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Dual Booting

SparhawkSparhawk
edited May 2007 in Technology
I'm interested in dual booting Linux on my laptop along with XP Pro. I already have XP on the laptop, which was recently reformatted, and I was wondering what steps I'd have to take to get Linux up and running on it. Also the shear number of Linux releases is fairly daunting to someone thats never used it before so any input on the release that I should use would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    The most difficult step is making room for the ubuntu partition if XP decided to take up all available space on the disc, something like paragon partition magic should do.
    Then you just need to create the new partitions and install.

    I recommend a 5gb partition which you call "/" then a partition twice the size of your partition (called the "swap", this acts similarly to the windows page file) and a final partition as big as you want it called "/home" so that when if you need to format the actual Linux bit in "/" then "/home" is safe with all your documents and settings in it.

    If you haven't got the room just get rid of "/home" and enlarge "/" though if you reformat you will loose everything in "/" so keep anything important in windows.
  • zombie a gogozombie a gogo
    Why not run it through Virtualization?
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    Well you don't get the same power with virtualization so its not that great unless you have to constantly switch between programs I would suggest just keeping to dual booting.
    Also, windows is terrible with ram and with Linux taking an extra chunk out of that it gets worse.
  • zombie a gogozombie a gogo
    I'm running Ubuntu through VMWare on my XP Media Center laptop and have no issues. I dedicated 512MB to each OS and they seem to run fine for me, though it's not my main computer. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to do a dual-boot but my laptop won't allow it...it freezes up just prior to the partitioning. I did some research and it's a known issue for my HP laptop...I can't recall the model number (I think it's DV6000).

    As you mentioned, one advantage is that I can switch between programs in each OS...which I do. I use XP to stream .avi's to my Xbox 360 through it's Media Center extender function and I use Ubuntu to play around with everything else. I'm new to Ubuntu and I'm not a Microsoft hater (not implying you are)...so I'm happy to have both.

    But if the computer you want to do the dual-boot on is your main PC than Omnutia is probably right about Virtualization not being your best option.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    I suppose virtualization would be ok if you have a gig of ram available and running Linux in VMware would seem more stable. My computer is somewhat of a budget system but surprisingly good seeing as I got it half the price but I only have 512 ram and 1.7 processor.
  • zombie a gogozombie a gogo
    I'm still hoping at some point to get the dual boot working on mine, as I can use my Vista computer to stream to my 360 as well, so I don't really need the laptop for that purpose...so switching back and forth won't be a necessity.
  • AprecheApreche
    Dual booting is incredibly easy. This is how to do it.
    1) First, backup your important files.
    2a) If you have Windows already taking up all of your hard drive space, I suggest you get ready to uninstall and reinstall windows. Your other choice is to add another hard drive. Resizing partitions supposedly works, but I personally don't think it is worth the trouble.
    2b) If you uninstall windows and have all blank drives, or if you are starting with a blank computer, go to step 3. If you have Windows installed and working, and you have free hard drive space, go to step 4.
    3)Install Windows, but do not use all of your available hard drive space. Leave some space unpartitioned and unformatted so that you can put Ubuntu there. Ubuntu is actually really small, and can fit in under 5 gigs, but I suggest you leave it at least 20 gigs of space.
    4) Install Ubuntu as normal in the free hard drive space.
    5) When the Ubuntu installation starts asking you about the bootloader, tell it that you want to use grub and that you want to install grub into the MBR(master boot record). Let it do whatever it wants. If you are unsure of the right answer to a question, go with the default.
    6) When you reboot your computer after finishing the Ubuntu installation you should see the grub menu. In this grub menu you will see the option to boot Ubuntu as well as your existing Windows installation. Use the arrows and the enter key to choose the OS you want to boot. Reboot your computer to use the other OS. The menu will appear every time you boot your computer.
    Summary
    Dual booting Ubuntu and Windows is stupidly easy. First install Windows, but make sure you leave enough hard drive space free for Ubuntu. Then install Ubuntu in that unpartitioned space, and let it do its thing. Ubuntu will recognize that Windows is there and automatically setup the dual booting for you. It's that easy.
  • SparhawkSparhawk
    I was actually thinking of building a new computer over the summer to bring back to school with me.

    If I were to do this, and still keep it fairly economical, what hardware should I purchase for it (i.e. good processor and whatnot) to allow for best dual booting. I've never built a computer before and I'm not much of a PC gamer but I do have a lot of music and anime on my external 300gb HD.

    Like I said before I'm basically looking to build the best PC I can while still keeping within a $300-$500 budget. Thanks for the help
  • AprecheApreche
    No computer is better than any other at dual booting. As long as you have enough hard drive space, dual booting is the same on any machine.
  • zombie a gogozombie a gogo
    edited June 2007
    My problem is that I just can't get to the actual install or partitioning part when using the Ubuntu .iso on my laptop, it just freezes up before reaching that point. My main machine is a dual-boot XP and Suse unit and that was easy enough.

    I have no doubt that if I started from scratch with fresh installs it would probably work fine, but I have to get some time to put aside to do this...and that is few and far between.
    Post edited by zombie a gogo on
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited June 2007
    No computer is better than any other at dual booting. As long as you have enough hard drive space, dual booting is the same on any machine.
    Thats true but getting components that work with linux can be a hastle. Things you have to look out for are:
    ATI cards (Avoid like the plauge) - will work but can ruin your system if you try and hook up an external monitor.
    Wireless - Look up the card your going to get as some require NDISwrapper in order to use the windows driver if a linux one isn't available.
    Sound Cards - If your getting surround check it first. Surround alsa is easy enough to set up as long as someone has written a template for your card. (If you want help I have some experience)

    Those are the main things you should look out for. Ive been having some trouble with USB but I think thats because I have an HP laptop. Its taken a while but now everything but the fingerprint sensor works.
    [Firefox is really playing up, no the spellcheck isn't working]
    Post edited by Omnutia on
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