Hi all,
I know this is a very frequently asked question but hear me out here. Most tutorials assume you have a windows installation already and some of these are using the older Fat32 & ext2 partitions.
I have Ubuntu 13.04 32-bit currently installed on my system. The system has a Dell Windows recovery partion of ~16GB size (this came with my Dell Laptop) and a larger partition of ~285 GB, where the ubuntu 13.04 is currently installed. I am looking forward to end up with a dual boot of Windows 7 Professional 64-bit and Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit, preserving the Dell Recovery partition and using a large Partition for Data. From what I read, I think I might prefer clean installs for both OS's.
I'm a bit of a newbie to Linux as well, which I installed after a recent hard drive crash.
I was hoping if you could help me with the scheduling the steps/tasks I'd need to perform to achieve this dual boot.
I am looking for basic specific information on:
What programs to use in order to repartition the hard drive before I install any OS, considering I have Ubuntu already installed.
What size of partitions would you recommend for Windows 7 Professional OS and Ubuntu 13.10 OS. I think I'll use a larger separate partition for data, in case either OS crashes. What about Linux Swap size?
What formats are best for the above mentioned OS's? Ext3,EXT4,NTFS,FAT32,etc.?
Once repartitioned what order would you recommend installing the OS. If I'm not mistaken, most believe Windows comes first.
Are there any steps I need to take in between the installation setups of the two OS's?
What are the pros/cons of letting the Windows Boot Loader / GRUB loader be primary? How do make the better one primary? Do I do this after I install both OS's?
Any other critical issues that I may have overlooked that I would need to address during this process of setting up the dual boot?
I am looking for general directions and guidelines.
Any input is much appreciated.
Bookmarks