Advise installing 6.10

[b0ng0]

Hi, I have recently downloaded 6.10 Kubuntu (Edgy I think it's called). I have mounted the image to DVD and have loaded it up from Live Disk and all seems to be working, so the next step is installing it.

I currently have 3 HD's - One with Windows XP Pro, one which is essentially a backup drive for all my essential files, and a third one which is 20GB and I plan to install Kubuntu on. I have several question though, before I install it:

1) How will installing Linux on the hard drive affect the HD with Windows installed on it? (If it even affects it at all)

2) When I install Linux, will I need to keep the Windows HD plugged into my computer?

3) Currently, I am missing a 3rd set of HD rails for my case, and as such, will need to remove my backup HD to plug in the HD I intend to use for Linux. If I was then to take the Linux HD out and put my backup HD back in the pc, would this work fine without my BIOS going nuts at me?

4) How do I get my computer to allow me to choose what OS I want when I turn my PC on, as both Windows and Linux will be on seperate HD's?

5) Finally, if I was to stop using Linux, would it be fine to just take the Linux HD out the case, and Windows would return to normal (i'm not sure how the OS chooser would handle this)?

Thanks for any help and sorry for the totally nooby questions, I just want to make sure I don't mess up Windows by doing this.

[analyticalman]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

Partial Answers below:

1& 4) You will be installing a new bootloader (Grub)that will allow you to choose which OS you boot into - this removes Windows bootloader from your MBR. Other than that Windows is unaffected.

2) Yes!

3) No idea - depends on your BIOS I suppose

5) Its No problem - you can restore your windows bootloader very easily - everything will be as it was.

I think you will need the Alternate installer - so make sure you have that (its a CD mount by the way - you don't need a DVD)

Back up your data before you do anything - then suggest you read through this site
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php

and also this one
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

Good luck!

[Knut Arne Vedaa]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

5) Its No problem - you can restore your windows bootloader very easily - everything will be as it was.

How?

[b0ng0]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

Thanks for the feedback. Just two things

The question the above user has posted

and

Do I need to preformat the drive i'm going to install Kubuntu onto (it has an old installation of windows). By this I mean, do I need to just create a new partition on it, or do I need to format it using NTFS/FAT32 (which one for a 20GB HD?)

Also, do I need to change the master/slave settings at all? My windows HD is SATA and the linux one will be IDE.

Thanks

[Knut Arne Vedaa]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

Do I need to preformat the drive i'm going to install Kubuntu onto (it has an old installation of windows). By this I mean, do I need to just create a new partition on it, or do I need to format it using NTFS/FAT32 (which one for a 20GB HD?)

No. The Kubuntu installer will take care of that. Choose Erase entire disk. It will create two partitions, one ext3 and one swap. Just make sure you choose the right disk.

Also, do I need to change the master/slave settings at all? My windows HD is SATA and the linux one will be IDE.

No.

[podunk]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

In order to restore your mater boot record you will need a Windows CD. If you have a computer that came with a set of restore CD's it's not the same.

There are ways to work around this after the install.

If you have a fairly new bios you can
Unplug the windows drive
Install Kubuntu
Then plug the Windows drive back in and use the bios to switch back and forth between them.

For instance, on this computer I have the option to press the F8 key at start up to decide which hard disk to load.

On my older computer I have to enter the BIOS on boot up and switch hard drive order there, which adds to the start up time when I switch.

If you're anything like me though you won't be going into Windows very often once you get a good set up. :-)

[analyticalman]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

To restore windows bootloader:

If you have a windows XP disk - load it - go to the recovery console and type fixmbr

If you don't - well - there are lots of ways - here is one - download and burn the Super Grub CD and use that (quite a useful tool for emergencies)

more info here

http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzo...bDiskPage.html

[Tynach]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

Well, I found that if you have Linux and Windows on seperate drives, the one with Linux will have Grub, and the other one will have the Windows boot loader. Simply unplug the Linux one to use Windows. That is, assuming the Linux drive is master and the Windows drive is slave.

[b0ng0]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

OK, I just went ahead and installed it no problem. The installation was easy enough, however when I load it up it gets to the Kubuntu loading screen (equivalent of the Windows XP logo black one) and just hangs. It doesn't load anything. What could be the problem?

I have also been thinking, the HD I have installed it onto is about 7 years old and it may be safer to use my Windows HD. If I do this, can I just create a partition using Partition Magic for example and then install Kubuntu onto this? My friend said he did something similar for a different version of Linux (not Ubuntu) and PM gave him two options - to format space into Linux ex2 and Linux ex3. Would someone be able to guide me as to how to create a new partition on my Windows HD to prep it for Kubuntu, without re-formatting my Windows HD if possible .

Sorry to slightly change the topic, but I hate multiple posting.

Thanks

[analyticalman]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

There have been a number of posts about this problem - suggest you search this site and the Ubuntu one. Some users are reporting a bios issue.

Regarding shrinking your windows partition, defragment the partition first, then use either Partition Magic if you have it, or something like the Gparted live Cd to shrink your windows partition. I prefer this because the disk isn't mounted while you work on the partition.
get it here
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/g...1.iso?download

[Knut Arne Vedaa]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

If I remember correctly you can also resize and create new partitions directly from the Kubuntu installer - simply choose Manually edit partition table.

[b0ng0]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

When creating partitions using Partition Magic, should I create both ex2 and ex3, and what sizes for each if so (I have currently 80GB free on my HD, but I have no idea how much Linux needs. I intend to access all my music, etc. from my Windows parition, so I dont need it to be huge)

Thanks

[podunk]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

If you're going to mess with your windows drive be sure to back up your data! Mistakes do happen.

If your hard drive was working before and but Kubuntu doesn't install right then the problem most likely isn't the hard drive.

That seems to happen a lot. The live CD will run, but the install doesn't complete properly. The number one recommendation is to reburn the install disk and use a very s l o w burning speed. Then do the set up over.

[b0ng0]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

Pretty sure the install went OK, but i'll try it on my Windows drive first and then if it doesn't work I know its the disk.

But what type of partition should I use - ex2 or ex3?

[podunk]

Re: Advise installing 6.10

ext 3 is the default for Linux. I went with that, most people do.