How do you dual boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu or Fedora?

Question

I have an HP Laptop with Windows 7 and I have a good amount of space on my hard drive. So I figured why not dual boot with Windows 7 and either Ubuntu linux or Fedora linux?
First of all, what is recommended more to dual boot with, Ubuntu or Fedora?
Second, how do you actually setup dual booting?
Also I heard you would have to do partitioning of some sort with my hard drive.
What would be the rule of thumb to get enough space for Ubuntu or Fedora?
Thanks!

Answer 1

Installing Ubuntu as a dual-boot with Windows without partitioning

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wubi



You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application.



Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.



Boot in to windows insert the Ubuntu 10.04 LiveCD and you will offered the option of installing inside windows which is where the Wubi installer comes in, you will be asked how many gigabytes you wish to allocate to Ubuntu (I recommend 8gb) then you set a password for your installation then click install and thats it.



Once Ubuntu is fully installed upon starting your PC you will be given a choice of which operating system you want to use Windows or Ubuntu



Ubuntu 10.04 Download

http://releases.ubuntu.com/10.04/



Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) User Guide

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Lucid



Linux Mint 9 built upon Ubuntu 10.04 has a similar feature called mint4win and the directions given above for Wubi can be followed

http://duncsweb.com/2009/09/27/mint4win-a-wubi-based-installer-of-linux-mint/



Linux Mint 9 Download

http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=52



Linux Mint 9 User Guide Download pdf.

http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_isadora.php



Ubuntu 10.04 and Linux Mint 9 can also be run straight from the LiveCD without touching your Hard drive





LUg.

Answer 2

Actually- dual boot is the only way I have been able operate windows and Linux on the same computer, and have it work well. I tried virtual box- windows xp inside a virtual box on Ubuntu and Mint. Had too many problems with the xp crashing.

With dual boot-never had a problem.



I don't know about Fedora, but with Ubuntu or Mint, you install Linux on your windows pc. The install manager will give you the option to install Linux beside windows in a dual boot ,or erase windows and just install Linux. Just select "install side by side". The system will do the rest. The partitioning is automatic.



I do recommend that you use Mint 8 or Ubuntu 9.10 and not the latest releases of U 10.04 and M 9, as they are still unstable as of 06-02-2010.

Answer 3

Once you install Linux (both Ubuntu and Fedora will automatically resize your Windows partition), boot into Linux. Use an editor (gedit, vim, nano, emacs, etc) to edit /boot/grub/menu.lst You must be root to modify the file. So sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst or "su -" then edit the file. Change "default=0" to whatever corresponds to your Windows partition (remember, it's 0 indexed). You may have to periodically fix up this file once in a while when you update the kernel, or else you'll get a bunch of things in the list but your default will stay the same.

Answer 4

i have yet ro have a dula boot of linux work well regardless of the instructions you try to follow, so i always have a seperate hard drive for this. however, since you can't do this on a laptop, you will need to install 7 first, and linux second, and expect nothing to work right after that.

your next choice is to downlaod the free vmware from ms and use a virtual box for your linux install, and don't expect that to work well either.

Answer 5

get a software like System Commander



it will let you create multiple boot partitions.

Answer 6

You can partition your drive

You can use a virtual system

You can use wubi