Linux OldTotalNoob needs help!

[graeto]

Hello,

I finally plucked up enough courage and decided to install Kubuntu as a PC/windows user of longtime, hate Win 11 and its bloaty spying nonsense. I followed instructions to best of my ability (please be kind im recent diagnosed AuDhd) and created boot usb and started to install. When it came to selecting the drive I wanted to install kubuntu on, it didnt make sense as the names of said drives were different and I panicked! I have C: 500gb with windows and a game or two, 2tb D: with mostly games and media and a third empty 2tb drive which i planned to install Kubuntu on.

However as I said I panicked and have installed Kubuntu on D: or so it appears but also the third drive is now inaccessable from windows and I have no clue what to do. So in windows it appears i only have C: and nothing else. I have no clue where to begin to rectify this. I know ive lost all game data on d: as steam and battlenet require installation of games, but now dont have enough space on C: until I can sort this out. Can someone help out an OldNoob as i really wanted to have kubuntu there to learn about linux and get to grips with it before making a complete leap over and ditching windows alltogether.

Where do I begin? How can I reclaim drives and have the separate OS's with the options stated while I get the hang of Kubuntu. I hope this makes sense, any help would be greatly appreciated. Please be very specific with any help, and treat me like a Linux newborn, email if u prefer to graeto75@gmail.com
Thanks Graeto

[oshunluvr]

First off, Welcome to the forum and to Linux! I hope you stick with it so you can experience the freedom and control Linux can give you.

To your concerns:

• Windows cannot read Linux file systems and you likely used the EXT4 file system when you installed Kubuntu. So it is normal that you cannot "see" the Kubuntu file system from Windows.
• Drive "letters" are strictly a Windows thing. No Linux distro uses "C:" or "D:" to refer to a drive or partition. So again, totally normal that the installer didn't refer to the drives and partitions in that way.

The first step will be to figure out where things are, and then what you've done so far, then get you up and running.

I'm guessing here, but it seems likely that when you installed Kubuntu to drive "D:" - which is actually a second drive and not a partition on drive "C:" - the Linux boot loader known as GRUB was probably also installed to that drive.

Assuming I am guessing correctly, I suggest you try this first: Boot to BIOS and change the drive boot order to boot to drive "D:" and attempt to boot to it. If Kubuntu starts up, then you're in great shape! You will just need to add Windows to your boot menu.

If Kubuntu does not boot up or my guess is wrong, you will need to provide more detail:
Describe your drive and partition configuration as exactly as you can. List all:

1. Drives
2. Partitions
3. Their sizes
4. What's on them (general content description)
5. File systems (NTFS, EXT4, etc.)

Post back when you can.

[graeto]

Hi, thanks for reply, Ok the issue seems to be i installed Kubuntu on the D: drive overwriting all game data etc.. They are named differently in bios, which confused me and partitions I am clueless about. But at the same time input the password for kubuntu incorrectly. This i found out when i tried to update software in Kubuntu. So i tried to reinstall Kubuntu over the top of it and start again.

However I think then installed it instead to the third drive which was the one i intended to use originally. So now I have 2 versions of Kubuntu on separate drives and therefore windows only has access to C: So i think I need to try to uninstall the D: version. Both drives are 2tb, the d: was about half full, and the third drive was empty. Sorry if thats confusing.

The bottom line is how do i uninstall Kubuntu from the D: ? and keep that for windows for now, while I familiarise myself with Linux and get all the necessary software installed. Ive noticed in Kubuntu in the system files that there are two versions on separate drives.

Thanks for your patience Graeto

[graeto]

So all boot up fine, both Windows and Kub but i cannot find nor understand easily how to uninstall the version on D:

[oshunluvr]

Yeah, you probably want to write that password down somewhere, LOL. Linux is not like Windows and you'll need to use your password often.

OK, so that it's clear: You have 3 drives, one has Windows on it, one has Kubuntu on it and the other also had Kubuntu from your first attempt?

Boot into Kubuntu. Open the program "KDE Partition Manager". In the left column will be your three drives. As you click on each one, the window on the right will show the device names, file system types, mount points (if mounted) - the padlock icon indicates the file system is mounted and thus locked, file system labels (if they exist), partition name which is actually the type of partition, and finally size and how much is used (if mounted).

I'm not sure how your going to keep the drives straight. Some BIOSs have a nasty habit of calling whatever drive you boot too the "first" drive - changing the order depending on which you boot to. I would use KDE partition Manager to delete the partitions on the unused drive (NOT YOUR WINDOWS DRIVE) and then boot to Windows and reformat it with Windows tools.

[graeto]

Hello, Sounds good, i shall try that, many thanks. I have many many more questions but i shall post in appropriate sections, once ive sorted this. But im enjoying getting setup, installing steam, game launchers etc.. Thanks again

[kc1di]

Hello, Sounds good, i shall try that, many thanks. I have many many more questions but i shall post in appropriate sections, once ive sorted this. But im enjoying getting setup, installing steam, game launchers etc.. Thanks again

Welcome to the Kubuntu forum, enjoy!
When your ready ask away.
If you want to go a little deeper into linux here is a good page to study.
https://linuxjourney.com