Installing Linux, a dual boot system with Windows and Linux

PDF version of this guide - *www.mediafire.com/?b1zushbgmeo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*img253.imageshack.us/img253/8504/new14juneue0.gif Dual Boot with Ubuntu 8.10 - Click Here *img253.imageshack.us/img253/8504/new14juneue0.gif

Installing linux alongside windows can be quite daunting for new users. The fear of losing data is always there, besides other problems like corrupting your boot record, getting a completely unusable system at the end, etc.
The purpose of this tutorial is to simplify the process by the use of screenshots of an actual installation (a picture is equal to a thousand words someone said).
I have covered two flavours of linux, Ubuntu and OpenSUSE. The process is very similar in other
flavours.

[size=+2]Assesing your hard disk, partitions[/size]
To install linux on your PC you should first make some free space available on your hard disk for the install. Click
on Start->Control Panel->Performance and Maintainance->Administrative Tools->Computer Management

*img180.imageshack.us/img180/116/xp1su6.th.png *img359.imageshack.us/img359/7670/xp2fw4.th.png *img519.imageshack.us/img519/4714/xp3ru7.th.png *img128.imageshack.us/img128/2121/xp4ux7.th.png

Click on Disk Management System

*img128.imageshack.us/img128/9708/xp5hb3.th.png

I have covered a few possible scenarios you might face.

You have a 40 GB hard disk made into four more or less equal partitions. You can see your partitions and their corresponding drive letters (C,D,etc.) in the figure below.

*img128.imageshack.us/img128/9708/xp5hb3.th.png

The idea is to free at least 20 GB for our linux install. This might seem like a lot and other's might disagree, but if you are looking for a full experience I'd recommend it. We will need this space later to make three partitons

Swap - Space=1.5 to 2 times your RAM
Root (designated as /) - stores your OS and system files, programs, etc. - Space approx 8GB
Home (designated as /home) - like the Documents and Settings folder of Windows XP. Stores your preferences, bookmarks, wallpaper, My Documents and Desktop. - Space - remaining space

The / is like the base directory in linux, into which all other directories (folders) are incorporated or "mounted". I took a very long time to understand the concept of "mounting". Don't worry about it for now, you will understand when the time is right.

So here you will have to backup the data in the last two partitions by writing it to a CD or DVD or copying to another hard disk, and delete them as shown below

*img374.imageshack.us/img374/217/xp6tg7.th.png *img376.imageshack.us/img376/813/xp7oy8.th.png *img523.imageshack.us/img523/6247/xp8mz9.th.png *img201.imageshack.us/img201/1411/xp9mp1.th.png
You have a 40 GB hard disk with only one partition "C". This is the scenario in many laptops. The other partition may be a back up or EISA partition. Now you're in for a rough ride. If you have made the back up CDs and DVDs from the EISA partition using the tool the vendor has provided you, you can delete the EISA partiton but you will have to first backup your data, delete all partition using a partition manager like GParted, make a small C partiton, say 20 GB, with the ntfs filesystem using GParted, and then boot from your recovery cd/dvd and restore the system.

Resizing Partitions is something I do not recommend with any tool unless you have uninterrupted power supply in your part of the country/world or a power back up solution that lasts for a few hours.

[size=+2]Hardware check[/size]
With the advances in Linux and the new kernels this step may not be necessary, but will help you in troubleshooting later if required.
Click on Start->Control Panel->Performance and Maintainance->System
Click on the Hardware tab->Device Manager button
Make a note of the model numbers of your monitor, graphics card (display adapter), and any other devices.

[size=+2]Installing Linux[/size]
You are now going to install linux to the empty space on your hard disk that you prepared in the earlier step. Linux by itself is not a single monolithic entity unlike some popular operating systems. It is very much a collaborative effort. It consists of a core (also called a kernel) on which the entire system is built on an runs. Linux is modular. As you become more experienced, you will realise that you can add and remove modules depending on your requirement and create a highly customised system, to make a long story short - NO **** is forced down your throat. No hidden agandas, no long cryptic EULAs (the thingy which you blindly scroll down and click "I agree" without batting an eyelid), and no leash up your arse (pardon the bad language but that's exactly how I feel).

[size=+2]So let's get started !![/size]

I shall first describe the installation with Ubuntu 8.04, followed by OpenSUSE 11.0
The first step in installing any linux distro involves booting from a live media, usually a CD or DVD.
Ubuntu CDs are available for free from SHIPIT
You can also download it from Ubuntu website or ask a LUG (Linux User Group) near you. SUSE CDs and DVDs can be downloaded from *www.opensuse.org

To boot from the cd or dvd your bios should have it as the first boot device. Alternatively some bios allow you to select the boot device. The key used for this varies with different manufacturers. To see if your bios has a boot device select menu please refer the manual of your motherboard or take help from a more experienced friend.

I suggest you try the following - insert the cd or dvd and start your pc. If your pc boots too fast simply restart windows with the cd or dvd in the drive and see what happens. Very often the optical drive would have been set as the first boot device and the system boots from the cd automatically. If it still goes to windows and refuses to boot from your cd or dvd then you will have to adjust your bios settings or search for a boot menu as I described earlier.

Go to post number 19 of this thread for OpenSUSE installation or click here

[size=+2]Ubuntu Installation[/size]

If your pc boot successfully from your ubuntu cd you will see this screen

*img119.imageshack.us/img119/5418/xp13am8.th.png

It is asking you to select the language. Use your arrow keys to select the system language and press ENTER. You will then get this screen

*img119.imageshack.us/img119/8603/xp14lc7.th.png

Use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to select the option Install Ubuntu and press ENTER. The system will start booting.

