FOSSwire

It's back to basics for this hybrid printable guide and standard FOSSwire post, detailing how to set up a dual boot installation with Ubuntu 8.04 co-existing alongside Windows Vista or XP.

Click here to download a fully printable PDF with all the screenshots, or just keep reading below!

You can also grab the source OpenDocument Text, for translations and derivative works.

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Introduction

So, you've heard a bit about this Linux thing and you're interested enough to give it a try. The problem is, installing a Linux distribution can be difficult and you're not ready to give up Windows just yet.

Dual booting is the process of installing two operating systems alongside each other. When your computer starts up, you can choose which operating system you want to start for that session. To switch, you just reboot the machine and select the other option.

In this extended guide, I am going to walk you through the process of installing Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04) alongside Windows Vista or Windows XP.

Assumptions

For the purposes of this guide, I'm going to assume the following about your system:

• You have a PC currently running either Windows Vista or Windows XP.
• Windows is installed in a single-partition layout on a single disk (just one hard drive in Computer, labelled C).
• You have downloaded Ubuntu 8.04's Desktop CD, and have burned it to a blank CD.
• Your PC is configured to boot from a CD.
• You have at least 8 GB or so of free space on your C drive.

Preparation

While it might be possible to get started straight away, it's usually sensible to spent a little time setting things up first.

Backup

The process of dual booting with Ubuntu is pretty safe. I have personally done this many times with no ill effects.

However, any major operation you do on your computer is subject to the risk of things going wrong. Before you install Ubuntu, you should make a full backup of anything you don't want to lose and have a strategy for putting things right if things do go awry.

Storage is cheap.

Once you have a copy of all the data you care about (and I mean all of it), we can move on. Also, make sure you fully know and understand how you would go about doing a restore should the worst happen.

Preparation within Windows

Boot your computer into Windows and go into Computer (My Computer under XP). Right-click on your C drive and choose Properties. Click on the Tools tab.

There are two things we are interested in here - the Error-checking and Defragmentation sections.

Error-checking

First of all, let's do the error-checking. Performing this step will make sure that your Windows disk is free from problems that might cause the Ubuntu installer issues.

Under the Error-checking header, click Check Now. Vista users will be asked to click Continue.

Now, make sure 'Automatically fix file system errors' is selected, and click Start. You'll get a message saying that the disk check cannot be run while Windows is using it.

Choose the option to Schedule the check, and reboot the machine. As the machine comes back up, the disk will be checked and any errors fixed.

Defragmentation

Quick advance warning - this step is likely to take a lot of time. I won't go into technical details on what this entails and why it takes so long, you can read that at Wikipedia.

Head back to Computer, right-click again on the C drive and choose Properties. Now click the Tools tab; you should be back on the screen we were at earlier.

This time, choose Defragment Now.

A new window will open. In here, click Defragment Now (or just Defragment under Windows XP). As I've said, this step could take a long time - probably hours, especially if you've never defragged before.

[caption id="attachment_594" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Disk Defragmenter under Windows Vista"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_595" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Disk Defragmenter under Windows XP"][/caption]

If you have enough free space on your hard drive, this step isn't strictly necessary, especially if you've recently done it or have literally just installed Windows afresh. Nevertheless, I'd recommend you go through with it.

Booting into Ubuntu

That's it for Windows now. We are now ready to get into Ubuntu and install.

Put the Ubuntu CD in your computer and restart it. When your computer comes back up, you should see a menu with a lot of languages - you'll want to pick the one you prefer for the install. Use the arrow keys and press Enter.

Then you will see this menu.

Use the arrow keys to scroll to Install Ubuntu and press Enter. Now you'll have to wait a while, as Ubuntu needs to load from the disc and show you the installer program.

Installation

Welcome to the Ubuntu installer program. First of, you'll need to pick your language again to the left and click Forward.

Next, either use the map to click on a point close to you (this is to select the right time zone), or use the list box to select the closest city to you. Again, click Forward.

Now, the equally thrilling step of choosing a keyboard layout. You can use the text box to try typing any unique characters your keyboard may have (such as £ here on a UK keyboard) to make sure the correct keyboard layout is selected.

After a brief pause to start up the Partitioner, we return.

This stage of the installation is a little more critical. Make sure you choose the right option here, or it's possible that you could accidentally wipe out Windows.

Provided that your Windows installation has been detected successfully, the first option should start with something like 'Guided - resize'.

Choose this option. You can now drag the slider between the two sections below to choose how much space Windows will get, and how much Ubuntu will get.

Let me explain further. Windows and Ubuntu can't coexist in the same space on the same drive, due to the fact that they work completely differently. What we are doing here is resizing your Windows C drive, to make a separate space, or partition, for Ubuntu to exist on.

After you've selected how much to resize, you won't easily be able to change this or reclaim space back. Leave enough space so that you can do whatever you need to do with Windows, but also make sure there's enough space on the other side for Ubuntu. What you choose here, though, is up to you, and depends on how much you want to use Ubuntu vs Windows.

