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View Full Version : [ubuntu] Dual boot with Linux tries to override partition.



jfinner1
April 14th, 2009, 09:36 PM
I'm in the middle of converting my friend to Linux Ubuntu, and so far it's not going so well. I followed the instrustions here (http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vista_with_linux_vista_installed_f irst.htm), but every time I get to the part of actually hitting "Install", I look at what Linux is trying to do, and every time it wants to format or write over my Vista partion. I even tryed setting up the partitions manualy instead of trusting it to use the "largest continuos free space", and it still wanted to write over Vista. Also, it doesn't recognize that Vista is there when asking if I want to transfer files from a previous user profile. As far as Linux is concerned, Vista does not exist. My friend almost told me to just overwrite Vista, not big deal, but then remembered that her husband needs a few programs that probably won't run on Linux, so she has to keep it. I don't know what else to try. Help? Thanks in advance.

Mark Phelps
April 15th, 2009, 03:07 PM
A "friend" who tells you to blow away hundreds of dollars worth of investment in an OS and applications, based on it being "no big deal" doesn't sound like a "friend" to me!

But, I digress ...

BEFORE you do anything to install Ubuntu, make sure you have a Vista DVD lying around. If you use the Ubuntu partitioner to "shrink" the Vista OS partition, you run the risk of corrupting it. That is easily fixed if you have a Vista DVD from which you can boot and then run Startup Repair. If you don't have that disk, and Vista gets corrupted, you've basically lost usage of it.