*img509.imageshack.us/img509/1696/xp15gg6.th.png *img401.imageshack.us/img401/4421/xp16kt4.th.png

You will see the Welcome screen in your language. Make sure your language selection is right and click forward

*img390.imageshack.us/img390/2749/xp17bz9.th.png

Select your timezone from the list, it is arranged by continent, and click forward

*img87.imageshack.us/img87/9237/xp18hh3.th.png

Select your keyboard type, most common is US International (see picture below), but make sure and use the test box made available to you to check your selection. Check not only for alphabets, capital and small, but also for special characters like ' " ? / + ; If all these are correct then your choice of keybord layout is fine, click forward

*img230.imageshack.us/img230/3234/xp19nn2.th.png

You will now be presented with the partitioning options. Ubuntu "intelligently" offers to resize your windows partition and do everything automatically. I advise AGAINST using this option, and instead select the manual option and click forward

*img230.imageshack.us/img230/9577/xp20lu4.th.png

You will now come to a screen which shows you the layout of partiitons on your hard disk. Note the nomenclature used in linux. The first hard disk is labelled as /dev/sda Partitions withing this are labelled as /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2 so on and so forth. Now in this example, there are some numbers missing inbetween as you can see. These have gone for the extended partition. /dev/sda5 is actually my D drive, but as it is not formatted it shows up as an unknown partition. /dev/sda1 is the C drive and has an ntfs filesystem.

*img295.imageshack.us/img295/7818/xp21rn6.th.png

Select free space and click on the "New Partition" button as shown below

*img87.imageshack.us/img87/4752/xp22ze6.th.png

Select type of partition logical, size 1.5 times your RAM (512 in this example), location for new partition Begining, Use as: swap area, and click OK

*img116.imageshack.us/img116/7241/xp23lt3.th.png

The proposed partition table layout will get updated as shown

*img116.imageshack.us/img116/7940/xp24dt2.th.png *img329.imageshack.us/img329/6503/xp25nf7.th.png

and you will get this

*img148.imageshack.us/img148/4213/xp26ee2.th.png

Again select free space and click New Partition. Select type of partition logical, size 8000 MB or more, location for new partition Begining, Use as: Ext 3 journaling file system, mount point: / and click OK

*img148.imageshack.us/img148/3279/xp27ju6.th.png

The proposed partition table layout will get updated. Again select free space and click New Partition. Select type of partition logical, size: don't touch anything, let it be as it is, location for new partition Begining, Use as: Ext 3 journaling file system, mount point: /home and click OK. Note that you will manually have to type in the mount point in the box provided as /home

*img134.imageshack.us/img134/623/xp28du2.th.png

This is how your proposed partition table layout finally looks like.

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/4086/xp29oi7.th.png *img127.imageshack.us/img127/8548/xp32sk4.th.png

Remember, nothing has actually happened to your partitions as yet, this is just a proposed layout, so if you make a mistake in your newly created linux partitions you can simply go back and redo the partitioning. CLick Forward.

You will now be asked some details about yourself. You will have to give a password. Make sure you don't forget it. Click Forward

*img46.imageshack.us/img46/4590/xp30vt9.th.png

Import your windows settings. This is optional you can leave it unchecked as shown in the second figure and click forward.

*img46.imageshack.us/img46/6974/xp31fe3.th.png

Click Install, the installation will begin with the formatting and copying of files to your hard disk.
*img171.imageshack.us/img171/3966/xp33fo8.th.png*img206.imageshack.us/img206/5447/xp34sj6.th.png

At the end of installation click on the Restart Now button

*img122.imageshack.us/img122/2033/xp38go7.th.png

As the system shuts down, you will get a message telling you to remove the cd from the drive and press ENTER to reboot the system which you must do.
*img99.imageshack.us/img99/1012/xp39by7.th.png

As the system boots for the first time after your installation, you will see this screen. This is the GRUB boot loader from where you can choose between Ubuntu Linux (first entry) and Windows (last entry), using the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard and press ENTER. If you do not respond in 10 seconds it will boot to Ubuntu automatically.

Enjoy your Ubuntu !!!

*img376.imageshack.us/img376/927/xp40kd2.th.png

Optional: Installing the GAG Bootloader
Go to post number 23 of this thread or click here

Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You

This is EXACTLY what i needed
Thanks a million

Awesome post Nucleuskore. You have written in a very simple language & that's what I liked the most. The newbie's will find it easier to follow.

Reps for you.

This should be made sticky.

But wait
I've got a prob...

I've got 4 partitions, roughly 50GB each
one partition is relatively empty
I want to give 10gb to ubuntu
so once i delete that partition,
how do i create a 40GB partition from the partition I deleted?
Also, what option do i select in the "partioning" part of ubuntu installation so that it installs by creating partition of the remaining space?
And how do I make Windows as first entry in GRUB?
Please reply

thewisecrab said:
1.how do i create a 40GB partition from the partition I deleted?
2.Also, what option do i select in the "partioning" part of ubuntu installation so that it installs by creating partition of the remaining space?
3.And how do I make Windows as first entry in GRUB?
Please reply

1. Its as simple as create and then specifying size of 40GB
2. Once you have created a partition, its easy to go for custom partition.
3. First install linux, then its just a matter of changing a number in GRUB menu.lst file.

@Nukleuskore
Images speak for itself *s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/visio159/Unismilies/70.png

2. Once you have created a partition, its easy to go for custom partition

Plz forgive me for being a n00b...

^^I meant Manual Option (its like doing it yourself)
*img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xp20lu4.png

See the mouse pointer. And read what Nucleuskore has written.

