ubuntu and xp dual boot

[andymushu]

i want to install ubuntu on my desktop, which already has xp on it. i have about 11gb worth of stuff on this hard drive. if i install ubuntu on this hard drive, will i lose all the files i already have installed? thanks in advance guys

[Drum Thumper]

You won't lose anything on your hard drive, unless by chance it is at 100% capacity, which I highly doubt.

I haven't had the chance to dual boot yet (I will, however, be doing just that by this weekend if all goes well though), but my basic understanding is your NTFS (NT File System) partition will be resized by Ubuntu to make room for the new OS.

At least, I think that's how it works. You might have to download a 3rd party partitioning program and resize your NTFS partition manually. Not all that hard to do, more of a pain in the ass more than anything.

Hope this helps, and let me know how it works out for ya!

Edit: Your sig is too big--might want to resize it before something happens to it!

[demon_hunter2k4]

i recently installed ubuntu feisty on my pc with xp and it has an inbuilt partition manager, but im not sure if you're going to loose your files as i had installed it on a spare partition

[.Maleficus.]

Nope. Here's how it's done.

1. Install XP.
2. Insert your Ubuntu CD and restart the computer.
3. Click the "Install" icon.
4. Go through all the manual steps like filling out your name, time, etc.
5. STOP when you get to the partitioning section. This is where most people get confused, and erase their data. What you need are 3 partitions. You need a " / " partition, and linux-swap partition, and a boot partition. You need to create all three using Qtparted (I think that's the one they use). Tell it you would like to partition manually (or however they say it). Create the three partitions. Make the boot partition about 1Gb (it can be smaller, but I wouldn't risk it; my Gentoo boot partition is 32Mb, but it may differ from one install to another). To do this, you make the partition first, and assign boot to it after it's created. Do this agian for the linux-swap partition. Depending on the size of your HDD, it only needs to be 512Mb - 1Gb. Create it and assign linux-swap as the filesystem. Take the rest of your drive (if that's how much you want to use) and create another partiton. This partition will be assigned the " / " filesystem, which is root.
6. If you think you did it right (and you probably did, it's not too hard) finish up the install. When it's done, you'll reboot, you should see GRUB displaying Windows and Ubuntu, and you're done.

If you have any other questions, I can write a more indepth tut and get some pics up too.

[andymushu]

thanks maleficus for that tutorial. it seems easy enough, but i am still a little wary. this is my main computer. is there an easy way to backup my hard drive? any utilities you guys use for this?

maleficus-i would +rep you, but "i have to spread it around first".

[.Maleficus.]

I don't backup my stuff, though I really should. I'm going to be doing that in a few days, as soon as I have some time. I'm going to burn some DVDs of all my important stuff, incase I ever lose them. You could go out and buy and external HDD, they usually have utilities built in to backup data.

[andymushu]

You could go out and buy and external HDD, they usually have utilities built in to backup data.
only problem with that is i have no money. are there any other easy ways to backup my hard drive? its only like 12gb

[Luke122]

DVD burners are about $40 Canadian, and a spool of DVD's will run you maybe $20. For $60 (or less!) you can backup 4+ gb per disc for single sided DVDs.. so then 3 dvd's would backup all your stuff. That's probably the cheapest hardware option.

There are online backup services, where all your data is copied up to an internet location for storage.. I'm wary of those for two reasons.. data integrity, and data security. Ymmv.
:D

[andymushu]

thanks for the suggestion lukifer, but i just found an extra 20gb drive im gonna use for this venture.

i just tried to boot from the ubuntu cd, and after the initial loading animation, i get this command prompt looking screen with the following message:

/bin/sh: can't access tty; jobcontrol turned off
(initramfs)

can anyone tell me what this means or how to fix it?

[Luke122]

initramfs is "initiate ram file system"

How much ram do you have? Ubuntu RECOMMENDS 256mb minimum for live environment, though I've used it successfully with 128mb...

It could also just be a glitch.. reboot, try again?

[Luke122]

A quick cruise through the Ubuntu forums suggests disconnecting any external USB devices for the boot up, particularly storage devices such as media players like ipods, external hard drives, etc.

Apparently it's a problem with certain combinations of hardware, as there's no specific cause found as of yet. I'm still reading through the info there, but heres the link to the search on the forums. (http://ubuntuforums.org/search.php?searchid=21590008)

[andymushu]

alright, thats good to know. the only usb devices i have connected are my mouse and keyboard, so i really hope thats not the issue. i have 1.5gb of ram, so i think i am set for that requirement.

[Luke122]

Hmm.. I've seen PC's where having more than 512mb of ram prevented an OS from installing correctly... in your bios you may have an option for "os install mode", which limits the amount of available system ram... maybe try that?

Your USB kb/mouse arent causing this problem. How many hdd's / dvd / cd drives do you have? (This probably wont help, but I'm nosy.) :)

Just out of curiosity, you could always try disconnecting your hdd and booting the live CD to see if it works... if you have a sata drive and ide cdrom/dvdrom then it could be a sata issue.. or an ide issue.. I'm just throwing out ideas for ya.

[andymushu]

i don't have an os install mode anywhere in my bios. i read somewhere that (initramfs) just meant it was booting from the live cd. i don't have a sata hard drive, or optical drive for that matter. i have a cd-rw drive, and a cd-rom drive. i also have a 40gb hard drive that i use for my main computer, plus a 20gb one that i was planning to use for linux. i just hooked up the 20gb drive today. it is definitely not a sata issue, but maybe an ide issue, as all my devices are ide. thanks for all the suggestions.

[Redundant]

or optical drive for that matter. i have a cd-rw drive, and a cd-rom drive.
:neutral: Those are optical drives. :rolleyes:


i also have a 40gb hard drive that i use for my main computer, plus a 20gb one that i was planning to use for linux. i just hooked up the 20gb drive today. it is definitely not a sata issue, but maybe an ide issue, as all my devices are ide. thanks for all the suggestions.
I don't know about linux but you may want to check the jumpers on the ide drives so there are no conflictions. (i.e. two master or two slave drives)

[Luke122]

Were you trying to boot ubuntu with both HDD's attached at once? Redundant may be on to something with the jumper positions... but a live cd shouldnt be affected by the Hdd's, since it's using a ram drive.

[andymushu]

Those are optical drives.
i meant they weren't sata. sorry for the confusion. i did check the jumpers and my primary hard drive is set to master and the secondary drive is set to slave.