partition help..

hi.
i'm abt to install ubutu 8.04 on my notebook 2day and i wanted to clarify something abt partitioning my drive as i've never done it before...
do i need to shrink my c: drive(which has vista on it), to create an unallocated space before i install ubuntu?? or can you create a partition thru the setup itself??

i'm a noob i knw.. sorry... ...but any help would greatly appreciated.. thnx..

 

It works either way with Ubuntu. I'm going to install 8.04 myself. FWIW, I shrunk (shrunk? lol) the partition with GParted this time. Good luck with your install.

 

so its ok if i dont create a partition before installing ubuntu?? and i can do it via the setup?

 

Yes. There are "guided" options that will walk you through the install process. My own distro is installing as I type this; I chose to install in the free space available after shrinking the previous partition.

 

Yeah, you have to shrink your ntfs partition and then set up a ext3 partition with a mount point ( / ) in which ubuntu will install itself. Don't forget to also add a small swap partition that is roughly 2x the size of your RAM.

I do all of this manually with a livecd called systemrescuecd but Ubuntu's partitioner works just as well. If you're drastically shrinking your windows partition it will take a while.

 

if i shrink my c: drive using the ubuntu livecd..will i loose any existing data??

 

Yes, there is a risk that you could lose data or finish up with a PC with an unbootable Windows Vista OS.

You can reduce some of the risks, I would suggest the following (although it isn't an exhaustive list and I haven't tried to justify them):-

0) If you can, practice the installation on a PC that is spare, one where it doesn't matter if you make mistakes. Each linux distro tends to have its own installation method, although they mostly have similar steps you can't assume that each distro installs the same way or prompts the user with the same questions.

1) Do a backup.
2) Resize the Vista partition(s) with a respected and most likely expensive commercial partitioning program designed for Vista before commencing the linux installation.
3) Take your time during the linux installation, and read everything at least twice before answering any question.

 

Good advice above from timberwolf. However, though the advice is sound, I would not spend money on an expensive partitioning app. Not sure, but I think Vista has its own tool, as a start. Additionally, GParted is a good free program, as is QTparted which is available alone, or included with Knoppix, which is also free and includes quite a few apps and tools you might find useful, arjunned.

BTW, for anyone who may not know, Knoppix doesn't need to be installed in order to use the tools and apps included within the distro. Just boot the Live CD and Knoppix can be used as either a complete OS, or as a tool kit of sorts. There are apps included which Linux n00bs like myself will find handy (GParted and QTparted, are examples), and others for folks who really know Linux well.


Edit: forgot to mention - 8.04 is up and has been running well for an hour or so. Wireless works very well (I'm using a desktop, though), music sounds great as I type, and Mandriva went through the install process unscathed; it remains in good working order. LOL

 

It's true that paying for the tool doesn't give any guarantee that it will work any better than an Open Source tool.

Some of the reasons that I would currently, personally, have concerns with the Open Source tools that you mention (albeit they are good tools):

Is that Microsoft, has historically not been forth coming with information about their filesystem formats or their boot up process. The Open Source developers have generally had to work with both hands tied behind their backs and blind-fold, and they have had to resort to reverse engineering and analysis of the filesystem and boot up process. The boot up process has changed with Vista, so the comfort zone anyone has built up with previous Windows version using third-party tools or even the limited experience (given the age of Vista) is in my humble opinion misplaced.

The commercial third-party tools companies have an invested reputation that their tools work well on the Windows partitions, and given the money involved, if anyone can (however slim that maybe) they are more likely to be privvy to access to technical information needed to update their tools. No guarantees, as I seem to vaguely recall, Microsoft upsetting a number of the virus scanner and firewall tools makers where a Service Pack broke their tools by Microsoft design!

 

thanx for the advise bmwrob and timberwolf.. much appreciated.. will be installing LinuxMint in a couple of hours..

 

I had the same prob mate..

I shrunk the c:\ using [[URL="http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/1593/vista_shrink_partition"this[/URL] ..

Then loaded the live cd .. And the LiveCD found the freed partition and installed linux in that.. I didnt lose any data too..

 

ya thats wat i've done now.. i've have an unallocated space of 20gb created (by shrinking c: drive), for linuxMint... cant wait for it to finish downloading...

 

why did u choose linuxmint?

 

Well, its based off of Ubuntu, and its easier to set up.
IDK his reason though.

 

ya as thomas said its easier to set up(from wat i hear)... also it has all the multimedia features i need, out-of-the-box...

 

In ubuntu you can just download a couple of packages and you're all set as far as multi media goes.

 

ya i knw.. but still..

oh.. i jus installed linuxMint.. all went well.. its working perfectly.. except i have to wait till 2moro to download the nvidia drivers.. ...my bro changed the wep key to our router!! so havta wait..

and thanx to thomas and others for their advise and help...

 

Use Envy to install the nVidia driver, it's pretty simple.

 

Envy is not recommended as it does an end run around synaptic with the possibility of screwing up your dependencies. Use the restricted drivers manager instead or just download the driver from add/remove programs.

 

ok thanx...
also (i dont knw whether i shoulld start another thread for this), wat other sofftwares should i instal?? i mean do i need anti-virus, firewall and all??

 

Nope, no security software is needed, and everything you need is included.

 

excellant...!!
can i run utorrent using wine? is wine included as well?

 

I am a utorrent fan and I use deluge in ubuntu

you can use applications-->add/remove programs to browse and install a ton of software including wine, your video drivers, codecs, fonts, etc.

 

uTorrent does work in Wine, but not well. Use Transmission or Deluge.