Very nice tut Nucleuscore..

BTW, /me is asking admins to increase post character limits for NucleusCore..

T

^Also the Image Limits
And What an amazing tutorial you have made!

Very Very Useful for those who are new to linux world.

yeh.. He is coming with great HELP now a days...
@ NucleusCore bhai... kya khhate ho aaj kal ??

Same for AptOnCD and OpenSuSE updates thread...

Keep it up...

Best post on Linux installation, thanks, Now i am saving it for future use !

This tutorial is far from over, still have to write about OpenSUSE. Hope to finish in a week. My parents and brothers are down on holiday, so everyone wants the PC. Will have it all to myself after the 27th.

*s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/visio159/Unismilies/38large.png

All hail @nucleuskore. U shud contact Digit & offer to write the next magazine covering the same subject & ofcors for a moderate fee with which u may give a moderate party! Your efforts r admirable. Amazing tute man and so is ur site! Neat...................

Hope to see some 'M.D' stuff on ur site tooo.

Shocked to see you were using windows for initial partitioning (rather formatting)
Ubuntu has got the best 1 ever I've seen

& even i use live CD just for it
BTW excellent tut thumbs up

One Word; Mind-Blowing!

Ecko said:
Shocked to see you were using windows for initial partitioning (rather formatting)
Ubuntu has got the best 1 ever I've seen & even i use live CD just for it
BTW excellent tut thumbs up

This IS for windows users. Traditional Windows home users may find even the disk management system confusing if they see it for the first time.

OpenSUSE Installation
If your pc boots successfully from your OpenSUSE DVD you will see this screen

*img367.imageshack.us/img367/9452/xp41dx9.th.png

Use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to select the option Installation and press ENTER. The system will start booting.

*img143.imageshack.us/img143/2226/xp42xh3.th.png *img143.imageshack.us/img143/7710/xp43lu3.th.png *img143.imageshack.us/img143/2193/xp44ae2.th.png *img143.imageshack.us/img143/7053/xp45ox8.th.png *img367.imageshack.us/img367/9301/xp46pw8.th.png

You will see the Welcome screen in your language. Make sure your language selection is right, tick I Agree and click next

*img143.imageshack.us/img143/4643/xp47ib0.th.png

Your system will be probed

*img367.imageshack.us/img367/7598/xp48bi4.th.png

Select New Installation, and uncheck Use Automatic Configuration

*img143.imageshack.us/img143/994/xp49qc4.th.png

Select your timezone from the list, and click forward

*img148.imageshack.us/img148/3669/xp50ze6.th.png *img376.imageshack.us/img376/6728/xp51ka0.th.png

Choose your desktop. I'd recommend GNOME desktop if you have <b>less than</b> 512 MB RAM, and KDE 3.5 if you have more than that.

*img264.imageshack.us/img264/4079/xp52cf1.th.png

You will now be presented with the partitioning options. OpenSUSE "intelligently" offers to resize your windows partition and do everything automatically. I advise AGAINST using this option, and instead click Create Partition Setup

*img264.imageshack.us/img264/8732/xp53qp0.th.png

Select Custom Partitioning (for experts)

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/1707/xp54oc2.th.png

You will now come to a screen which shows you the layout of partiitons on your hard disk. Note the nomenclature used in linux. The first hard disk is labelled as /dev/sda Partitions withing this are labelled as /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2 so on and so forth. Now in this example, there are some numbers missing inbetween as you can see. These have gone for the extended partition. /dev/sda5 is actually my D drive, but as it is not formatted it shows up as an unknown partition. /dev/sda1 is the C drive and has an ntfs filesystem.

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/5317/xp55ae8.th.png

Select /dev/sda and click on the the Create button, you will get a dialog box as shown below

*img264.imageshack.us/img264/2695/xp56ni6.th.png

Click the dropdown list against filesystem and select swap

*img376.imageshack.us/img376/1585/xp57jz7.th.png

You now have to enter the size of the swap partition. For example, if you want a partition of 512 MB size, in the End box type +512M as shown below. If you want 1 GB then you have to type +1GB. Swap partition size is typically 1.5 to 2 times the amount of RAM you have.

*img376.imageshack.us/img376/4620/xp58zr3.th.png

Click OK. Now again select /dev/sda and click on the the Create button, you will get a dialog box as shown below. Select the filesystem as ext3, End as +8GB, mount point as /

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/8647/xp59wu8.th.png

Click OK. Now again select /dev/sda and click on the the Create button, you will get a dialog box as shown below. Select the filesystem as ext3, mount point as /home
Leave the End value as it is

*img264.imageshack.us/img264/3276/xp60bm1.th.png

The proposed partition table layout will get updated as shown

*img170.imageshack.us/img170/5170/xp61eu6.th.png

You now have to mount your Windows partitions. This will enable you to read and write to your windows partitions from linux. Windows partitions are marked as ntfs, fat16 or fat32 in the partitoner. Usually, as is also the case in this example, the C drive corresponds to the first partition on the hard disk, so it is /dev/sda1
You can also confirm this by seeing the size of the partiton in the partitioner (I am assuming that you know the size of your windows drives/partitions). So select /dev/sda1 and click Edit. You will get this dialog box

*img92.imageshack.us/img92/5066/xp62md0.th.png

Now type /windows/c as shown in the mount point box. Click on Fstab options

*img292.imageshack.us/img292/1189/xp63dr5.th.png

In this tick mountable by user, and in the Arbitrary option value box add the entry

umask=0002

inbetween users, and fmask=133
so it should read

....users,umask=0002,fmask=133....

