Generally lots of people want to try Ubuntu but are afraid to do so as they don’t want to mess with their existing Windows Vista or XP. They are just afraid and sometimes not bothered that much to give Ubuntu a try.
Today, I have prepared a small How-to for such guys, who are really interested but are just kind of afraid or don’t know the exact steps. Hope it helps the new Ubuntu (Linux) adapters:

Step 1: Create Space for Ubuntu
Check out the following slide show to see how to do that. Steps involved are:

  • Go to Start and highlight Computer in Vista.
  • Right-click on Computer and select Manage.
  • Go to Disk Management.
  • Right-click on the drive you want to create space in for Ubuntu.
  • Select ‘Shrink Volume’ and create at least 10GB space for Ubuntu.
  • The same steps are visually shown in the slide show.
How To Partition Vista For Ubuntu

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: Ubuntu partition)
Step 2: Check if Vista is working fine
To be on the safer side and to make sure Vista is working fine, reboot once again in Vista. When you are satisfied Vista is working, insert the Ubuntu installation CD and reboot once again.
Step 3: Prepare Ubuntu Installation
While booting for Ubuntu installation enter BIOS by pressing F12, F8 or any other key depending on computer make and select boot from CD/DVD option. For a Dell laptop it is F12.
Step 4: Install Ubuntu
  • When you get the Ubuntu boot option screen, select the first option, ‘Install and try Ubuntu without affecting your data’.
  • This option loads Ubuntu without installing it so that you can see what it looks like, all other goodies and play on it without affecting anything on your computer. This is called the live session.
  • Now to install, there is a icon on the desktop that says, ‘Install ubuntu’.
  • Double-clicking on that icon will start the actual install process.
  • First few steps are pretty straight forward. Just select the time zone, city, keyboard etc and keep pressing Forward button until you get to choose the partition on which Ubuntu will live.
  • This is the most important step and make sure you get it right.
  • Ubuntu installation will provide you with several options,
    • Guided (Ubuntu will not touch the partition you created instead it will further shrink down Vista partition to create space for itself. You could use this option if you try to avoid Step 1, but it is safer to do so as mentioned in Step 1.)
    • Use the largest free space (the one you created with Vista disk management tool in previous step)
    • Use entire disk (Give full control to Ubuntu and trash everything on the computer including Vista)
    • Manual (You choose who uses what space)
  • Choose ‘Use the largest free space’ and keep going.
  • Provide your login information and make sure you remember them.
  • Let the installation finish, and follow the on screen prompts.
  • Once the install finishes, press ‘Restart Now’, remove CD and hit Enter.
Step 5: Boot with Ubuntu or Vista
  • When you boot, you will see the new GRUB screen where you can select if you wanted to boot with Ubuntu or Vista. You just created a Dual Boot Vista and Ubuntu computer.
  • Use arrow keys to select the OS you want to load and hit Enter.
  • Enjoy your brand new Ubuntu Linux OS and learn how things work. Most significant benefit you will feel is the booting time.
  • I am sure after using for a couple of days, you will be happy that you gave it a try.
Step 6: Questions/Suggestion
If you face any problem and/or have any suggestion, drop a comment here. I didn’t create it as a screen cast because all the screens are self explanatory while installation. If you guys want, I can create one and update this post.
Hope this small how to helped the new users make the switch or at least made it easy to at least try Ubuntu.Related Posts:

  1. 25 Reasons to use Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows
  2. How to try Ubuntu without messing with your existing OS?
  3. How to install Linux with Windows?
  4. 20 things to do after installing Ubuntu

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