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    #1

    Dual Booting With Windows 7

    HI,I plan on installing Kubuntu 18.04 on my wife's Dell Inspiron N7010 Windows 7 laptop. I have been using it for a month or two on my desktop and really like it. I have installed many types of Linux, including dual-boots with windows.

    So,I gave it a test run to see what I will be dealing with. I expected to see the "Install Kubuntu Alongside Windows" option, butI did not. Instead, I was faced with doing a manual install. Don't get me wrong, I am comfortable partitioning, setting mount points etc. But that is on my old desktop, where if I screw up, no one but me knows about it, and there is no pressure to fix it immediately!

    This is different. I have never done anything so drastic on her computer. I did full windows backup, plus a Macrium image, so I should be set in case anything goes wrong.But I was expecting to see the "install alongside" option, which is the fool-proof method, so I wouldn't have to sweat too much during the process.

    I have installed Ubuntu, Mubuntu, and Bubuntu (i.e. Mate and Budgie),but I think I always did the fool-proof method. Not that I haven't done it the other way. I just want the comfort level of the"alongside" option. So, is this no longer available, or is there some reason it is not showing up, like it doesn't work with Dell's, or something weird like that?

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Last edited by mdiemer; Jan 10, 2019, 04:26 PM.
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    #2
    My advice is to first, shrink the windows partition using Gparted, and reboot to make sure all is well. Then, make a backup of the hard drive partition table boot and save it on a USB stick. Then boot to a liveUSB and create the new partitions you'll need to install Linux, and then install. Let GRUB install and it should "find" windows OK. Once you're sure it boots, set Windows as the default (assuming your wife plans on continuing to use it) and update grub.

    Please Read Me
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      #3
      But that is on my old desktop, where if I screw up, no one but me knows about it, and there is no pressure to fix it immediately! ... This is different. I have never done anything so drastic on her computer.
      Ha! EXACTLY how I felt recently about my wife's laptop with Windows 10 on it. I put Kubuntu 18.04 in dual boot on that laptop but was very nervous at the thought of actually doing so. I can't remember how much detail I included in my write-up, but here it is:

      Dual Boot Your Existing Windows 8/10 with Kubuntu

      https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...l=1#post418607

      (Her laptop was somewhat newer and so had the newer firmware UEFI (versus the older BIOS type firmware.)

      Not sure if any of that will help, except to give you a little more courage. Heck, I really don't mind trashing my desktop totally--BIOS and all--and then fixing it, but not my wife's nice clean pretty laptop ...
      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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        #4
        Btw, follow oshuluvr's outline. And, btw, you CAN do this -- the guys here do it all the time.
        An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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          #5
          Thanks guys. I just did another dry run, and this time I noticed that the first option said something like "resize sda and install Ubuntu on the new partition."

          This actually sounds a lot like the "install alongside windows" option. Are they in fact identical, just different wording?
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            #6
            This actually sounds a lot like the "install alongside windows" option. Are they in fact identical, just different wording?
            It sounds like that to me, yes.

            Just a note:

            I'm kind of from the old school, so I like to make a swap partition /swap (of maybe, say, 4-8 GB) and a separate /home partition (separate from the "root" partition). So I usually run the live DVD/USB first, and do the shrinking/partitioning from the live DVD (using, say, the KDE Partitioner), then go to the Install option on that live DVD/USB. So, you might want to let others pipe in here. I'm guessing that the option you mentioned ("resize sda and install Ubuntu on the new partition.") would also prompt you for, at least, the swap partition creation, too. One thing to note: At several points throughout the installation procedure (from your live DVD/USB), you do have the option to quit and NOT install.
            An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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              #7
              Thanks Mike. I have decided to do some experimenting. I grabbed an old hard drive and put an old image of Windows 7 on it, so I can test an actual install of Kubuntu without risk. Oddly, this time I do not see the Guided option that looks to be the same as the "install alongside" option. All the guided options were using the whole disk. So I went to the manual option, which had the effect of splitting the drive in two roughly equal parts. I then created a new ext4 partition on the free space partition, assigning root as mount point. Now, my question is, if that new partition is highlighted, and I go forward from that point, will this work? Even tho it's an old drive, putting an image of W7 on it takes 4 hours, so I'd rather not chance it!

              BTW, I've always wanted to create a separate home partition but just never got around to it. I won't do it for her computer as it would just add to the learning curve.
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                #8
                assigning root as mount point. Now, my question is, if that new partition is highlighted, and I go forward from that point, will this work?
                I think it should work, yes. I can't see why it wouldn't work.

                BTW, I've always wanted to create a separate home partition but just never got around to it. I won't do it for her computer as it would just add to the learning curve.
                Ditto here -- for her laptop, I installed Kubuntu without a separate home partition, just to keep it simple, and her computing habits are quite basic.

                I certainly do not want to complicate anything here, but just keep in mind that newer computers (after 2010-2011 or so)use a newer "BIOS" firmware called UEFI. The UEFI systems require a couple things for the bootloader GRUB. But let's not get bogged down in that, unless necessary.
                An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                  #9
                  I don't know much, but the answer to a separate /home is really dependent on who actually does the system administration
                  The next brick house on the left
                  Intel i7 11th Gen | 16GB | 1TB | KDE Plasma 5.27.11​| Kubuntu 24.04 | 6.8.0-31-generic
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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Qqmike View Post
                    I certainly do not want to complicate anything here, but just keep in mind that newer computers (after 2010-2011 or so)use a newer "BIOS" firmware called UEFI. The UEFI systems require a couple things for the bootloader GRUB. But let's not get bogged down in that, unless necessary.
                    I have determined previously it's traditional bios,not UEFI.
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                      #11
                      Originally posted by jglen490 View Post
                      I don't know much, but the answer to a separate /home is really dependent on who actually does the system administration
                      Which would be me. Maybe down the road a bit.
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                        #12
                        mdiemer: I have determined previously it's traditional bios,not UEFI.
                        OK, good.
                        An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                          #13
                          Well, the test run went fine, I have Kubuntu and Windows 7 booting on the old hard drive. I used the manual method I described above. I will be installing on her laptop this weekend. Prayers are welcome.
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                            #14
                            Good! and Good luck!

                            Prayers are welcome.
                            To which god(s) do you prefer?
                            An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                              #15
                              It was a rhetorical statement.
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