Please note it is umask and not unmask Click OK

Do the same for other windows partitions, the only difference being the difference in mount point. D will become /windows/d E will become /windows/E so on and so forth. There is no need to mount the partition marked as extended partition.

This is how your proposed partition table layout finally looks like.

*img397.imageshack.us/img397/5788/xp66mj9.th.png

Remember, nothing has actually happened to your partitions as yet, this is just a proposed layout, so if you make a mistake in your newly created linux partitions you can simply go back and redo the partitioning. Note the partition table down in a book and keep it safely. You will require it to rescue your system if need be, and to install the GAG boot loader later (optional but desirable). Click Next.

You will be shown, one last time the partitioning tasks that the installer is going to perform. Click Next

*img170.imageshack.us/img170/6360/xp67oq2.th.png

You will now be asked some details about yourself. You will have to give a password. Make sure you don't forget it. I have unchecked Automatic login and Use this password for system administrator. This need not be done if you wish so. I am kind of fixated with the traditional OpenSUSE install. Fill in the details and click next.

*img292.imageshack.us/img292/8861/xp68cs4.th.png

If your password is weak you will get these prompts. I usually give yes to override them, this is optional, you may take them seriously and give a strong password if you are in a multiuser environment.

*img92.imageshack.us/img92/9701/xp69kn6.th.png *img170.imageshack.us/img170/9650/xp70yy8.th.png

Key in your root password (also called administrator password) and click next

*img380.imageshack.us/img380/5817/xp71wp9.th.png

You will now be shown an overview of system wide changes that are going to be made and what is going to be installed.

*img247.imageshack.us/img247/8146/xp72pg0.th.png

Click on Booting. As you can see there is a tick mark against OpenSUSE indicating that it will boot automatically in case you do not make an OS selection in 10 seconds at the time of booting. In case you want to make Windows the default select windows and click Set as Default, and click OK. Else leave it as it is.

*img247.imageshack.us/img247/6774/xp73vf8.th.png

You will be shown an updated overview of system wide changes that are going to be made and what is going to be installed.

*img247.imageshack.us/img247/3353/xp74rq4.th.png

Click Install, and in the popup dialog box, Install.

*img264.imageshack.us/img264/5703/xp75hz1.th.png *img388.imageshack.us/img388/6231/xp76nx4.th.png *img388.imageshack.us/img388/4899/xp77yp7.th.png *img388.imageshack.us/img388/9391/xp78wu2.th.png *img264.imageshack.us/img264/8093/xp79rt4.th.png *img264.imageshack.us/img264/7158/xp80iw0.th.png

You will be shown your host name and domain name. Leave everything as it is unless you know what you're doing. Click Next

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/6516/xp81rn9.th.png

The Network Configuration will come up.

*img377.imageshack.us/img377/3738/xp82og9.th.png *img377.imageshack.us/img377/933/xp83hz1.th.png

Click Disable IPv6. You'll get this warning. Click OK and click next.

*img397.imageshack.us/img397/3382/xp84kg8.th.png

Click Next till you get the hardware configuration window.

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/9528/xp85lt9.th.png *img355.imageshack.us/img355/9383/xp86iw2.th.png *img397.imageshack.us/img397/2271/xp87ow5.th.png

OpenSUSE will automatically probe your system and configure your hardware. Your screen may blank momentarily to configure your display, don't panic ! Just wait patiently. You can configure your printer from here.

*img355.imageshack.us/img355/5198/xp88on8.th.png *img355.imageshack.us/img355/2106/xp89bd7.th.png *img377.imageshack.us/img377/4904/xp90gn9.th.png

Click Next, and then Finish.

*img152.imageshack.us/img152/9967/xp91qk3.th.png

Enjoy your OpenSUSE Linux!!!

Installing the GAG Bootloader

This may be difficult for first time users who have no idea on command line usage in dos or windows. If you are familiar with the cd command to browse directories then you may proceed with Method 1, else use Method 2.

Ubuntu and OpenSUSE by default use the GRUB bootloader which is again, by default, written to the first sector of your hard disk, a location for the Master Boot Record (MBR). If anything happens to this boot record because of a virus attack or a system bug your system simply won't boot. Updating Ubuntu or OpenSUSE over the internet, updates (especially kernel updates) sometimes mess up the boot loader because of wrong entries or pointing. You'll find enough of these instances in the official forums. This can be avoided if you put your GRUB bootloader in your / partition instead of your MBR. In your MBR you can install any third party bootloader like GAG as I have described below. This is optional and if you are happy with GRUB you need not install GAG. If you want to learn more about GRUB go through this wonderful article.

Install GRUB to your root partition. In a terminal type

grub-install /dev/root_partition

where root_partition is your root partition, and press ENTER. An example: if /dev/sda7 is your root partition, just type:

grub-install /dev/sda7

Close terminal

Download GAG from here

*www.mediafire.com/?q1hhft5azyi

You can also get the latest version from here
*gag.sourceforge.net/download.html

Save it on your linux desktop.

Installation Method 1:
Right click on the file and select Extract here. Open a terminal and browse to the folder using the cd command. In that folder enter the linux folder using the cd command.

At prompt type

sudo ./copy-file.sh

and press ENTER

Then type

sudo ./gag-install /dev/sda

and press ENTER. If this does not work (in OpenSUSE), type su and press ENTER to become root, and then type

./gag-install /dev/sda

and press ENTER.

Restart your PC

Installation Method 2 (EASY):
Right click on the file you just downloaded and select Extract here. Open the folder, you will find a file cdrom.iso in it, write that file to a cd using the default cd writing software in linux (simply double click on it and burn). Restart your PC and boot from the cd.

