Dual booting with Ubuntu

I have been playing with Ubuntu guest virtual machine on Vista host.
I am toying with the idea of dual booting and installing it properly.

Can I run an Ubuntu Live CD on a Vista machine (to check whether all my
hardware is compatible, etc) without it affecting my Vista installation in
any way ?
As I understand it, I will just be booting from the CD without putting
anything on my hard disk at all.
But I would seek assurance that it really isn't going to do me any harm.

If I decide that my hardware is OK (its a fairly high spec machine running
Vista Ultimate 64 bit) what is the best way to go about it?
I have a 750Gb disk which I reckon I can afford to give 200Gb to Ubuntu.
Should I repartition from windows?
Do I need another program (if so what?) or does Windows itself handle this?

How do I install Ubuntu but still retain control over which operating system
I want to run?
Vista will still be my main OS. I don't particularly want ubuntu to have
control of the booting process.
How do I make sure that Vista is still in control, but I can choose to boot
ubuntu if I want?
(I have read postings that suggest that Ubuntu takes control of the booting
process and that it is difficult to reset if I choose to uninstall)
(Also some note about where this goes and possibly affecting the Vista boot
process) ??

Tips from anyone who has actually done this (and pitfalls to avoid) would be
greatly appreciated.

Phypps

http://apcmag.com/node/5162/

Pick your poison for dual-booting!
--
Mick Murphy - Qld - Australia


"phypps" wrote:

> I have been playing with Ubuntu guest virtual machine on Vista host.
> I am toying with the idea of dual booting and installing it properly.
>
> Can I run an Ubuntu Live CD on a Vista machine (to check whether all my
> hardware is compatible, etc) without it affecting my Vista installation in
> any way ?
> As I understand it, I will just be booting from the CD without putting
> anything on my hard disk at all.
> But I would seek assurance that it really isn't going to do me any harm.
>
> If I decide that my hardware is OK (its a fairly high spec machine running
> Vista Ultimate 64 bit) what is the best way to go about it?
> I have a 750Gb disk which I reckon I can afford to give 200Gb to Ubuntu.
> Should I repartition from windows?
> Do I need another program (if so what?) or does Windows itself handle this?
>
> How do I install Ubuntu but still retain control over which operating system
> I want to run?
> Vista will still be my main OS. I don't particularly want ubuntu to have
> control of the booting process.
> How do I make sure that Vista is still in control, but I can choose to boot
> ubuntu if I want?
> (I have read postings that suggest that Ubuntu takes control of the booting
> process and that it is difficult to reset if I choose to uninstall)
> (Also some note about where this goes and possibly affecting the Vista boot
> process) ??
>
> Tips from anyone who has actually done this (and pitfalls to avoid) would be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Phypps
>
>
>

Hello. I would like to congradulate you for being open minded and wanting to
experiment with alternate OS's/

I have dual booted and even tripple booted my machine with xp, vista and
ubuntu

1) Have in mind you dont need 200GB for ubuntu! its an overkill! lol
50 GB is more than enough.. I had 30 gb for ubuntu and I have installed
hundreds of programs and desktop enviornements!

2) You will have to SHRINK the vista parition using vistas disk manager.
Shrink it about 50 -60 gb to make room for Ubuntu

3) When you install ubuntu you can select that empty space for it to install

4) After you install Ubuntu will have detected your vista installation and
added a boot manager so you can chose what OS you want to boot in
So, computers starts, it gives you an option to select Ubuntu or Vista, and
you start the OS you want, you can then from within make Vista
the automatic bootable OS instead of selecting, I can tell you how to do
this... its not hard..

FINALLY there is something that MAY interest you.. WUBI = its an installer
that from within windows installs ubuntu without making a partition
and automatically adding the start up boot options! Its great!

See here:
http://wubi-installer.org/

Its simple, you run it from windows, it downloads the ubuntu image, installs
it, reboots and then you have ubuntu! You can later uninstall ubuntu from
within windows! lol
Cant be more simple..

