screw up your PC and did not prepare with a back-up of all your files and have the initial Windows CD on-hand, don't plan on me being able to help; for I have no clue how to recover permanently deleted files. In addition, don't say I didn't tell ya' so. *
I am only emphasizing this point so heavily because the first time I tried doing it on my own without researching it more in-depth, my Windows boot loader and BIOS went undefined and I could not boot into Windows. Had I not found my Windows 7 CD (lux-hax-n-slander), I would have been out of luck. Obviously, this was because I did not follow proper procedure, but never-the-less, luckily I was prepared.
Again, as long as you understand what each step is telling you to do, and you follow it to the T, everything will be peachy. If you do not understand a step, just post your question here; I am almost always online and will be happy to answer any of your questions.
In each step I will include the RISK FACTOR level by [LIGHT], [MODERATE] and [SEVERE]. An explanation for its risk will be posted in yellow.
Terminology
The installation process uses some funky terminology. It will be in your best interest to make yourself familiar with these terms in order to understand the bulk of this tutorial.
Linux
I am not going to explain too much about Linux here. All I really want to emphasize is that Ubuntu is a form of the Linux Operating System. Ubuntu itself is not the OS. Much like saying your operating system is Windows 7. Windows 7 is not the operating system; Windows is.
Partitions
A partition is designated space on a hard drive to store information. You can relate a partition to a folder within a folder; only in a partition, you designate the maximum amount of disk space allowed. There are two types of partitions: Primary Partitions and Extended/Logical Partitions.
Primary Partitions
It's simply what is sounds like! The main source of storage for your files.
Extended/Logical Partitions
Unlike Windows and Macintosh, Ubuntu allows you to divide up, or "Extend", your Primary Partition into multiple sub-categories known as Logical Partitions.
As far as the installation goes, you will never literally choose to make a partition an "Extended Partition". Rather, you will choose to make the partition a Logical Partition. Put simply, an Extended Partition is understood as the sum of all your Logical Partitions.
* Windows allows up to 4 Primary Partitions, although Logical Partitions do not exist. In addition, Windows can only be installed into a Primary Partition, (C🙂. Whereas Linux allows multiple Primary and Logical Partitions. Linux also has the ability to install into a Logical or Primary Partition. *
In theory this means when using a Linux Operating System you have the ability to run many different types of Linux OS inside each other as long as you allocate a Logical Partition the fair amount of space to do so. This requires an advanced Partition Scheme that I am still trying to understand. Can Windows do this? Nope!
A Partition Scheme is the arrangement or layout of your total partitions.
The fundamental Partition Scheme might look like this:
Primary Partition
---Logical Partition
---Logical Partition
* Remember, the two Logical Partitions in yellow make up the understood, or "invisible", Extended Partition. *
Allocation, or to allocate, is simply assigning the disk space to be used in your partition. E.g. I am allocating 10g to the Logical Partition.
Extended File Systems
Although Linux has dozens of file systems, in this tutorial we are going to use two extended file systems: ext3, and ext4. I will be briefly go over the two, as well as Windows' primary file system, ntfs.
ext3
One of the main benefits using ext3 is Journaling. If the system crashes, you are less likely to lose your data thanks to it. It allows huge individual file sizes from 16GB to 2T, as well as an overall file system size of 2TB to 32TB.
ext4
Journaling is still available as well as the option to turn it off. Individual files sizes can range from 16GB to 16TB, with the available max file system size of an amazing 1EB. It offers alot more capabilities than I know what to do with. As of now, this information will do.
ntfs
All I feel should be known is that ntfs is Window's proprietary file system. You just need to be familiar with the name, because it will be used a few times during this tutorial.
swap is allocated space on a drive that is dedicated strictly for virtual memory. Preferably, swap needs to be 1.5x your total RAM.
* I have 8G of RAM, therefore my swap partition is 12G; but in this tutorial I am assigning swap 6G. *
* Contact me if you want to modify your swap partition to fit your amount of RAM, because it will change the entire Partition Scheme! *
Mount Point
In the simplest of terms, the Mount Point is a directory in your file system (point) where other file systems can branch off (mount). There are tons of Mount Points offering mounds of possibilities, but for the sake of headaches, I'm going to go over the two used in this tutorial.