Once you've made your selection in terms of resizing, click Forward.

You will be given a warning about writing your changes to disk. Once you click Continue on that screen, your Windows C drive will be permanently resized and Ubuntu's partition will be set up.

Relax now - the hard part is already done!

Now, you need to enter the details for your Ubuntu user. This page should be pretty self-explanatory, with fields for your real name, username to log in with, password and the name of the computer you're installing on. As always, click Forward.

The next stage allows you to import some of your information from Windows, if it can be extracted. Use the tickboxes to choose which user you want to import data from and the data to import.

Or, if you prefer, don't tick anything to start afresh, and keep your Windows stuff only in one place - Windows.

This is it - you'll get a final review of your settings before the Install gets underway. Click Install and now let Ubuntu do its work!

Once the install finishes, click Restart Now to restart your PC.

The Boot Menu

Your dual boot system is now installed and working. Windows and Ubuntu co-exist peacefully on the same machine and you can switch between them at start up.

Let's take a quick look at how that switching happens.

As your computer restarts, watch and wait until you see a menu like this:

Each entry here represents a choice you can make to boot your computer with. By default, the top Ubuntu entry is the one you want to use (ignore the other recovery mode options).

If you don't use the arrow keys and press enter to make a choice within a few seconds, Ubuntu gets launched automatically. Whenever you want to start Windows, press the down key until Windows is highlighted, then press Enter.

Quick note - the first time you relaunch Windows after resizing it, it will want to do another disk check. Don't worry, this is normal - so just let it complete the check!

And that's it. Your Ubuntu/Windows dual boot setup is complete!

The following licence covers this post and the accompanying PDF and ODT versions.

If you're brand new to Ubuntu, or Linux, many concepts will be alien to you and whilst it is pretty simple to pick it up after a while, you may be left in the dark when things differ from how Windows works.

One of the key differences between the two is how you install software. With terms like package and repository flying around, it can be a challenge to know where to start to get some new software downloaded and installed.

For this reason, I've put together a two-sided printable guide which explains, in very simple and easy-to-understand terms, how to install most software in Ubuntu.

Click the image below to download it as a PDF file.

It is also available in two alternative formats:

• Source OpenDocument Text format
• HTML format (for online viewing)

In true open source and open content style, the printable guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported licence. This means you have the right to adapt and build upon it, provided that you credit FOSSwire (our logo and link should be fine!) and allow others to do the same to your versions too!

In fact, we'd love people to help us, particularly with translating this guide into other languages. It would be great if this information was available to every new Ubuntu user, regardless of where they are from and what language they speak!

If you want to do a translation, I suggest you download the OpenDocument Text version, do the business and then email it to me - peter at fosswire.com - and I will put it up here on FOSSwire.

Translations

• Spanish / Español
• Hungarian / magyar

Finally, it would be great if you spread the word about this new guide - feel free to download and share this among your Linux newbie friends, put it up on your website as well, or just link to us so that the word gets out that help is at hand.

It's no coincidence that Ubuntu is now the most popular distribution of Linux for desktop PCs. It is one of the easiest distributions to set up and use for day-to-day tasks.

Despite this, getting onto the 'Linux ladder', making your first steps into the world of Linux, can be daunting, especially without support. There are lots of books specifically targeted towards beginners and Ubuntu, and Apress's Beginning Ubuntu Linux, by Keir Thomas and Jaime Sicam is one.

I was given a copy of the third edition of the book, which is updated to specifically cover the latest release of Ubuntu, Hardy Heron (8.04). Its 700 odd pages are designed to take you all the way from a beginner moving from a Windows environment to a pretty proficient Linux user.

I should reiterate that point - this is very much a book for switchers (or people who want to use both). Throughout the text, comparisons are made between Ubuntu features and their Windows counterparts to aid the transition. It is also possible to follow coming from a Mac environment, but there is much more focus on Windows.

The book also includes a double-sized DVD with the full Ubuntu 8.04 distribution on one side, plus many alternative versions (including Kubuntu, etc.) in .iso image format on the other.

Structurally, the book is divided into eight parts, starting with an introduction to the world of Linux, progressing through installing Ubuntu and getting started with it, and then moving on to in-depth coverage of the command line, multimedia, many of the included applications and finally maintenance and optimisation of your system and appendices.

Introduction and Background

The first chapter gives a nice gentle introduction; it tells you in basic terms what an operating system is and how Linux differs from Windows. Even if you barely know anything, you should be able to follow.

Right after that, there is a pretty detailed and comprehensive 'history and politics lesson', explaining how Linux came about, GNU (and all the politics there) and the crucial concept of different Linux distributions.

The second chapter is a lot of historical information to digest for a complete beginner and it is tempting to skip it, but if you do, you will miss the explanation of how Ubuntu fits into the wider Linux picture and the concept of different distributions, which is critical knowledge.

This section is in depth, however, and is interesting to read, even if you've been using Linux for some time.

