What's the best way to install Ubuntu/Linux?

VoucherMan

After hearing a friend rave on about how good (quick) his laptops are now he's installed Linux on them I thought I'd give it a try.

Not wanting to abandon Windows just yet I decided to create a partition and install it alongside Windows (as friend suggested this was the way to do it).

Having emptied over half of the hard drive to an external drive and de-fragmented it with Perfectdisk I went searching searching for the best (easiest) way to install it, preferably via USB, and came across threads/articles suggesting that it's better installed on the same partition using Wubi.

So the question - For a novice who's not used anything but Windows, at least since I got rid of my Amiga many year ago, What's the best way to go about it? To partition or not?

I'm currently running Windows Vista, 100GB hard drive with about 65GB free. I've already shrunk the volume but it's still unallocated so hopefully I can undo it if that's the best way to go.

devizes18193

wubi rocks it installs as a windows app and can be uninstalled . It does all the donky work for you , It asks what amount of space you want to give over to it and then your away .least thats how mine went

bat999

Hi
First thing would be to create a LiveCD to test that Ubuntu will work with your hardware.
Before you even think about installing Ubuntu.

That's my advice.:cool:

lucylucky

I ran both for a day before realising how good Ubuntu was and then ditched Vista.

Obviously I backed everything up, but have no MS stuff at all on my laptop now.

What a difference - very positive experience.

turbobob

I've never used Wubi. There are some limitations because its installed in a Windows partition and is apparently a bit slower than if its installed in its own partition. However this is probably way to go if you want the option to easily remove Ubuntu after you've tried it.

Installing on a seperate partition is easy - the Ubuntu installer is very easy to use and I haven't found any problems with it working with the Vista or Windows 7 boot managers. Just take care that you choose to use the unpartitioned space rather than wiping the whole drive when prompted by the installer. It will install a new boot loader (GRUB) which gives you a menu when you boot up allowing you to start Ubuntu or Windows. It is more difficult (although not impossible) to completely remove Ubuntu and return the disk space to Windows if it's installed like this.

spud17

+1 for bat999

Try the Live CD first

I dual boot Ubuntu/Win7, but Linux is not always the answer, despite what some may posters say,
I've seen 5 yo machines refuse to have anything to do with any flavour of Linux, don't ask me why.

VoucherMan

bat999 wrote: »

create a LiveCD

Thanks to all.

Would it have to be a CD or can it be done with a USB stick? It's not a problem creating a CD but obviously a USB would be easier

Darksun

The problem I've found with Wubi is that every time a kernel update is released, it seems to break the bootloader, and it's a pain to get working again. If you've already created a partition and tested your system with a live CD, then just go for an proper install on that partition.

bat999

VoucherMan wrote: »

Thanks to all.

Would it have to be a CD or can it be done with a USB stick?

I don't know the answer to that. I've always used a CD-R or CD-RW disc... because my PC won't boot from USB.

turbobob

Yes you can create a bootable USB stick. There are some extra steps involved, see here. Personally I had some problems when I tried to do this recently because the Windows usb-creator program just didn't work for me, and I had to go hunting around for an alternative way of doing it. The CD will be much easier, unless you need to use USB (if your computer does not have a CD drive, for example).

dave2

The Ubuntu ISO once stuck on CD runs off the CD, it's just a lot slower. You can also do this from a USB stick which is obviously a lot better because it is significantly faster and you can save stuff. guide to run Ubuntu off USB. This is great for having a demo to test it works and whether you like it. Also handy to keep as a computer on a keyring that you can run off anybody's machine more than say 5 years old (older don't boot from USB).

Any problems try LiveUSB Creator. It's originally for Fedora but I used it a while back and it was laughably simple.

I've never used Wubi or whatever but just installing it off the CD/USB is dead easy (again, USB is significantly faster) and really I personally wouldn't even bother looking into any other options, unless I guess HDD space was an issue. There's a guide here, but TBH it's straightforward, just make sure everything's backed up and you're not totally sunk if you have to reinstall windows, because is it possible that the worst happens when you're mucking about with partitions.

BTW there are methods to make it so Firefox etc shares the same profile, no need to sync them or anything. I was falling over guides this morning (while looking into something else) but IIRC same as this. I say this now as less hassle to set up now than when you already have Ubuntu in.