/root is referred to as / and is where all your installation files and upgrades are stored.
/home is where all user data and personal configurations are stored. Very useful if you ever need to reinstall Ubuntu.
Pre-Installation
Things You'll Need
---> A functioning, blank CD ROM or DVD
---> Atleast 4.5G of Hard Drive Space
* In this tutorial you will need atleast 26G, if you do not have that much, reply and I will help you configure your settings accordingly. *
---> Atleast 512MB RAM
* In this tutorial you will need atleast 4G, if you do not have that much, reply and I will help you configure your settings accordingly. *
Burning To Disk
[LIGHT] * These steps don't pose any threat to your files or settings. *
---> Go here and download the 32-bit version or 64-bit version to the (C🙂 drive. The 64-bit version is currently running fine on my end, although Ubuntu recommends the stable 32-bit.
* What you have just downloaded is an ISO image file. Basically it is a disk image containing lots of files. *
---> Once the download is complete, insert your blank CD ROM or DVD, right-click the ISO file you have just downloaded and select Burn To Disk. Be sure to check Verify Disk before you burn so Windows will verify that it is a well-functioning image file.
* These are the options available to Windows users; if you need assistance, just reply to this post. *
Rum Rum Rum, listen to your burner go! At this point, your PC is burning the image to the disk. Once the disk is finished burning, your get-go is ready to get-goin'.
Making Disk Space
[MODERATE] * These steps require you to modify your hard drive. Follow directions carefully. *
* BEFORE YOU CONTINUE, I RECOMMEND MAKING A BACKUP OF ALL YOUR FILES AND HAVING A WINDOWS INSTALL DISK AVAILABLE *
If you were to allow Ubuntu to automatically install itself on your PC (even though it is running alongside Windows), all your free hard drive would be allocated strictly for Ubuntu. That means bye-bye installing anything on Windows ever again. Tedious efforts are required to re-allocate that space, which I have yet to figure out how to do and hope I never have to.
Here are the steps you need to follow in order to guarantee a successful manual install:
---> Hit the windows key (or click the windows start icon) and in the search bar (where it says Search programs and files) type the word partition. Then click Create and format hard disk partitions.
---> When the window opens you might see System Reserved and most definitely see (C🙂. Leave System reserved be as well as any other disk space you might see.
---> Right-click on the box that contains (C🙂 and click Shrink Volume.... A notification saying, Queying volume for available disk space, please wait... should appear followed by a window titled Shrink C:
---> In the text box labeled Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB: type 26000, BUT before you click Shrink, please read on!
* This shrink equals out to be roughly 26GB. I can not say this enough: If you do not have this much space or you are not willing to "allocate" this much space to Ubuntu, PLEASE post a reply and I will help you configure your settings. It's better to be safe than sorry!
---> This next step is extremely important! First, look where it says Total size after shrink in MB: Are you okay with that number? To "paint a picture in your mind" showing you the impact of the shrink, move the "decimal" from the end of the number over three places to the left and that is how much space that remains allocated to Windows (in GB.) Therefore if Total size after shrink in MB: shows something like 664351 you would have roughly 664.4 GB still allocated to the Windows partition.
---> If you are okay with the shrink, click Shrink and wait for it to process. When the shrink process is complete, you should now see (C🙂 (along with any other disks that were there to begin with) as well as your newly allocated partition.
THIS STEP IS NOT COMPLETE YET: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAN RESULT IN FILE DAMAGE AND DISK IMPAIRMENT!
---> Reboot into Windows TWICE! This allows your PC to adjust to the shrink that has just been made.
