Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

[tallith]

Hi, am currently planning to install kubuntu, so I can dual boot it with my vista.(Need vista because of some school things)

I've read around on some tutorials. I put in the live cd, boot up in kubuntu, click install, but the migration assistant dosnt detect my vista installation, and Im afraid of continuing, and maby destroying my vista installation.
The tutorials say that under "migration assistant" or something, there should be a line with "windows vista/longhorn" on the last step before install, but that doesnt show up.. im dont know much about this dual booting, and i dont know much about the booting sequence, and how it works, so I'm reluctant to install kubuntu like its now, and risk loosing everything..

When i do the command, grub > geometry (hd0) I just get "unkown partition". so it doesnt know that I have vista there.

Any help?

[dibl]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

What I read about it suggests that you need to use Vista's built-in partitioning utility (not Kubuntu's) to shrink the big partition on your hard drive (the small one is Vista's recovery partition). Once you have freed up hard drive space, THEN boot the Kubuntu CD and install it.

I would rather use the GParted Live CD to make the (K)ubuntu partitions, and also you would be wise to make a separate partition for your /home directory, so your data is safe from the need to re-install or change the Linux OS. Read more here: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/partitioning

[tallith]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

yeah I have done this. Booted up vista, and shrunk the partition where vista was already. I have followed the guide, but when the Migrating assistant shows up in the tutorials, it doesnt show up on my installation..

[Qqmike]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

The battle of the tutorials . . .

Vista *** The definitive dual-booting guide: Linux, Vista and XP step-by-step
http://apcmag.com/dualboot

I haven’t done Vista, but have read this material carefully, and it might help you through.
One thing: geometry (hd0) coming back with unknown, that’s fishy because GRUB (your Kubuntu bootloader) sees your hard drives the same way your BIOS sees your hard drives.
But, anyway, first have a look at the step-by-step in the link.
(The case: Dual boot Vista and Linux with Vista installed first.)


Note:
Try also typing at the grub> prompt:
geometry (hd <press the TAB key>
and press Enter.
GRUB will fill in the blanks – it will come back and tell you what hard drives it DOES see. (That's only the left parenthesis, not the right, then hd, then TAB key.)

[tallith]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

Thats just the thing... thats the tutorial I have been following until I get to the Migration Assistant screen... that screen doesnt pop up, so it doesnt recognize med vista or something..

I did type that Grub > Geometry (TAB thing, and It saw my two harddrives.
I might have described it in a stupid way, because It can see my partitions, but I just says "Unknown filesystem" i think, not Unknown partition.. sorry for misplacing words..

Thank you for answering.. more help appreciated!
Is there any way I can actually check that It knows vista is there? Or do I just have to install, and hope for det best?

[scribbles]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

I JUST did this. Use GParted Live CD to make a Kubuntu part and a swap partition. Then boot from the Kubuntu CD and the rest is taken care of via GRUB during the installation.

[Qqmike]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

I think scribbles's idea is good. Just go forward. It's not uncommon to get that message for Windows NTFS "Unknown filesystem." Not sure why, but it comes up frequently when doing this partition work in Linux. I just ignore it. But as scribbles implies, if you've made a partition for Kubuntu in the unallocated space, then at least you know that part is safe.

[dibl]

Re: Dual boot Vista + Kubuntu, with vista preinstalled

Vista's mandatory 2-partition configuration makes life a little more complicated, since you REALLY want 3 partitions for your Linux system ("/", "/home", and "swap"), and that's a total of 5 partitions, and hard drives can only have 4 primary partitions. :P

So, after you've shrunk Vista and freed up your space for Linux, use GParted to make an Extended partition in that space, and make your 3 logical partitions within the extended partition.

Or, give swap its own private 0.5GB primary partition if you want, and then let the fourth primary partition be the Extended partition with 2 logical partitions for / and /home.