Installing linux on win 8

[oldfred]

Since you have no partitions, you have to use + to create them. Only if already existing would you use change.

This shows the details also:
UEFI install,windows 8 with Something Else screen shots
http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/201...e-windows.html


My suggested sizes:
For the Total space you want for Ubuntu:
Ubuntu's standard install is just / (root) & swap, but it is better to add another partition for /home if allocating over 30GB.:
Only if gpt - all partitions in gpt are primary:
gpt: 300 MB efi FAT32 w/boot flag (for UEFI boot or future use for UEFI, you only can have one per drive, so if already existing do not attempt another)
gpt: 1 MB No Format w/bios_grub flag (for BIOS boot not required for UEFI)
for gpt(GUID) or MBR(msdos) partitioning
Ubuntu partitions - smaller root only where hard drive space is limited.
If total space less than about 30GB just use / not separate /home or standard install.
1. 10-25 GB Mountpoint / primary or logical beginning ext4(or ext3)
2. all but 2 GB Mountpoint /home logical beginning ext4(or ext3)
3. 2 GB Mountpoint swap logical

Depending on how much memory you have you may not absolutely need swap but having some is still recommended. I do not hibernate (boots fast enough for me) but if hibernating then you need swap equal to RAM in GiB not GB. And if dual booting with windows a shared NTFS partition is also recommended. But you usually cannot create that as part of the install, just leave some space. Or partition in advance (recommended).
One advantage of partitioning in advance is that the installer will use the swap space to speed up the install. Thanks Herman for the tip.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DiskSpace

[jabbe-duck]

Yeah i did it No problems here .D Dualbooting perfecly through grub Works flawsless Thanks for all the answers

[jabbe-duck]

Hi again. SO i got it to work perfecly But now i installed GNOME3, but it didnt work as expected and now i cant change background and it hangs sometimes. and i think its best to just reinstall ubuntu. How do i do it now?
Do i have to go back to windows again and partition ? Or can i just boot up a live usb and do as i did when i installed it first time??

[Mark Phelps]

I would be VERY careful about replacing an existing Linux install when there is a Windows install present on the same drive. Lots of folks have been posting lately about doing a simple upgrade of Linux versions only to find their Windows partitions erased!

[jabbe-duck]

Okaj :/ ****. Hm how do i do then... ****. I have installed GNOME 3 but i dont disapears :/

[oldfred]

You can post a new thread on gnome issue. Most just install another gui.

But if re-installing do not use any auto options. Only use Something Else and select same / (root) as new root. Same if you have /home but do not reformat. It will find an existing swap automatically.

Reinstall says overwrite Ubuntu but it also erases existing Windows.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...y/+bug/1265192

[jabbe-duck]

You can post a new thread on gnome issue. Most just install another gui.

But if re-installing do not use any auto options. Only use Something Else and select same / (root) as new root. Same if you have /home but do not reformat. It will find an existing swap automatically.

Reinstall says overwrite Ubuntu but it also erases existing Windows.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...y/+bug/1265192

Okey . I think i understand. Safest way is always to choose Something else, then you can choose by your own.

So im going to choose Something else / select the existint /root /home and the swap and then it should be safe not to wipe windows ?

[oldfred]

It should be safe, but anytime you do major system changes you want to have good backups. Mistakes happen. And important data should be backed up anyway as hard drives to fail.

The vendor recovery DVDs are just an image of your drive as purchased. If you have housecleaned a lot of cruft normally included, run many updates with many reboots, and added software you may want a full back up.
Backup windows before install - post by Mark Phelps
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...0#post12611710
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
Another suggestion by srs5694
http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm


Make your own Windows repairCD (not vendor recovery):
http://forums.techarena.in/guides-tutorials/1114725.htm
Windows users only - Silverlight
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/w...em-repair-disc

Windows 7 repair USB, Also Vista if service pack installed
http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-re...tion-dvd-disc/
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/10/creat...usb-drive.html

[Herman]

I think I found an easy solution.

My wife has a laptop which came wih Windows 8 in it and even though she figured out how to use Windows 8 enough to do what she needed, she still wanted me to get rid of it and install Ubuntu for her instead. This is my first experience with Windows 8 and I wasted a lot of time reading all about EFI and Secure boot and other people's how-tos. Most of them were about how to dual boot, which is not what we wanted to do this time. We wanted to replace Windows 8 with Ubuntu.
What I wasn't sure about was whether I had to do a lot of complicated stuff like making an extra 'boot' partition and switching things off in the EFI and stuff like that. I managed to find out how to make the darn thing shut down completely and I had a look at the settigns in the EFI, to go back to 'Legacy BIOS", but I can't remember if I left it like that or not, I think I left it in EFI mode.

I had a spare 1000GB HDD lying around, brand new and still in the box, and I was getting impatient. All the reserach and complicated instructions I was reading was starting to drive me crazy.

Well I just swapped the original HDD with the brand new unformatted one and booted my 13.30 64-bit Ubuntu installation USB and it booted right up.
Then I ran the installer and just let it go with all the defaults, it was the easiest installation I have ever done in my life!
In no time at all the new Ubuntu installation was booting up and after placing the Windows 8 hard drive in an external USB3 case and doing a file rescue, and some updates and a little registering of accounts, I was able to present my wife with her new Ubuntu-only laptop.

No special knowledge was required. I still don't know anything about Windows 8, secure boot or EFI.
The Ubuntu developers have done a great job, Ubuntu 13.10 is really nice and after all the FUD I was reading about Windows 8 it turned out to be a peice of cake to just replace Windows 8 with Ubuntu.

The only trouble is, now we have an extra hard drive lying around with Windows 8 in it that's never going to be used for anything.

[oldfred]

@Herman
Another user posted that he regularly buys new laptops, better one's but with hard drive and like you, removes hard drive, installs SSD and Ubuntu for a very fast system. Then later when he sells it, he puts hard drive back in with unused Windows 8.
Did you use gpt partitioning? And BIOS or UEFI?
Ubuntu works with gpt partitioning and will boot with BIOS or UEFI from gpt. Gpt has some advantages including a backup partition table. I now format all new drives with gpt and leave space for an efi partition at beginning, but boot with BIOS as that is all I have now.