* Once you have rebooted Windows TWICE, and gone over the Review below, you can proceed to the next step. *
Pre-Installation Review
By this time, you should "sorta-kinda" understand what the diagram below illustrates:
System Reserve | ntfs: XMB (X being the amount of space Windows has automatically set aside for reserve) (primary partition)
(C🙂 | ntfs: XGB [X being the amount of space still allocated to Windows after I shrank the disk.] (primary partition)
--- extended partition: 26GB ---
ext3 | /root: 10GB (logical partition)
ext4 | /home: 10GB (logical partition)
swap | no Mount Point: 6GB (logical partition)
Alright. ntfs, ext3 and ext4 are my file systems, with swap being the partition dedicated to my virtual memory (or RAM).
Here I have two Primary Partitions which are (C🙂 and its Reserve, both being ntfs files systems. Then, I have added three sub-partitions under (C🙂.
Finally, I have assigned each file system a Mount Point and amount of disk space.
* Remember, the Extended Partition is the understood sum of the three Logical Partitions. *
*** Important Notes *** The two ntfs partitions are NEVER to be touched during installation. These are WINDOWS partitions! ***
*** By default, Ubuntu will set the two ntfs as "do not use this partition" and that's how it needs to stay! That was the whole point in shrinking (C🙂 by 26GB; you were partitioning that space for UBUNTU. Therefore, when you start the partition process, you will see "Free Space... 26GB" UNDER the two ntfs partitions. Free Space is the only place you will be adding your partitions. ***
* Not all of you will have a System Reserve, so if you don't see this later on during installation, don't panic. *
I'm not sure you need to understand the Partition Scheme in FULL; I will be helping you with that as we go. As long as you understand the precautions, you will be fine.
* Before proceeding to the next step, you will need to either print off this tutorial or have another computer handy. Once you boot off the CD you will not be able to access Windows. *
Booting To Disk
[LIGHT] * These steps don't pose any threat to your files or settings. *
---> Insert your CD ROM or DVD that you have just burnt, eject any additional drives (USB, Floppy, SD etc) and reboot your computer.
---> When your computer begins to boot, look for the Boot Menu. It is that menu that appears for like 3 seconds with options such as: <ESC> Boot Menu | <F10> System Settings etc.
---> Some boot menus are different, but for the majority of Windows' users you will need to hit <ESC> (Escape) and hold it down for a second or two. If you miss the boot menu, wait for a safe time to reboot Windows and try again.
---> After you've held down <ESC> the boot menu screen will pop up, and you should see the name of your hard drive and CD drive. Unless you have tinkered with the Primary Boot Settings, your hard drive should be the first one on the list.
---> Use the arrow keys to navigate to the name of your CD Drive and hit enter. This will prompt your PC to boot off the CD ROM. If the burn was successful, and you booted off the correct drive, then Ubuntu should now be loading.
* Don't worry, nothing has installed yet. It is only booting off your burnt disk. *
---> You are now ready for installation.
Installation
[SEVERE] * These steps require you to utilize disk space made by the shrinking process. Upon installation you will be asked to manually select free disk space to make your partitions. If the wrong disk is partitioned AND/OR mounted incorrectly, your entire file system is at risk. Failure to follow these steps "in full" can result in the fail of the century. *
* The following images containing numbers do not represent your partition scheme. These images were taken for reference only. *
Once Ubuntu has loaded, you should reach a screen that looks like this:
---
You always have the option to try Ubuntu by clicking Try Ubuntu. If you wish to do that, well done, enjoy Ubuntu. Just don't plan on customizing anything because no settings will be saved. In addition, this makes no change to your hard drive.
---> For those who wish to Dual Boot, go ahead and click Install Ubuntu and continue.
* It is not going to install over your files. You will soon have the option to allocate your partitions, and I will guide you through that process as promised. *
Now you will reach a screen that looks like this:
---
---> First, you will need to connect to the Internet so updates will be downloaded during installation. If you haven't already seen the notification saying "New Network Connections Available", then go to the top-right of your screen, and click the connection signal icon and select your connection. It will be next to, or close to, the sound icon.
---> Once you establish a connection, go ahead and check those two boxes saying you want the updates. Read the notes below, then click continue.
* The first box is extremely important if you want Ubuntu's newest version, where the second box is optional. I found myself not checking the second box and having to install the plugins anyway, so you might as well go ahead and check it.
