Is there a way to get kubuntu to stand alone?

[sean_gilmore]

or run w.o windows installed?


currently my partition is wiped again and im running from the ubuntu live cd (i finally found the right install disk for my windows reinstall...not sure if i already posted the story.) anyway the cd like gave halfway thru the install after i already formatted... so now im stuck with nothing again..

anyway i was wondering can you install some form of free OS on the computer and run from that alone (preferably kubuntu... i mean if the live cd can do it why cant the system.. (i say because i install it and then it just says crap about GRUB not working so im all sad because i feel this is hopeless

[The Liquidator]

Re: Is there a way to get kubuntu to stand alone?

Kubuntu definitely does not need Windows to run. Whether or not you need to keep Windows depends entirely on whether you have any specific application where there is no Linux equivalent or won't run in Wine. Mine is Dragon Naturally Speaking where, I think, I'll never have a prayer.

Assuming you don't want to dual boot, at the partitioning stage you need to select the option to use the entire disk. That will wipe out the Windows setup. I would then recommend you create 3 partitions: Root, home and swap. What filesystem you use for the partitions is a personal preference, but the one generally recommended seems to be Ext3. It makes sense to have the swap file about twice the size of your physical RAM.

Hope this helps.

Ian

[sean_gilmore]

Re: Is there a way to get kubuntu to stand alone?

so when in the partition manager i make a /root one a /home one and a /swap

how big should they be tho... cuz i have 160GB and im going all Kubuntu until i can get my windows fixed.

[The Liquidator]

Re: Is there a way to get kubuntu to stand alone?

Can I assume you currently have a 160Gb Windows (NTFS) partition?

If so, the first thing you need to do is to resize it (say to 80GB). That will leave you an 80Gb NTFS partition to which you can reinstall windows without trashing kubuntu. Set aside enough for swap on the Linux side and carve up the remainder between home and Root. There is a limit to how much the root partition will ever require, given that you will tend to save your data in home so you might think of 20-25 GB for root and the rest for home. Those with greater knowledge may or may not agree with this.

If you can get hold of a live Gparted CD (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php) you will find the task pretty easy to do and if you later want to adjust the partition sizes you will find it invaluable. You can set up the partitions as a separate exercise and then do the installation. That way there is probably much less risk in things going wrong.

Hope this helps

Ian