Whichever of the above you have followed, you will now get this screen

*img123.imageshack.us/img123/7092/xp48gc6.th.png

Press 4 to install GAG. You will get this screen next

*img123.imageshack.us/img123/5369/xp49hk2.th.png

Select your keyboard (usually 1 in India)

then your language

*img411.imageshack.us/img411/1084/xp50ra6.th.png

You will then come to this screen. press S to setup the bootloader

*img123.imageshack.us/img123/5121/xp51ri0.th.png

The alphabets you have to press to execute a function are highlighted in red in the GAG set up screen. Keys are case insensitive. Press A to add an operating system

*img155.imageshack.us/img155/6761/xp53rz0.th.png

As you can see, partition A is the floppy, B is the first windows partition, so press B

*img120.imageshack.us/img120/9020/xp54ni5.th.png

You will now have to type a name, say Windows
*img155.imageshack.us/img155/9198/xp55kd5.th.png

You will have to now type a password, optionally, so press ENTER to avoid giving one
*img155.imageshack.us/img155/8981/xp56io8.th.png

You now have to select an icon, Press C for windows
*img120.imageshack.us/img120/4530/xp57gs8.th.png

Now you will come back to this screen
*img353.imageshack.us/img353/4060/xp58ui9.th.png

Press A to add an operating system

*img223.imageshack.us/img223/6342/xp59ym9.th.png

Now if you remember the first partition you made was swap, so that's D, followed by /, that's E over here (refer the partition table in your notes). So press E (in this example).

You will now have to type a name, say Linux
*img353.imageshack.us/img353/9378/xp60ro3.th.png

You will have to now type a password, optionally, so press ENTER to avoid giving one
*img155.imageshack.us/img155/8981/xp56io8.th.png

You now have to select an icon, Press D for Linux
*img120.imageshack.us/img120/4530/xp57gs8.th.png

Now you will come back to this screen
*img353.imageshack.us/img353/4060/xp58ui9.th.png

Press H to save in the hard disk, you will get this message, press ENTER

*img84.imageshack.us/img84/6605/xp61fn0.th.png

Press R to return to the main menu, you should see this

*img329.imageshack.us/img329/9237/xp63gf9.th.png

Extra options in the setup include setting a timer for a default OS to boot.
Read the index.html file in the docs folder of the gag file you downloaded.
All the best !!!

OMG... It's superb...

Requesting mod for [size=+2]STICKY !!![/size]

awesome, openSUSE looks way better than Ubuntu.
Am tempting to install it over Ubuntu now, as am using Arch mainly *s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/visio159/Unismilies/23.png
thanks for this nice tut.

T

OpenSuSE Looks cool...

PDF version of this guide - *www.mediafire.com/?vuvfmgfm02j
md5sum 42befee063ab7317d5791d8983ca6052

^^thanks
How do you convert it to pdf ?

Using OpenOffice 2.4.0

That's one of the lesser known features of OpenOffice. Even in OpenOffice 1.4 we had the option of exporting our files as pdf and swf !!
All we have to do is type our document and click the pdf icon in the openoffice writer toolbar
*img392.imageshack.us/img392/995/oowriterfc0.th.png

Openoffice has a one click PDF export. Very useful feature.

And again awesome tut nucleuskore.

Thank you all

n00bish doubt
How to burn that iso file to make it a bootable CD?????
Reply please ASAP

thewisecrab said:
n00bish doubt
How to burn that iso file to make it a bootable CD?????
Reply please ASAP

You can burn any ISO file in

Windows - by using the burn image to disc option in your cd writing software
Linux - using burn image to disc option in K3b, or brasero or any other cd/dvd burning program

I have a similar query here..I have a laptop with 160GB HDD and 1GB RAM.

I have partitioned my HDD into 4.

I have installed XP first in C drive.
Then installed Vista in D drive.
I have stored all my data in E drive.
I have one empty partition F drive with a diskspace of 50GB. I have reserved this partition to install LINUX.

Now I have to install LINUX in my laptop in the F drive..I have UBUNTU 8.04 LTS Server edition dvd with me.

I have requested Fedora 9 too but yet to recieve it.

First let me know which one is best, Fedora or UBUNTU.

Second how should I go about installing either UBUNTU or Fedora in the F drive.

Will I get the boot loader with Vista, XP and Ubuntu or Fedora displayed??

Pls help me out.

Note - My HDD is SATA. Due to this earlier versions of Linux doesn't install.

T i A

There are similar threads regarding this that are being discussed abot right now
Find them here:
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96603
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96544

Thanks NucleusKore
Posting from my Ubuntu now

Few doubts:
How to Use Compiz?
The flash player for FF 3.0 in Linux is not upto the moark
I mean, the videos are really jagged.
How do i fix this?

thewisecrab said:
How to Use Compiz?

Should be enabled by default. Go to Administration->Appearance and you can enable desktop effects from there,

OR pres Alt and F2 and type
simple-ccsm
and press ENTER

thewisecrab said:
The flash player for FF 3.0 in Linux is not upto the moark
I mean, the videos are really jagged.
How do i fix this?

GO a system update and see. Also update your video drivers; if you have nvidia or ATi especially

^Isnt it ccsm and not cssm? Even NucleuKore makes typos

Yes you are right, I stand corrected

*s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/visio159/Unismilies/34large.png

^The pdf tutorial doesnt open with evince (it crashes) while it open with ocular in opensuse

I tried with evince in ubuntu 8.04, no problems !!!

