Ubuntu in Vista

[Imwintergreen]

I've got Ubuntu 8.04.1 Desktop i386 iso downloaded and would like check it out along with my Vista Home Premium. Can someone guide me through this since it touches the Boot records and all ? And if i wish to uninstall will it be simple? Because i don't have the recovery DVD, so if something goes wrong i'll have to beg for one from someone or ill have to fresh install Vista..

Thanks

[CrowdAds]

[felix8406]

I'm not sure, but you may run into problems later on if you decide to uninstall Ubuntu. Your best bet is to create an image of your hard drive just in case. You can use Macrium Reflect home edition; it's free and it works. Even if you don't install Ubuntu, I recommend creating a HD image; especially in your case where you don't have a back up.

[crabby]

Could you explain what hardware you have? Like, do you already have a seperate partition?

It would be best to have a seperate hard drive. That way you can ensure the boot process is completely unaffected.

Without a recovery disk you can have an issue repairing the boot process if you get rid of GRUB (the ubuntu boot manager). It is best to do as Felix stated so that when you do want to get rid of it you can just restore the image if necessary.

I know this didn't sound likevery precise information, but if you can give the exact way to want it to work, we can give you a step by step guide

crabby

[Imwintergreen]

I've no partition (except the one which came for recovery, which is around 5.5GB and free now). I have an external 500GB hard drive which i use for backup as well as dumpyard.

Whats the minimum space required to run Ubuntu? if the 5.5GB seperate partition is enough, id like to make it run from there.. Only thing i dont like to disturb vista which is running properly now.

Whats Macrium Reflect Home edition btw??
Thanks.

[felix8406]

The bare minimum to run Ubuntu is about 4GB; that’s so there’s enough swapping space. Understand that running any OS with just the mare minimum requirements may not be enough. My suggestions: First you mentioned the recovery partition is free; I don’t know how large your internal HD is, but you can probably expand that partition. You can use EASEUS Partition Manager Personal for that purpose.

Second, the possibilities of not messing up Vista after installing Ubuntu cannot be guaranteed, unless Vista is installed after installing Ubuntu. This doesn’t mean that it’s not going to work, but there are possibilities that you will run into problems. If you Google around, you’ll find forums dedicated to dual-booting Ubuntu with other OS’s. If you are running a desktop PC, the best bet is to follow Crabby’s recommendation and install Ubuntu on a separate hard drive. Hard drives are cheap nowadays and it can save you from headaches. Even if you decide to uninstall Ubuntu later on, you can always use that hard drive to backup your important files.

Macrium Reflect FREE Edition can create an image of your HD. You can save this image to an external HD or to DVDs. If something goes wrong, you can use that image to recover your data. With EASEUS Partition Manager Personal you can create new partitions on your HD. I recommend to (everyone) always create a new partition and then point Documents, Pictures, Download folders, etc. to use that partition just in case something goes wrong with the OS. Simply right click the folder and under the Location tab, select the new partition…it can save you from pulling your hair out later on.

You can learn more about these and other free programs by going to a thread I started named “Best free Vista applications: http://www.vistababble.com/forums/f7...ions-2504.html

[crabby]

Ubuntu will install grub over the Vista boot manager if installed on the same drive. I would not like to do that without a copy of Vista handy :scared:

As you have a legitimate license... couldn't you get a copy of a Vista disk of a friend or family member?

crabby

[Imwintergreen]

My internal HD is 120GB (practically 111GB, out of which 5.5GB goes for recovery partition, and the rest in a single volume). So, i'll have to partition the C to use Ubuntu without problems..
I'm using a laptop, but i do have an external 500GB (which is more like a dumpyard for all my movies and data). So i'd prefer running ubuntu from the external HD.. Is that possible? I do have a license, but i have to hunt for someone having original vista disk (i know no one yet). Or can i download a copy of vista disk from the internet and use my product key?

Thanks@

[felix8406]

You may be able to install Ubuntu to an external HD but your Laptop must support booting from USB; this must be setup using the BIOS. I do suggest creating a partition where you can keep your data separate from the OS; it's a good practice and one that can save you many headaches. Concerning getting a copy of Vista, call or email your laptop manufacture and ask them to send you one; most of the time they'll send you one for free or you pay a small shipping and handling charge.

Check this site on how to install Ubuntu to an external HD: » Installing Ubuntu on External USB HDD by Complicated Mind