* Even if downloads are from a third party and/or closed-source, Ubuntu will never condone bloatware, malware, spyware, or any other crapware. *
Now you should reach a window looking like this:
---
*** Something else ***: This is the one you check. It will allow you to use the partition scheme I am soon to explain. So check this one, and click continue.
At this point, you are taken to the "Bread-N-Butter" of this whole operation: the partitioning window.
---
Ok, listen closely. It's all fairly understandable if you just replace those funky letters and numbers with terms you understand.
/dev allows software to interact with device drivers located within a file system.
*** If you are using IDE drivers, your drives will be labeled: /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, /dev/hdc and /dev/hdd.
If you are using SCSI drivers, your drives will be labeled: /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc, /dev/sdd, /dev/sde, /dev/sdf, /dev/sdg, /dev/sdh and /dev/sdi. ***
* Most all new computers use SCSI drivers and will be labeled as sd. Although if you have an IDE driver, these instructions still apply. Simply swap out the "s" with an "h". *
sdx#: Which partition (#) on which (x) SATA Drive (sd)
Yeah, that made a lot of sense right? Keep reading, it will be explained.
/dev/sda: This is your total hard drive. ---> sda says there are no partitions on the primary drive (a). * Make sure "Device for boot loader installation:" is installed here! *
/dev/sda1 | ntfs: This is Window's system reserve. Like I said earlier, not all of you will have this, so don't worry about it. * Do not modify this partition! *
/dev/sda1 | ntfs refers to the first partition (1) on the first (a) drive (sd) within the Windows file system (ntfs).
/dev/sda2 | ntfs: This is the Windows partition after you shrank the disk. * Do not modify this partition! *
The majority of the bar should be Orange with ATLEAST 26GB of "free space." (No colour) This space was given to you when you "shrank" (C🙂. If you have a system reserve, it will barely be visible on the graph. It will be Green and most likely labeled sda1. You don't need to worry about labeling them sdxx, etc. Linux does that for you. The only information you will give Linux is:
What type of file system, under which mount point, with how much disk space. Is it a logical or primary partition, and does the entry go at the beginning or end of the partition scheme.
* Ready to make those partitions? *
---> 1.) Click on the Free Space and click Add.
Type for the new partition: Logical
New partition size in MB: 10000
Location for the new partition: Beginning
Use as: ext3
Mount point: /root
---> Click Ok.
* You have just created your first Ubuntu partition! Congratulations. This is where all your updates and system files are stored.
---> 2.) Click on the Free Space and click Add.
Type for the new partition: Logical
New partition size in MB: 10000
Location for the new partition: Beginning
Use as: ext4
Mount point: /home
---> Click Ok.
* This is where all your personal files are stored. *
---> 3.) Click on the Free Space and click Add.
Type for the new partition: Logical
New partition size in MB: 6000
Location for the new partition: Beginning
Use as: swap
---> Click Ok.
* This is dedicated to your virtual memory (RAM). *
Alrighty! At this point:
---> All of the drive space should be accounted for and you should have no free space left.
---> All of your new partitions should say Unknown under the Used category.
---> Your Windows partition WAS NOT touched.
---> Device for boot loader installation: should have /dev/sda [your drive's name here] chosen. (It usually is by default) NO NUMBERS AFTER /SDA.
If all these statements are true and you have no further questions or concerns, then my work here is done. You can go ahead and click Install Now, enter in some basic information and let Ubuntu do the rest.
Enjoy,
Nathan
The only comprehensive how-to on the World Wide Web
Introduction
Hello everyone. My original post regarding this subject seemed to gain a lot of interest. It was only after Pvt_Tracy asked me to share my post in his forum that I began to think of the most effective ways in which I can share my knowledge on the subject. Let me also say this information took me well over 24 hours to accumulate and just over 3 days to write out. While some of the procedures are tricky, this tutorial provides all the information you will need in order to manually install Ubuntu alongside Windows.
* If you would like to learn more about Ubuntu before reviewing this tutorial, knock yourself out here. *
Precautions
I will say this now and most definitely repeat myself many times by the end of this post: THESE STEPS AND PROCEDURES ARE HERE FOR A REASON!
