Install with my love.

I want to install ubuntu, but i also want ot keep my love Windows Xp.
I dont want to format my computer.
I have xp installed in C.
i have D drive for ubuntu.

How to do it.
Plzzz tell me

Simplest way is to make the D partition allocated as free space and make ubuntu use it. Nothing happens to your XP.

Moved to Open Source.

is it compulsury that drive should be empty.
What if it has my documents.

It[D: partn] will get formatted as ext3 or reiserfs filesystem like Windows have ntfs/hpfs and your documents will get deleted..

M

sid_ashok The file system used by linux and windows are different so linux won't run on windows file system and vice versa. So, you will have to allocate free space on your hard drive to linux and use the rest for windows paritions. The ubuntu cd says that by default ubuntu uses the full hard drive so you will have to manually select the allocated free space to ubuntu. If you are using linux for the first time you can first try out live cd's before installing anything on your computer. That will get you comfortable with linux and then you can proceed to install it later on. And if you have any problems you can address it to us.

Thanks tech_your... and Prakash for your valuable information.
Yes i am new to linux and using it frist time, i used the live CD thats why decided to install it.

Ok, now i have emptied the E: drive not D.
All my drive are in NTFS.
So when i istall ubuntu it should not damage my C and D.
Rather it will format E and istall in it.Am i right?
So i will not be able to use the files of C and D drive in ubuntu, Is it?

better search in the open source thread for installing linux

While installing be sure to select manual partitioning.Linux will not automatically find ur partitions U wants to keepjust see the partitions and understand the partition which you emptied/backuped.select that and make a /boot partition of ~98-100MB and remaining use as "/" root partition.Ubuntu installer is console based and use SPACE,TAB,ARROWS,ENTER to navigate and select.if u press in while in boot prompt F1 to F8 keys,U will see a lot of options which U can USE if You know Your Hardware.
if u r not sure of ur emptied partition while looking from Linux,just boot with live cd and open a CLI(command Line Interrupt) and use "fdisk -l" to see Ur partition schema.also livecd may have mounted ur partitions in the desktop itself(like Knoppix).browse for empty One.Use it for install.

Code:

suryan:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1         625     5020281    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2             626        5989    43086330    f  W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5             626        1221     4787338+   b  W95 FAT32
/dev/sda6            1222        1532     2498076    b  W95 FAT32
/dev/sda7            1533        1666     1076323+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda8            3004        4567    12562798+   b  W95 FAT32
/dev/sda9            4568        5357     6345643+  83  Linux
/dev/sda10           1667        1678       96358+  83  Linux
/dev/sda11  *        1679        3003    10643031   83  Linux
/dev/sda12           5358        5989     5076508+  83  Linux

Best fo LUX.

M

sid_ashok you will only be able to read your windows partition from linux you won't be able to write to it. Am not sure whether writing on NTFS is still in experimental stage or no but reading i perfectly fine.