====== Dual Booting Ubuntu Hardy Heron and Vista ====== {{:how_to:windows_to_ubuntu_and_windows.jpg|}} ===== Partitioning Vista ===== First of all boot into Vista. Click on the start button and right click on computer. This should bring up a menu with manage as one of the options. Choose this option. {{:how_to:start_computer.jpg|}} You get a security prompt asking if you wish for this program to run. Choose continue. You now have the Computer Manager open. Choose disk management and right click on your primary partition (will have the largest GB value ) and choose shrink. You should have this in front of you. {{:how_to:disk_management.jpg|}} Enter the amount of space you wish to devote to Ubuntu into the third box from the top (highlighted in the image above) and hit shrink. Please remember that this is measured in MB and that 1 GB is 1024 MB. So if you want 20 GB you enter 20480MB and so on. For now we only need one partition so we can leave it at that. ===== Installing Ubuntu Hardy Heron ===== Place your live cd into your cd/dvd rom drive and restart your computer. Enter the boot menu by hitting F12 at the splash screen. Choose the cd-rom option. You should now get the Ubuntu splash screen followed by a menu {{:new-boot-menu.png|Ubuntu Live CD Menu}} You can now try Ubuntu without changing your computer or install Ubuntu straight away. Try ubuntu and check it out. If you receive an initramfs error at this stage see the errors section below. If you still want to install Ubuntu choose the icon on the top left of the screen. {{:install_ubuntu.png|}} There are a number of steps involved in the installation: - Choose your location. - Choose your keyboard configuration. - Prepare disk space for installation. - Import user accounts. - Enter your personal information. - Recheck information provided. ==== Choose your location ==== Choose a location near to you by clicking on a city on the map. This is for time settings purposes. Click Forward. ==== Keyboard Configuration ==== This is specific to your own keyboard. If you are unsure of the configuration of your keyboard you can check some of the specialty keys such as á, í and € in the space provided below the selection window. When happy with your selection click forward. ==== Prepare disk space for installation ==== This is where our work from before in Windows Vista helps. You are given three options here. * Guided - use entire disk * Guided - use largest continuous free space * Manual Choose the manual option. First let's create the SWAP file. Click on New partition. The SWAP file won't need a whole lot of space to run but it is suggested on the forums to use one and a half times your RAM for SWAP but any more than a GB and a half is a waste. So if you have 2GB of RAM you don't need 3 GB of SWAP 1.5 GB will do. Now just change the Use as: option to SWAP while keeping the type of partition as Primary and the location as Beginning. Click OK to add it. Next lets set up a partition for the root directory. Click on New partition enter the amount of space you want to supply. Around 2 GB is the suggested minimum but you should give it as much as possible up to 10 GB. Set the Use as: to EXT3 and the mount point to / Click OK to add it. Make sure the box for formatting is checked. Next lets set up a partition for your own personal files. Again click on New partition enter the amount of space you want to supply. This is entirely up to your requirements. If you are going to be storing a lot of large files give it a lot of space. Set the Use as: to EXT3 and the mount point to /home Click OK to add it. Make sure the box for formatting is checked. You can use only two partitions if you wish. One for SWAP and one for the rest . The reason for using three partitions is for when you want to upgrade to a newer version of Ubuntu you need only to upgrade the / directory and your personal files will be untouched. ==== Import user accounts ==== If the installer detects any user accounts from Vista it will give you the option to import them now. If you want to, do so if not, don't. ==== Personal Information ==== Here you are asked to enter your name and password. You have the usual password double entry. The name you give here will be the name of your user account. ==== Recheck information provided. ==== This just a check of all the information you entered in the previous steps. Once you are happy that everything is correct hit that special button "INSTALL". Get yourself a cup of coffee or a beverage of your choice. This may take a minute or three. ===== Errors and Problems ===== ==== initramfs error ==== If after choosing to Try Ubuntu without changing your computer or install Ubuntu you recieve a an initramfs error messsage you can try the following fix. I have read on the forums that this has worked for some and not for others so it could be hit or miss. Power off your machine and when you get back to the live cd menu (where you can choose to try Ubuntu or install) and hit F6 and add the following code to the end of what is already there. all_generic_ide floppy=off irqpoll Try installing after and it should work. ==== Partitioning problems ==== If while partitioning your hard drive you recieve an error it could be because you can only have four primary partitions on any hard drive. If you have a backup partition and 40 odd MB to an EISA partition then you will need to delete these or get a second hard drive to proceed. Most Dell computers come with both these days. Please note that if you choose to delete these you may be voiding your warrantee so think carefully before doing so. The EISA partition contains the diagnostic tools that you will be asked to run if you contact support and are unable to boot Windows. There is also the possibility of using extended partitions and logical drives instead but you'll have to google that. It can be difficult to delete the EISA partition as it is protected. The method I used was while doing the Prepare disk space for installation step for installation I choose the EISA partion for my /home directory resized it to my requirement and chose to format it. As Barry Scott says "Bang and the dirt is gone". ==== Wireless card not working ==== After installing I found that my wireless card was not working in Ubuntu. I spent a few infuriating hours trying to fix it to no avail. Luckily the next day an update came in to help but not fully solve the problem. I think this exact fix((http://blog.roberthallam.org/2008/04/broadcom-4318-ubuntu-hardy-heron-ndiswrapper/)) will work only for a Broadcom 4318 wireless card but I'd say could be modified for other cards. To fully solve this problem do the following: * Remove the b43-fwcutter package $sudo aptitude remove b43-fwcutter * Reinstall ndiswrapper $sudo apt-get install ndisgtk * Download and install wireless driver [[http://roberthallam.com/wmp54gs.tgz|WMP54GS Driver]] or $wget http://roberthallam.com/wmp54gs.tgz $tar -xzf wmp54gs.tgz $ndiswrapper -i wirelessdriver/WMP54GS.inf * Create bash script to fix wireless $sudo gedit /etc/init.d/wirelessfix.sh Into the file, put: #!/bin/bash modprobe -r b44 modprobe -r b43 modprobe -r b43legacy modprobe -r ssb modprobe -r ndiswrapper modprobe ndiswrapper modprobe b44 *Save it, then change the permissions to 755: $cd /etc/init.d/ && sudo chmod 755 wirelessfix.sh * Add the wirelessfix script to the scripts that are run at boot time $sudo update-rc.d wirelessfix.sh defaults * Reboot your system or, as root, execute the commands you put into the wirelessfix.sh file ===== Refrences ===== ==== Wireless fix ==== [[ http://blog.roberthallam.org/2008/04/broadcom-4318-ubuntu-hardy-heron-ndiswrapper/]] ==== initramfs fix ==== [[ http://ubuntuforums.org]] Can't find exact page now. Will add asap.