If you think you will be able to skip a step feeling as if it is useless information, that is fine; but at the very least back up every file on your PC and have a fresh Windows install disk at-hand so you will be able to run WinRe to repair your hard drive in the scenario that your thinking was wrong. (And it will be.)
If you follow these steps, everything should run smoothly. On the other hand, there is always the possibility that you will misunderstand the procedure. In that case catastrophic results are possible. The two that I have come face-to-face with is the inability to boot into Windows, and nearly deleting all my files.
* If you screw up your PC and did not prepare with a back-up of all your files and have the initial Windows CD on-hand, don't plan on me being able to help; for I have no clue how to recover permanently deleted files. In addition, don't say I didn't tell ya' so. *
I am only emphasizing this point so heavily because the first time I tried doing it on my own without researching it more in-depth, my Windows boot loader and BIOS went undefined and I could not boot into Windows. Had I not found my Windows 7 CD (lux-hax-n-slander), I would have been out of luck. Obviously, this was because I did not follow proper procedure, but never-the-less, luckily I was prepared.
Again, as long as you understand what each step is telling you to do, and you follow it to the T, everything will be peachy. If you do not understand a step, just post your question here; I am almost always online and will be happy to answer any of your questions.
In each step I will include the RISK FACTOR level by [LIGHT], [MODERATE] and [SEVERE]. An explanation for its risk will be posted in yellow.
Terminology
The installation process uses some funky terminology. It will be in your best interest to make yourself familiar with these terms in order to understand the bulk of this tutorial.
Linux
I am not going to explain too much about Linux here. All I really want to emphasize is that Ubuntu is a form of the Linux Operating System. Ubuntu itself is not the OS. Much like saying your operating system is Windows 7. Windows 7 is not the operating system; Windows is.
Partitions
A partition is designated space on a hard drive to store information. You can relate a partition to a folder within a folder; only in a partition, you designate the maximum amount of disk space allowed. There are two types of partitions: Primary Partitions and Extended/Logical Partitions.
Primary Partitions
It's simply what is sounds like! The main source of storage for your files.
Extended/Logical Partitions
Unlike Windows and Macintosh, Ubuntu allows you to divide up, or "Extend", your Primary Partition into multiple sub-categories known as Logical Partitions.
As far as the installation goes, you will never literally choose to make a partition an "Extended Partition". Rather, you will choose to make the partition a Logical Partition. Put simply, an Extended Partition is understood as the sum of all your Logical Partitions.
* Windows allows up to 4 Primary Partitions, although Logical Partitions do not exist. In addition, Windows can only be installed into a Primary Partition, (C🙂. Whereas Linux allows multiple Primary and Logical Partitions. Linux also has the ability to install into a Logical or Primary Partition. *
In theory this means when using a Linux Operating System you have the ability to run many different types of Linux OS inside each other as long as you allocate a Logical Partition the fair amount of space to do so. This requires an advanced Partition Scheme that I am still trying to understand. Can Windows do this? Nope!
A Partition Scheme is the arrangement or layout of your total partitions.
The fundamental Partition Scheme might look like this:
Primary Partition
---Logical Partition
---Logical Partition
* Remember, the two Logical Partitions in yellow make up the understood, or "invisible", Extended Partition. *
Allocation, or to allocate, is simply assigning the disk space to be used in your partition. E.g. I am allocating 10g to the Logical Partition.
Extended File Systems
Although Linux has dozens of file systems, in this tutorial we are going to use two extended file systems: ext3, and ext4. I will be briefly go over the two, as well as Windows' primary file system, ntfs.
ext3
One of the main benefits using ext3 is Journaling. If the system crashes, you are less likely to lose your data thanks to it. It allows huge individual file sizes from 16GB to 2T, as well as an overall file system size of 2TB to 32TB.
ext4
Journaling is still available as well as the option to turn it off. Individual files sizes can range from 16GB to 16TB, with the available max file system size of an amazing 1EB. It offers alot more capabilities than I know what to do with. As of now, this information will do.
ntfs
All I feel should be known is that ntfs is Window's proprietary file system. You just need to be familiar with the name, because it will be used a few times during this tutorial.
swap is allocated space on a drive that is dedicated strictly for virtual memory. Preferably, swap needs to be 1.5x your total RAM.