In OpenSUSE I use kpdf and acrobat

C

I got a problem.So, I got my Ubuntu working

but not using it much atm coz my net is crap lol.Will be getting unlimited soon.NucleusKore mentioned a step which involved deleting last two partitions iirc.I want to create more partitions,so how do I?.Btw here's my Disk Management pic.
*img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picba2.png
*img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picba2.png

Why do 2 partitions have no names?.Why are they not visible in My Computer?

Count Dracula said:
I want to create more partitions,so how do I?.

You cannot, without deleting your linux partitions.

Count Dracula said:
Why do 2 partitions have no names?.Why are they not visible in My Computer?

Because Windows cannot read linux filesystems.

nice work buddy
keep it up

Thnx Buddy For This Awesome Tutorial !

If any one remembers then did Digit ever gave a 64-bit Distro of Linux and if not then can I get 64-bit versions of Ubuntu and Open SUSE and from where?

T

^^You can order(absolutely free) a ubuntu 64bit edition cd from shipit.ubuntu.org

G

hey Nucleus Core...thanks for wonderful tutorial

Is the RedHat Enterprise linux 5 also comes with same GRUB boat loader?

I mean is the GUI installation is also available in RHEL5 for dual booting with XP?

gopi_vbboy said:
hey Nucleus Core...thanks for wonderful tutorial

Is the RedHat Enterprise linux 5 also comes with same GRUB boat loader?

I mean is the GUI installation is also available in RHEL5 for dual booting with XP?

Yes it is the same more or less

Thanks NucleusKore ,
your tuitorial helped me a lot, first while installing OpenSUSE and then Ubuntu

.

(OT : i remember you provided me the link for the 'pdf' at opensuse forum too

)

B

I want to install suse 10 in Dell inspiron 1520

Hi , i have DELL INSIRON 1520
i need to install suse 10 or enterprise linux 4 in my machine,
i have the cd's and when i tried to install suse 10 it tells that, "no hardware,cd-rom found"
i had changed the SATA mode to ATA from AHCI, but it doesnt help,
same crisis occur with EL 4 installation
Any usefull suggestions, please notify me....

Bhai Log meri bhi ek Problem hai. I've 3 HDD, a 160GB,400GB and 640GB. Now I've kept almost 60GB RAW space on 160GB HDD for Linux but whenever I go for installation, it automatically decides to shrink and use up partitons on my other HDDs as some of them have over 150GB space.
160GB is /dev/sda
400GB is /dev/sdb
640GB is /dev/sdc
Now tell me how to create boot,root,swap and ext2 partitions on the 60GB space of 160GB HDD i.e. sda My system spec is in my siggy!

T

^^Which distro are you trying to install.
In the setup, you get an option to manually edit the partitions as well. You have to use that.

I'm trying to install OpenSUSE 11 64-bit! I know I get the option to manually create and format partitions but on that only I'm seeking help.

Re: I want to install suse 10 in Dell inspiron 1520

babusathis said:
Hi , i have DELL INSIRON 1520
i need to install suse 10 or enterprise linux 4 in my machine,
i have the cd's and when i tried to install suse 10 it tells that, "no hardware,cd-rom found"
i had changed the SATA mode to ATA from AHCI, but it doesnt help,
same crisis occur with EL 4 installation
Any usefull suggestions, please notify me....

openSUSE 10.0 has issues with SATA drives, use OpenSUSE 11.0

nice work buddy
keep it up

Re: Installing Linux, a dual boot system with Windows and Ubuntu 8.10

Installing linux alongside windows can be quite daunting for new users. The fear of losing data is always there, besides other problems like corrupting your boot record, getting a completely unusable system at the end, etc.
The purpose of this tutorial is to simplify the process by the use of screenshots of an actual installation of Ubuntu 8.10 (a picture is equal to a thousand words someone said).

[size=+2]Assesing your hard disk, partitions[/size]
To install linux on your PC you should first make some free space available on your hard disk for the install. Click
on Start->Control Panel->Performance and Maintainance->Administrative Tools->Computer Management

*img180.imageshack.us/img180/116/xp1su6.th.png *img359.imageshack.us/img359/7670/xp2fw4.th.png *img519.imageshack.us/img519/4714/xp3ru7.th.png *img128.imageshack.us/img128/2121/xp4ux7.th.png

Click on Disk Management System

*img128.imageshack.us/img128/9708/xp5hb3.th.png

I have covered a few possible scenarios you might face.

You have a 40 GB hard disk made into four more or less equal partitions. You can see your partitions and their corresponding drive letters (C,D,etc.) in the figure below.

*img128.imageshack.us/img128/9708/xp5hb3.th.png

The idea is to free at least 20 GB for our linux install. This might seem like a lot and other's might disagree, but if you are looking for a full experience I'd recommend it. We will need this space later to make three partitons

Swap - Space=1.5 to 2 times your RAM
Root (designated as /) - stores your OS and system files, programs, etc. - Space approx 8GB
Home (designated as /home) - like the Documents and Settings folder of Windows XP. Stores your preferences, bookmarks, wallpaper, My Documents and Desktop. - Space - remaining space

The / is like the base directory in linux, into which all other directories (folders) are incorporated or "mounted". I took a very long time to understand the concept of "mounting". Don't worry about it for now, you will understand when the time is right.

So here you will have to backup the data in the last two partitions by writing it to a CD or DVD or copying to another hard disk, and delete them as shown below

*img374.imageshack.us/img374/217/xp6tg7.th.png *img376.imageshack.us/img376/813/xp7oy8.th.png *img523.imageshack.us/img523/6247/xp8mz9.th.png *img201.imageshack.us/img201/1411/xp9mp1.th.png
You have a 40 GB hard disk with only one partition "C". This is the scenario in many laptops. The other partition may be a back up or EISA partition. Now you're in for a rough ride. If you have made the back up CDs and DVDs from the EISA partition using the tool the vendor has provided you, you can delete the EISA partiton but you will have to first backup your data, delete all partition using a partition manager like GParted, make a small C partiton, say 20 GB, with the ntfs filesystem using GParted, and then boot from your recovery cd/dvd and restore the system.