Tell me if this information helps you








"phypps" <> wrote in message
news:...
>I have been playing with Ubuntu guest virtual machine on Vista host.
> I am toying with the idea of dual booting and installing it properly.
>
> Can I run an Ubuntu Live CD on a Vista machine (to check whether all my
> hardware is compatible, etc) without it affecting my Vista installation in
> any way ?
> As I understand it, I will just be booting from the CD without putting
> anything on my hard disk at all.
> But I would seek assurance that it really isn't going to do me any harm.
>
> If I decide that my hardware is OK (its a fairly high spec machine running
> Vista Ultimate 64 bit) what is the best way to go about it?
> I have a 750Gb disk which I reckon I can afford to give 200Gb to Ubuntu.
> Should I repartition from windows?
> Do I need another program (if so what?) or does Windows itself handle
> this?
>
> How do I install Ubuntu but still retain control over which operating
> system I want to run?
> Vista will still be my main OS. I don't particularly want ubuntu to have
> control of the booting process.
> How do I make sure that Vista is still in control, but I can choose to
> boot ubuntu if I want?
> (I have read postings that suggest that Ubuntu takes control of the
> booting process and that it is difficult to reset if I choose to
> uninstall)
> (Also some note about where this goes and possibly affecting the Vista
> boot process) ??
>
> Tips from anyone who has actually done this (and pitfalls to avoid) would
> be greatly appreciated.
>
> Phypps
>
>

for ubuntu 7.10 see wubi here
http://www.wubi-installer.org/devel/minefield/



"On the Bridge!" <On@the,Bridge> wrote in message
news:47e0f80b$...
> Hello. I would like to congradulate you for being open minded and wanting
> to experiment with alternate OS's/
>
> I have dual booted and even tripple booted my machine with xp, vista and
> ubuntu
>
> 1) Have in mind you dont need 200GB for ubuntu! its an overkill! lol
> 50 GB is more than enough.. I had 30 gb for ubuntu and I have installed
> hundreds of programs and desktop enviornements!
>
> 2) You will have to SHRINK the vista parition using vistas disk manager.
> Shrink it about 50 -60 gb to make room for Ubuntu
>
> 3) When you install ubuntu you can select that empty space for it to
> install
>
> 4) After you install Ubuntu will have detected your vista installation and
> added a boot manager so you can chose what OS you want to boot in
> So, computers starts, it gives you an option to select Ubuntu or Vista,
> and you start the OS you want, you can then from within make Vista
> the automatic bootable OS instead of selecting, I can tell you how to do
> this... its not hard..
>
> FINALLY there is something that MAY interest you.. WUBI = its an installer
> that from within windows installs ubuntu without making a partition
> and automatically adding the start up boot options! Its great!
>
> See here:
> http://wubi-installer.org/
>
> Its simple, you run it from windows, it downloads the ubuntu image,
> installs it, reboots and then you have ubuntu! You can later uninstall
> ubuntu from within windows! lol
> Cant be more simple..
>
> Tell me if this information helps you
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "phypps" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>>I have been playing with Ubuntu guest virtual machine on Vista host.
>> I am toying with the idea of dual booting and installing it properly.
>>
>> Can I run an Ubuntu Live CD on a Vista machine (to check whether all my
>> hardware is compatible, etc) without it affecting my Vista installation
>> in any way ?
>> As I understand it, I will just be booting from the CD without putting
>> anything on my hard disk at all.
>> But I would seek assurance that it really isn't going to do me any harm.
>>
>> If I decide that my hardware is OK (its a fairly high spec machine
>> running Vista Ultimate 64 bit) what is the best way to go about it?
>> I have a 750Gb disk which I reckon I can afford to give 200Gb to Ubuntu.
>> Should I repartition from windows?
>> Do I need another program (if so what?) or does Windows itself handle
>> this?
>>
>> How do I install Ubuntu but still retain control over which operating
>> system I want to run?
>> Vista will still be my main OS. I don't particularly want ubuntu to have
>> control of the booting process.
>> How do I make sure that Vista is still in control, but I can choose to
>> boot ubuntu if I want?
>> (I have read postings that suggest that Ubuntu takes control of the
>> booting process and that it is difficult to reset if I choose to
>> uninstall)
>> (Also some note about where this goes and possibly affecting the Vista
>> boot process) ??
>>
>> Tips from anyone who has actually done this (and pitfalls to avoid) would
>> be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Phypps
>>
>>
>
>

On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:33:40 +0000, phypps wrote:

> I have been playing with Ubuntu guest virtual machine on Vista host. I
> am toying with the idea of dual booting and installing it properly.
>
> Can I run an Ubuntu Live CD on a Vista machine (to check whether all my
> hardware is compatible, etc) without it affecting my Vista installation
> in any way ?

Yes - that is the purpose of a Live CD.

> As I understand it, I will just be booting from the CD without putting
> anything on my hard disk at all.

That is correct. It will boot and run from the CD. Unless you tell it to
install by clicking on the install icon on the desktop, it will not touch
the hard drive.