* I have 8G of RAM, therefore my swap partition is 12G; but in this tutorial I am assigning swap 6G. *
* Contact me if you want to modify your swap partition to fit your amount of RAM, because it will change the entire Partition Scheme! *
Mount Point
In the simplest of terms, the Mount Point is a directory in your file system (point) where other file systems can branch off (mount). There are tons of Mount Points offering mounds of possibilities, but for the sake of headaches, I'm going to go over the two used in this tutorial.
/root is referred to as / and is where all your installation files and upgrades are stored.
/home is where all user data and personal configurations are stored. Very useful if you ever need to reinstall Ubuntu.
Pre-Installation
Things You'll Need
---> A functioning, blank CD ROM or DVD
---> Atleast 4.5G of Hard Drive Space
* In this tutorial you will need atleast 26G, if you do not have that much, reply and I will help you configure your settings accordingly. *
---> Atleast 512MB RAM
* In this tutorial you will need atleast 4G, if you do not have that much, reply and I will help you configure your settings accordingly. *
Burning To Disk
[LIGHT] * These steps don't pose any threat to your files or settings. *
---> Go here and download the 32-bit version or 64-bit version to the (C🙂 drive. The 64-bit version is currently running fine on my end, although Ubuntu recommends the stable 32-bit.
* What you have just downloaded is an ISO image file. Basically it is a disk image containing lots of files. *
---> Once the download is complete, insert your blank CD ROM or DVD, right-click the ISO file you have just downloaded and select Burn To Disk. Be sure to check Verify Disk before you burn so Windows will verify that it is a well-functioning image file.
* These are the options available to Windows users; if you need assistance, just reply to this post. *
Rum Rum Rum, listen to your burner go! At this point, your PC is burning the image to the disk. Once the disk is finished burning, your get-go is ready to get-goin'.
Making Disk Space
[MODERATE] * These steps require you to modify your hard drive. Follow directions carefully. *
* BEFORE YOU CONTINUE, I RECOMMEND MAKING A BACKUP OF ALL YOUR FILES AND HAVING A WINDOWS INSTALL DISK AVAILABLE *
If you were to allow Ubuntu to automatically install itself on your PC (even though it is running alongside Windows), all your free hard drive would be allocated strictly for Ubuntu. That means bye-bye installing anything on Windows ever again. Tedious efforts are required to re-allocate that space, which I have yet to figure out how to do and hope I never have to.
Here are the steps you need to follow in order to guarantee a successful manual install:
---> Hit the windows key (or click the windows start icon) and in the search bar (where it says Search programs and files) type the word partition. Then click Create and format hard disk partitions.
---> When the window opens you might see System Reserved and most definitely see (C🙂. Leave System reserved be as well as any other disk space you might see.
---> Right-click on the box that contains (C🙂 and click Shrink Volume.... A notification saying, Queying volume for available disk space, please wait... should appear followed by a window titled Shrink C:
---> In the text box labeled Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB: type 26000, BUT before you click Shrink, please read on!
* This shrink equals out to be roughly 26GB. I can not say this enough: If you do not have this much space or you are not willing to "allocate" this much space to Ubuntu, PLEASE post a reply and I will help you configure your settings. It's better to be safe than sorry!
---> This next step is extremely important! First, look where it says Total size after shrink in MB: Are you okay with that number? To "paint a picture in your mind" showing you the impact of the shrink, move the "decimal" from the end of the number over three places to the left and that is how much space that remains allocated to Windows (in GB.) Therefore if Total size after shrink in MB: shows something like 664351 you would have roughly 664.4 GB still allocated to the Windows partition.
---> If you are okay with the shrink, click Shrink and wait for it to process. When the shrink process is complete, you should now see (C🙂 (along with any other disks that were there to begin with) as well as your newly allocated partition.
