Dual boot

[Gunny04]

Alright I want to Dual boot Windows XP and Linux, I am holding off on installing linux until I can figure out how to dual boot it, Any suggestions? The Linux version I am ready to install is Ubuntu. This one has stumped me so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Gunny

[Tom...]

1.Make a partition on your Hard Drive
2.Buy a new Hard Drive to install Linux on

[Gunny04]

Tried the partitioning and it installs and seems to exist.... Problem is I cant Access it because I need to set the master boot record or Grub, problem is I am a total noob in both. If somebody could help me out a bit I'm sure I could get it going, any help would be great!

Gunny

[WebbPA]

The problem is probably in your GRUB configuration or in boot.ini.  I'm not expert enough to troubleshoot it.

I suggest you try a Linux specialty forum instead of a Windows flight simulator forum.  One of the best ones is Scot's Newsletter Forum.

[stuart1044]

Try this....

www.goodbye-microsfot.com

it is an easy install of Linux, creates the partition etc.

[Gunny04]

my problem doesnt seem to be entirely a dual boot issue, Ubuntu isn't installing itself on my hard drive, I have a few other things to try out and hopefully have it running, even if I gotta yank the bios manually to get it to run.

Gunny

[Gunny04]

After physically unhooking my windows drive and installing it to my other drive (Complete format and install) it wont boot, I get a boot disk error, Could this be a bios problem? Its really really annoying me

Gunny

[Politically Incorrect]

The reason it will not boot is becasue The GRUB loader probably overwrote your Windows boot files which means you will need a XP install disc to get back into Windows but running in recovery mode and using the fixboot command.

For a dual boot you want to partition your hard drive so you have one partition for your Windows install and you will have at least three for Ubuntu, this link here shows you some of the possible ways to do this

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/partitioning

Probably the most important thing that MUST BE DONE before setting up a dual boot is to defrag you Windows install (everyone I know that has tried to setup a dual boot forgets this and it ends up bad )

If your using a Ubuntu live cd, you should have a install icon right on the desktop running it this way it will start up Gparted and allow you to set up your partitions the way you want. This is the easiest way. It can get confusing and I am not the best at explaining stuff but there are many great tutorials on doing this, and it is rather easy once you understand how to partition your hard drive.

The Ubuntu home page is a great starting spot also these sites offer some usefull info, although not all refer to Ubuntu directly almost all Linix based installs work the same.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

http://www.matthewjmiller.net/howtos/du ... d-windows/

[Gunny04]

PI, Thanks for the reply, But I took my windows hard drive and unplugged it, Loaded up the live cd of ubuntu, ran the install partioned the secondary drive and everything, restarted.... and it would not detect Ubuntu on the hard drive, I don't know if it actually installed or a faulty disk or what (install disk I mean) My problem is Ubuntu will not install onto my hard drive, it formats and partitions, but will not Install, I'll look at the links and see if I can find anything relevant, I tried IRC and Ubuntu forums to no avail. Thanks for the help though.

Gunny

[alzone]

The Ubuntu hard drive/partition needs to be formatted in EXT3 format.  Did you do that?

Al

[Politically Incorrect]

With the Ubuntu cds, when it firsts loads you should have a option to check the disc for defects, try that to make certain you don't have a bad disc.
As alzone states it needs to be installed in EXT3 format. If you boot into Windows Windows should show the partitions there but they will be labeled as "unknown"

Now I am uncertain if Ubuntu will even install on anything but EXT3 so if your partition your installing too is not this format then it may not have installed at all.

You should be able to just try to reinstall. That is what is nice about the Linux file system is that it is relativity easy to upgrade by being able to install directly over other installs.

But whatever you do on a dual boot you want to make certain that Windows remains on the beginning of the drive.

Good luck, the Linux forums are a awesome place to find help. Post in the Ubuntu forums and I bet you'll be up and running today.

[Gunny04]

Its formatting it into the right file systems etc, I watched it install, at aroun 97% it starts uninstalling everything it installed.... My guess is its a bad disk but I can't be sure of it, has anyone ever heard of this before? And the disk checked out on the deffects thing, I should probably reburn it when I get more CD-Rs. Thanks for the help! and I'll look into seeing if I forgot to format something right.

Gunny

[Politically Incorrect]

Yeah that shouldn't happen, lol.
Could be a bad disc, too be sure I would definatly try another. You mention downloading, you may want to get a actual Live CD instead.
You can get them free, or some places make you pay for them. Check out local newsstands and PC Magazines every so often you will find a magazine with a Live CD included.

[Gunny04]

I thought that wasn't normal... I'll just buy another pack of CD-Rs and try again or just wait until my free one shows up in the mail. Thanks for the help!

Gunny

[alzone]

I just had another thought...

Are you creating a Linux swap partition?