Re: [BLUG] Install Fest

If you are just starting out I don't recommend going down the repartitioning path. You might end up
in a bad part of town and I'd hate to see that happen to a potential new user.

Depending on your CPU and memory specs you might want to give virtualization a try first. In fact,
I would try it even if you have an older machine. I recommend VirtualBox
(http://www.virtualbox.org/) but there are other options out there.

To get started you would install VirtualBox on Vista, create a new virtual machine, download the
Kubuntu ISO, start the new virtual machine, point it at your Kubuntu ISO, and away you go. When in
full screen mode you will never know that windows is lurking in the shadows. This also has the
advantage of letting you run two OSes at the same time without the hassle of dual booting.

Cheers,
Josh

On 03/09/2010 10:39 PM, Erik Wallace wrote:
> Hi,
> I was one of the two new users wanting to learn about linux. When
> are we going to have this install fest? At the time I first wrote to
> Mark Krenz about installing linux, I didn't even know what distro I
> wanted. By now I know that I want to dual boot windows and kubuntu,
> with adobe creative suite and scanner software on windows, and tex/cas
> software on kubuntu. I even have some idea of what it will take to
> set up the dual boot. Currently my partition structure is as follows:
>
> 49MB Dell Utility
> 11GB Recovery
> 67GB OS (Vista)
> 2.1GB Extended
> - 2.1 GB Media Direct
>
> I would like to repartition as follows:
>
> 49MB Dell Utility
> 26GB Vista
> 54.1GB Extended
> -10GB /
> -2GB swap
> -40GB /home/
> -2.1GB Media Direct
>
> I have already been warned that Media Direct may not work after
> repartitioning, but it is worth a try. Vista does not respond well to
> resizing done outside of itself, and is unwilling to do it from within
> (because the MTF file is placed at the end of the partition). So the
> best approach seems to be to delete both the recovery and os
> partitions, create a new primary partition for vista and expand the
> extended partition into the remaining space, then install vista,
> followed by Kubuntu, and all appropriate software. It also may be a
> good idea to create an image of the whole hard drive before trying
> this feat. I do have an external hard drive to work with so that is
> perfectly reasonable.
>
> Of course I'm not a huge fan of keeping vista on my computer, but I
> need to be absolutely sure that my scanner and adobe software are
> fully functional. I am not entirely convinced that open source
> replacements will be sufficient. If I discover that they are, then I
> can remove vista, otherwise I think it is safer to keep it around
> rather than doing an adhoc fix with virtual box or wine.
>
> Now I am willing to listen to suggestions, but if we don't have this
> install fest soon, then chances are I will already have done all of
> this.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Erik
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> BLUG@linuxfan.com
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