THIS STEP IS NOT COMPLETE YET: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAN RESULT IN FILE DAMAGE AND DISK IMPAIRMENT!
---> Reboot into Windows TWICE! This allows your PC to adjust to the shrink that has just been made.
* Once you have rebooted Windows TWICE, and gone over the Review below, you can proceed to the next step. *
Pre-Installation Review
By this time, you should "sorta-kinda" understand what the diagram below illustrates:
System Reserve | ntfs: XMB (X being the amount of space Windows has automatically set aside for reserve) (primary partition)
(C🙂 | ntfs: XGB [X being the amount of space still allocated to Windows after I shrank the disk.] (primary partition)
--- extended partition: 26GB ---
ext3 | /root: 10GB (logical partition)
ext4 | /home: 10GB (logical partition)
swap | no Mount Point: 6GB (logical partition)
Alright. ntfs, ext3 and ext4 are my file systems, with swap being the partition dedicated to my virtual memory (or RAM).
Here I have two Primary Partitions which are (C🙂 and its Reserve, both being ntfs files systems. Then, I have added three sub-partitions under (C🙂.
Finally, I have assigned each file system a Mount Point and amount of disk space.
* Remember, the Extended Partition is the understood sum of the three Logical Partitions. *
*** Important Notes *** The two ntfs partitions are NEVER to be touched during installation. These are WINDOWS partitions! ***
*** By default, Ubuntu will set the two ntfs as "do not use this partition" and that's how it needs to stay! That was the whole point in shrinking (C🙂 by 26GB; you were partitioning that space for UBUNTU. Therefore, when you start the partition process, you will see "Free Space... 26GB" UNDER the two ntfs partitions. Free Space is the only place you will be adding your partitions. ***
* Not all of you will have a System Reserve, so if you don't see this later on during installation, don't panic. *
I'm not sure you need to understand the Partition Scheme in FULL; I will be helping you with that as we go. As long as you understand the precautions, you will be fine.
* Before proceeding to the next step, you will need to either print off this tutorial or have another computer handy. Once you boot off the CD you will not be able to access Windows. *
Booting To Disk
[LIGHT] * These steps don't pose any threat to your files or settings. *
---> Insert your CD ROM or DVD that you have just burnt, eject any additional drives (USB, Floppy, SD etc) and reboot your computer.
---> When your computer begins to boot, look for the Boot Menu. It is that menu that appears for like 3 seconds with options such as: <ESC> Boot Menu | <F10> System Settings etc.
---> Some boot menus are different, but for the majority of Windows' users you will need to hit <ESC> (Escape) and hold it down for a second or two. If you miss the boot menu, wait for a safe time to reboot Windows and try again.
---> After you've held down <ESC> the boot menu screen will pop up, and you should see the name of your hard drive and CD drive. Unless you have tinkered with the Primary Boot Settings, your hard drive should be the first one on the list.
---> Use the arrow keys to navigate to the name of your CD Drive and hit enter. This will prompt your PC to boot off the CD ROM. If the burn was successful, and you booted off the correct drive, then Ubuntu should now be loading.
* Don't worry, nothing has installed yet. It is only booting off your burnt disk. *
---> You are now ready for installation.
Installation
[SEVERE] * These steps require you to utilize disk space made by the shrinking process. Upon installation you will be asked to manually select free disk space to make your partitions. If the wrong disk is partitioned AND/OR mounted incorrectly, your entire file system is at risk. Failure to follow these steps "in full" can result in the fail of the century. *
* The following images containing numbers do not represent your partition scheme. These images were taken for reference only. *
Once Ubuntu has loaded, you should reach a screen that looks like this:
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You always have the option to try Ubuntu by clicking Try Ubuntu. If you wish to do that, well done, enjoy Ubuntu. Just don't plan on customizing anything because no settings will be saved. In addition, this makes no change to your hard drive.
---> For those who wish to Dual Boot, go ahead and click Install Ubuntu and continue.