Installation

Installing Ubuntu is probably the biggest hurdle to many people. As easy as you can make an operating system installation procedure, you still have to have pretty solid computer knowledge to perform one.

A whole part of the book is dedicated to installation. Key concepts such as disk partitioning are explained well, but there is at this point a (largely unavoidable) assumption that you are already proficient with the management of a Windows system.

One element of the Installation section that could be improved is making the different installation options clearer in the step-by-step installation process.

For example, if you're not aiming for a dual boot setup (Windows and Ubuntu co-existing), there are a lot of steps that are specific to dual booting, and you sort of have to filter the instructions relevant to you to get through the process.

Overall, though, the Installation part of the book is well detailed, such that with a little additional support, a proficient Windows user can end up with an installed copy of Ubuntu and get on to the rest of the book relatively easily.

Getting Started

The next task for the Linux newbie is getting to grips with the unfamiliar interface. Beginning Ubuntu Linux gives you a good rundown of the differences between Windows (or OS X) and the GNOME interface, including annotated screenshots and tables.

There is a slight concern in my mind that depending on the level of expertise of the reader, rushing in at this point to introducing concepts such as virtual desktops might be a bit too much to take in at once, but on the other hand, it would be difficult to fit that section elsewhere in the book.

Getting Up and Running

This part of the book focuses on getting things working post-install, such as getting connected to the internet, including wireless networking.The problem I have with this section is that it does jump quite noticeably in difficulty level.

Having had a gentle ride so far, it is as if you are suddenly thrown in at the deep end.

For example, using Ndiswrapper to configure Wi-Fi cards not natively supported by Ubuntu seems way beyond the level explored thus far.

While network access is quite fundamental to Ubuntu being useful, I can't help thinking this would have better been saved for later.

The Command Line

It is assumed in some parts of the book that you want to take Ubuntu further than just using it and delve somewhat into the more technical side. Of course, while it is possible to skip whole sections on this, important concepts might be missed out.

The introduction to the shell in this part is well written. Everything you need to understand to do basic tasks at the command line is adequately explained, without throwing too much detail in too early. Again, we're back to a gentle pace.

In itself, this section is actually an excellent beginner's guide to any Linux CLI and gives a good solid framework of knowledge to learn about the more techie side of Ubuntu.

Of course, whether this section is of utility or interest, or at the right difficulty level, depends a lot on the reader.

Applications and Multimedia

For most of the rest of the book, you drop back down a difficulty level to being more of a consumer, focusing on multimedia and many of the productivity applications that Ubuntu provides.

The multimedia section discusses the legal issues of proprietary codecs well and its step-by-step tutorials makes it easy for users to enjoy media content in many different formats.

The applications that are covered are the OpenOffice.org productivity suite and the Evolution email and groupware client.

Each of OOo's applications are covered in a good amount of detail, often comparing to similar features of Microsoft Office where appropriate. Again, these sections alone would make a formidable beginner's reference to OOo, especially for those migrating from or working in conjunction with MS Office.

The same in depth coverage is given to Evolution, with the viewpoint of using it as a replacement for Outlook. Again, there is reference to Outlook, equivalent features and focus on integrating with users of other email systems.

I can't really argue with these chapters. They provide an impressive go-to reference for OOo and Evolution and I can certainly see them being useful in easing the transition from a Windows/Office system.

Management, Optimisation and Appendices

Rather curiously, installing and removing software is left for this section, close to the end (but frequently referenced to elsewhere in the text). Again, the content is well written and all necessary concepts are explained perfectly well, but the placement of that section seems a little, well, bizarre.

Also detailed here are backups, connecting to remote machines as well as user and group management and more.

Finally, the appendices include a glossary of bash commands, how to get help as well as how to run the other versions of Ubuntu that ship on the other side of the DVD.

Overall

Beginning Ubuntu Linux is undoubtedly a good starting point for anyone with intermediate or greater Windows skills that wants to dip their toe in the Linux world.

In general, the book is detailed and comprehensive and makes a great introduction to desktop Linux and subsequently a sound reference tool.

It seems, however, to be a sort of hybrid book - as I just said, it starts with an introduction/getting started guide at the front and then suddenly switches into a reference book for much of the remainder.

A complete novice reading from cover to cover might well end up taking in too much in one go, getting confused and then giving up.

To get the most out of this title, I think you need to initially be very picky about what you read. Don't be tempted to venture into the technical aspects, such as the command line, too quickly. Plenty of digestion time is necessary, unless you already have Linux experience and just want a refresher.

The book is a strong starting point for those who are good at Windows and want to venture into the world of Linux and I would recommend it for those people.

Again, though, it's not necessarily to be read in a linear fashion; picking and choosing the right sections to read at the right times is important.

Full disclosure: Publisher Apress approached me asking me to review this book and sent me a free review copy. Other than that, there is no affiliation or other involvement between myself or FOSSwire and Apress.

[DVD image source]