> But I would seek assurance that it really isn't going to do me any harm.
>
> If I decide that my hardware is OK (its a fairly high spec machine
> running Vista Ultimate 64 bit) what is the best way to go about it? I
> have a 750Gb disk which I reckon I can afford to give 200Gb to Ubuntu.
> Should I repartition from windows?

Much better, IMHO, to take the custom or manual partition option during
install and do the resize and repartition there. Or you could run gparted
from the Live CD and do it there - then check that all is still fine with
the MS install.

> Do I need another program (if so what?) or does Windows itself handle
> this?
>
> How do I install Ubuntu but still retain control over which operating
> system I want to run?

One of the things Ubuntu does on install is detect other operating
systems. It will automagically set up the dual boot for you. When you
reboot you get a menu and select which one to boot.

> Vista will still be my main OS. I don't particularly want ubuntu to
> have control of the booting process.

You can also choose to have Ubuntu not install it's bootloader at all (or
install it on the partition where Ubuntu is installed). In that case, you
can have vista control the dual boot - I'm not totally familiar with that
procedure, but a web search should turn it up for you.

> How do I make sure that Vista is still in control, but I can choose to
> boot ubuntu if I want?
> (I have read postings that suggest that Ubuntu takes control of the
> booting process and that it is difficult to reset if I choose to
> uninstall) (Also some note about where this goes and possibly affecting
> the Vista boot process) ??

If you're that concerned, you could easily boot the Live CD and use dd to
backup the MBR to a file on your hard disk with dd. Later all you would
have to do to return it to 'pre-Ubuntu' condition would be to boot the
live CD again and use dd to copy the file back to the MBR.

>
> Tips from anyone who has actually done this (and pitfalls to avoid)
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Phypps

From http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Ubuntu :

"Step Five
Now is the time to tell Ubuntu that we don't want GRUB installed
to the system bootloader. Instead, we're going to have Ubuntu
install GRUB to its own partition, where EasyBCD can safely and
easily read & interact with it, without too much hassle and absolutely
no trouble."

From http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing :

"If you know anything about Grub and have a special situation
where you do not want Grub installed to the MBR, click Advanced
and specify where you want Grub installed instead."

*TimDaniels*


"ray" wrote:
> phypps wrote:
>
>> I have been playing with Ubuntu guest virtual machine on Vista host. I
>> am toying with the idea of dual booting and installing it properly.
>>
>> Can I run an Ubuntu Live CD on a Vista machine (to check whether all my
>> hardware is compatible, etc) without it affecting my Vista installation
>> in any way ?
>
> Yes - that is the purpose of a Live CD.
>
>> As I understand it, I will just be booting from the CD without putting
>> anything on my hard disk at all.
>
> That is correct. It will boot and run from the CD. Unless you tell it to
> install by clicking on the install icon on the desktop, it will not touch
> the hard drive.
>
>> But I would seek assurance that it really isn't going to do me any harm.
>>
>> If I decide that my hardware is OK (its a fairly high spec machine
>> running Vista Ultimate 64 bit) what is the best way to go about it? I
>> have a 750Gb disk which I reckon I can afford to give 200Gb to Ubuntu.
>> Should I repartition from windows?
>
> Much better, IMHO, to take the custom or manual partition option during
> install and do the resize and repartition there. Or you could run gparted
> from the Live CD and do it there - then check that all is still fine with
> the MS install.
>
>> Do I need another program (if so what?) or does Windows itself handle
>> this?
>>
>> How do I install Ubuntu but still retain control over which operating
>> system I want to run?
>
> One of the things Ubuntu does on install is detect other operating
> systems. It will automagically set up the dual boot for you. When you
> reboot you get a menu and select which one to boot.
>
>> Vista will still be my main OS. I don't particularly want ubuntu to
>> have control of the booting process.
>
> You can also choose to have Ubuntu not install it's bootloader at all (or
> install it on the partition where Ubuntu is installed). In that case, you
> can have vista control the dual boot - I'm not totally familiar with that
> procedure, but a web search should turn it up for you.
>
>> How do I make sure that Vista is still in control, but I can choose to
>> boot ubuntu if I want?
>> (I have read postings that suggest that Ubuntu takes control of the
>> booting process and that it is difficult to reset if I choose to
>> uninstall) (Also some note about where this goes and possibly affecting
>> the Vista boot process) ??
>
> If you're that concerned, you could easily boot the Live CD and use dd to
> backup the MBR to a file on your hard disk with dd. Later all you would
> have to do to return it to 'pre-Ubuntu' condition would be to boot the
> live CD again and use dd to copy the file back to the MBR.
>
>>
>> Tips from anyone who has actually done this (and pitfalls to avoid)
>> would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Phypps
>