Resizing Partitions is something I do not recommend with any tool unless you have uninterrupted power supply in your part of the country/world or a power back up solution that lasts for a few hours.

[size=+2]Hardware check[/size]
With the advances in Linux and the new kernels this step may not be necessary, but will help you in troubleshooting later if required.
Click on Start->Control Panel->Performance and Maintainance->System
Click on the Hardware tab->Device Manager button
Make a note of the model numbers of your monitor, graphics card (display adapter), and any other devices.

[size=+2]Installing Linux[/size]
You are now going to install linux to the empty space on your hard disk that you prepared in the earlier step. Linux by itself is not a single monolithic entity unlike some popular operating systems. It is very much a collaborative effort. It consists of a core (also called a kernel) on which the entire system is built on an runs. Linux is modular. As you become more experienced, you will realise that you can add and remove modules depending on your requirement and create a highly customised system, to make a long story short - NO **** is forced down your throat. No hidden agandas, no long cryptic EULAs (the thingy which you blindly scroll down and click "I agree" without batting an eyelid), and no leash up your arse (pardon the bad language but that's exactly how I feel).

[size=+2]So let's get started !![/size]

The first step in installing any linux distro involves booting from a live media, usually a CD or DVD.
Ubuntu CDs are available for free from SHIPIT
You can also download it from Ubuntu website or ask a LUG (Linux User Group) near you.

To boot from the cd or dvd your bios should have it as the first boot device. Alternatively some bios allow you to select the boot device. The key used for this varies with different manufacturers. To see if your bios has a boot device select menu please refer the manual of your motherboard or take help from a more experienced friend.

I suggest you try the following - insert the cd or dvd and start your pc. If your pc boots too fast simply restart windows with the cd or dvd in the drive and see what happens. Very often the optical drive would have been set as the first boot device and the system boots from the cd automatically. If it still goes to windows and refuses to boot from your cd or dvd then you will have to adjust your bios settings or search for a boot menu as I described earlier.

[size=+2]Ubuntu Installation[/size]

If your pc boot successfully from your ubuntu cd you will see this screen

*img119.imageshack.us/img119/5418/xp13am8.th.png

It is asking you to select the language. Use your arrow keys to select the system language and press ENTER. You will then get this screen

*img119.imageshack.us/img119/8603/xp14lc7.th.png

Use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to select the option Install Ubuntu and press ENTER. The system will start booting.

*img509.imageshack.us/img509/1696/xp15gg6.th.png *img401.imageshack.us/img401/4421/xp16kt4.th.png

You will see the Welcome screen in your language. Make sure your language selection is right and click forward

*img504.imageshack.us/img504/843/a03cs5.th.png

Select your timezone from the list, it is arranged by continent, and click forward

*img137.imageshack.us/img137/9566/a04qq8.th.png

Select your keyboard type, most common is US International with AltGr deadkeys (see picture below), but make sure and use the test box made available to you to check your selection. Check not only for alphabets, capital and small, but also for special characters like ' " ? / + ; If all these are correct then your choice of keyboard layout is fine, click forward

*img143.imageshack.us/img143/6953/a05br1.th.png

You will now be presented with the partitioning options. Ubuntu "intelligently" offers to resize your windows partition and do everything automatically. I advise AGAINST using this option, and instead select the manual option and click forward

*img143.imageshack.us/img143/1231/a07ac6.th.png

You will now come to a screen which shows you the layout of partiitons on your hard disk. Note the nomenclature used in linux. The first hard disk is labelled as /dev/sda Partitions withing this are labelled as /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2 so on and so forth. Now in this example, there are some numbers missing inbetween as you can see. These have gone for the extended partition. Logical partiitons start as /dev/sda5, /dev/sda6, and so on. /dev/sda1 to /dev/sda4 are reserved for primary partitions. Any hard disk can have only four primary partiitons. /dev/sda5 is actually my D drive with ntfs filesystem. /dev/sda1 is the C drive and has an ntfs filesystem.

*img205.imageshack.us/img205/7551/a18to9.th.png

Select free space and click on the "New Partition" button as shown below

*img508.imageshack.us/img508/8599/a19om7.th.png

Select type of partition logical, size 1.5 times your RAM (512 in this example), location for new partition Begining, Use as: swap area, and click OK

*img220.imageshack.us/img220/1060/a20uu2.th.png

The proposed partition table layout will get updated as shown

*img220.imageshack.us/img220/6524/a21fx8.th.png

Again select free space and click New Partition. Select type of partition logical, size 10000 MB or more, location for new partition Begining, Use as: Ext 3 journaling file system, mount point: / and click OK

*img391.imageshack.us/img391/4653/a22ao2.th.png

The proposed partition table layout will get updated.

*img391.imageshack.us/img391/5883/a23ou6.th.png

Again select free space and click New Partition. Select type of partition logical, size: don't touch anything, let it be as it is, location for new partition Begining, Use as: Ext 3 journaling file system, mount point: /home and click OK. Note that you will manually have to type in the mount point in the box provided as /home

*img45.imageshack.us/img45/7917/a24is7.th.png

Re: Installing Linux, a dual boot system with Windows and Ubuntu 8.10

This is how your proposed partition table layout finally looks like.