* It is not going to install over your files. You will soon have the option to allocate your partitions, and I will guide you through that process as promised. *
Now you will reach a screen that looks like this:
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---> First, you will need to connect to the Internet so updates will be downloaded during installation. If you haven't already seen the notification saying "New Network Connections Available", then go to the top-right of your screen, and click the connection signal icon and select your connection. It will be next to, or close to, the sound icon.
---> Once you establish a connection, go ahead and check those two boxes saying you want the updates. Read the notes below, then click continue.
* The first box is extremely important if you want Ubuntu's newest version, where the second box is optional. I found myself not checking the second box and having to install the plugins anyway, so you might as well go ahead and check it.
* Even if downloads are from a third party and/or closed-source, Ubuntu will never condone bloatware, malware, spyware, or any other crapware. *
Now you should reach a window looking like this:
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*** Something else ***: This is the one you check. It will allow you to use the partition scheme I am soon to explain. So check this one, and click continue.
At this point, you are taken to the "Bread-N-Butter" of this whole operation: the partitioning window.
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Ok, listen closely. It's all fairly understandable if you just replace those funky letters and numbers with terms you understand.
/dev allows software to interact with device drivers located within a file system.
*** If you are using IDE drivers, your drives will be labeled: /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, /dev/hdc and /dev/hdd.
If you are using SCSI drivers, your drives will be labeled: /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc, /dev/sdd, /dev/sde, /dev/sdf, /dev/sdg, /dev/sdh and /dev/sdi. ***
* Most all new computers use SCSI drivers and will be labeled as sd. Although if you have an IDE driver, these instructions still apply. Simply swap out the "s" with an "h". *
sdx#: Which partition (#) on which (x) SATA Drive (sd)
Yeah, that made a lot of sense right? Keep reading, it will be explained.
/dev/sda: This is your total hard drive. ---> sda says there are no partitions on the primary drive (a). * Make sure "Device for boot loader installation:" is installed here! *
/dev/sda1 | ntfs: This is Window's system reserve. Like I said earlier, not all of you will have this, so don't worry about it. * Do not modify this partition! *
/dev/sda1 | ntfs refers to the first partition (1) on the first (a) drive (sd) within the Windows file system (ntfs).
/dev/sda2 | ntfs: This is the Windows partition after you shrank the disk. * Do not modify this partition! *
The majority of the bar should be Orange with ATLEAST 26GB of "free space." (No colour) This space was given to you when you "shrank" (C🙂. If you have a system reserve, it will barely be visible on the graph. It will be Green and most likely labeled sda1. You don't need to worry about labeling them sdxx, etc. Linux does that for you. The only information you will give Linux is:
What type of file system, under which mount point, with how much disk space. Is it a logical or primary partition, and does the entry go at the beginning or end of the partition scheme.
* Ready to make those partitions? *
---> 1.) Click on the Free Space and click Add.
Type for the new partition: Logical
New partition size in MB: 10000
Location for the new partition: Beginning
Use as: ext3
Mount point: /root
---> Click Ok.
* You have just created your first Ubuntu partition! Congratulations. This is where all your updates and system files are stored.
---> 2.) Click on the Free Space and click Add.
Type for the new partition: Logical
New partition size in MB: 10000
Location for the new partition: Beginning
Use as: ext4
Mount point: /home
---> Click Ok.
* This is where all your personal files are stored. *
---> 3.) Click on the Free Space and click Add.
Type for the new partition: Logical
New partition size in MB: 6000
Location for the new partition: Beginning
Use as: swap
---> Click Ok.
* This is dedicated to your virtual memory (RAM). *
Alrighty! At this point:
---> All of the drive space should be accounted for and you should have no free space left.
---> All of your new partitions should say Unknown under the Used category.
---> Your Windows partition WAS NOT touched.
---> Device for boot loader installation: should have /dev/sda [your drive's name here] chosen. (It usually is by default) NO NUMBERS AFTER /SDA.
If all these statements are true and you have no further questions or concerns, then my work here is done. You can go ahead and click Install Now, enter in some basic information and let Ubuntu do the rest.
Enjoy,
Nathan