*img383.imageshack.us/img383/6113/a25ac3.th.png

Remember, nothing has actually happened to your partitions as yet, this is just a proposed layout, so if you make a mistake in your newly created linux partitions you can simply go back and redo the partitioning. CLick Forward.

You will now be asked some details about yourself. You will have to give a password. Make sure you don't forget it. Tick the box for auto login if you do not wish to login each time you boot the system. Click Forward

*img383.imageshack.us/img383/4049/a26ic3.th.png

Import your windows settings. This is optional you can leave it unchecked as shown in the second figure and click forward.

*img230.imageshack.us/img230/7727/a27wu2.th.png

Click Install, the installation will begin with the formatting and copying of files to your hard disk.
*img530.imageshack.us/img530/1589/a28rd5.th.png *img530.imageshack.us/img530/7595/a29ow3.th.png *img145.imageshack.us/img145/6176/a30wo6.th.png *img84.imageshack.us/img84/6581/a31nc9.th.png

At the end of installation click on the Restart Now button

*img84.imageshack.us/img84/262/a32ye1.th.png

As the system shuts down, you will get a message telling you to remove the cd from the drive and press ENTER to reboot the system which you must do.
*img338.imageshack.us/img338/2087/a33ig7.th.png *img91.imageshack.us/img91/9201/a34we3.th.png

As the system boots for the first time after your installation, you will see this screen. This is the GRUB boot loader from where you can choose between Ubuntu Linux (first entry) and Windows (last entry), using the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard and press ENTER. If you do not respond in 10 seconds it will boot to Ubuntu automatically.

*img389.imageshack.us/img389/1473/a35ci3.th.png

Enjoy your Ubuntu !!!

Optional: Installing the GAG Bootloader
Go to post number 23 of this thread or click here

Your system will boot up and you'll get the login screen, enter your user name and password to login.

*img508.imageshack.us/img508/8610/a36rl6.th.png *img521.imageshack.us/img521/7752/a37if0.th.png *img393.imageshack.us/img393/6686/a38vr6.th.png

This is how your desktop looks like

*img393.imageshack.us/img393/7857/a39mi8.th.png

Let's explore Ubuntu. On the top left of your screen, you have a menu - "Applications". Click on it.

*img361.imageshack.us/img361/2233/a40jt8.th.png

Point your mouse to Accessories

*img395.imageshack.us/img395/5854/a41gd2.th.png

Among others, note these
Terminal - a program to access the linux shell. Used to pass commands to the system.
Tomboy notes - Sticky notes for your desktop

Point to Games

*img359.imageshack.us/img359/7446/a42nf5.th.png

Point to Graphics

*img146.imageshack.us/img146/833/a43zv6.th.png

GIMP is a powerful image editor. Use it to manipulate and enhance your photographs.
OpenOffice Draw is a nice drawing program. It is a part of the OpenOffice suite
XSane is a program to help you scan

Point to Internet

*img146.imageshack.us/img146/8208/a44dx2.th.png

Evolution is an email client like Microsoft Outlook
Firefox is a web browser
Pidgin is a instant messaging program that supports msn, yahoo, icq, gtalk and other protocols

Point to Office. You can see the tools for wordprocessing, presentations and spreadsheets.

*img120.imageshack.us/img120/1808/a45ik7.th.png

Point to Sound and Video

*img91.imageshack.us/img91/4200/a46qk5.th.png

Brasero is a CD/DVD writing tool
Movie and audio players also seen

Point to Universal Access
A magnifier is seen

*img243.imageshack.us/img243/7813/a47uy9.th.png

Point to places
You can see shortcuts to various folders on your system. Documents, Music, pictures and Videos and all subfolders in Home Folder. Home Folder corresponds to /home

*img91.imageshack.us/img91/9483/a48fl5.th.png

Point to System and then Preferences

*img91.imageshack.us/img91/8017/a49zc7.th.png *img354.imageshack.us/img354/1931/a50dz4.th.png

Note Appearance in this menu. Through that you can tweak your theme, desktop background, system fonts, and special effects (compiz).

Point to Administration

*img201.imageshack.us/img201/3927/a51zt4.th.png

Here you can configure your system, Hardware, drivers, software, networking, etc.

In the top right hand corner is the button to shut down the system

*img530.imageshack.us/img530/2071/a52dj8.th.png *img530.imageshack.us/img530/7489/a53hr0.th.png

This may also be done from the system menu

To install multimedia packages (restricted), visit *medibuntu.org

For a quick deployment of multimedia packages refer this post

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87790&page=2#46

fantastico!!

great work man

finally i hv a dual boot system..
Xp and Ubuntu in the sam hard disk........
but guys i tkes 8 min to load up the login screen of ubuntu......

I hv made 6 partion in my hhard disk(80 GB).....

Windows
C:\ 11.72
d:\ 19.53
e::\ 11.72

Ubuntu
8.72 : /
19.76: /home
3.72 Swap

Is this the reason..which slows down my buntu system...........
I hv 1 Gm Ram; 2.87 GHz

lol 8 minutes :O

there is something wrong ! May be your PC loves windows ;p

T159 said:
lol 8 minutes :O

there is something wrong ! May be your PC loves windows ;p

LOl...bt i want to love linux!

Looks like it might be running fsck in the background. I think it is better you use a third party tool like gparted and format your linux partitions once in ext3, then reinstall Ubuntu. If you do not understand this don't even bother to try, it may cause more harm than good.

NucleusKore said:
Looks like it might be running fsck in the background. I think it is better you use a third party tool like gparted and format your linux partitions once in ext3, then reinstall Ubuntu. If you do not understand this don't even bother to try, it may cause more harm than good.

is there any other soln........coz i am cant understand