request info on dual boot - please read entire post

[windowsfree]

I have a laptop with Ubuntu 9.04 on it and it is pretty much set up the way I like it.
(1 gig memory, 60 gig HD and a celeron processor- Yes, it is an old Gateway)
anyway i have windows 7 ultimate running in a virtual machine and for performance gains and other reasons was thinking of having the laptop setup to dual boot Win7 and Ubuntu.
I heard and read so much about the partitions with Win7 and the boot manager that I don't know if this is something I want to do. My workplace is adopting Windows 7 from XP shortly and using MS Office so that is another reason I was thinking about doing it.

I have a desktop with 1.5 gig of ram and 200 gig hd, an old semperon processor 2.0, that runs Ubuntu 9.10. I was thinking of doing it on that machine as an alternative, but again, will I have to wipe my install of Ubuntu just to save headaches of putting Win 7 on it.

Any and all feedback will be read, considered and much appreciated. Thanks!

[fancypiper]

Have you checked out this guide yet?

Dual Boot Ubuntu and Windows (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot)

Perhaps if you posted the output of these commands, we would know more about your systems.

sudo fdisk -l
mount
df -h

[windowsfree]

Have you checked out this guide yet?

Dual Boot Ubuntu and Windows (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot)

Perhaps if you posted the output of these commands, we would know more about your systems.

sudo fdisk -l
mount
df -h

Okay, thanks for your response, I attached the screenshots.

[fancypiper]

If your /home folder isn't too big (du -sh /home), you could copy that to a dvd, (possibly backing up /etc as well), you can then start from scratch with a better thought out partitioning scheme.

You are using a little over 8 GB for everything except swap, so I think you can probably save your settings on DVDs.

I would recommend something like this:
Windows partition - whatever Microsoft suggests,
/ - 8-10 GB
swap - no more than 2 GB
/home - the rest of the drive.

Install Windows first, then Linux, then you can copy your /home/<user>.

Be cautious about replacing your /etc files as you will have to rebuild your software selection.

[windowsfree]

OK, here is the output from that command.

Thank you for your help on this. I know I need at least 20-25 gigs for Windows 7, which will give me about the same for Ubuntu 9.04. I was told Windows 7 installs another unnecessary partition. I don't remember what forum thread I read that in.



If your /home folder isn't too big (du -sh /home), you could copy that to a dvd, (possibly backing up /etc as well), you can then start from scratch with a better thought out partitioning scheme.

You are using a little over 8 GB for everything except swap, so I think you can probably save your settings on DVDs.

I would recommend something like this:
Windows partition - whatever Microsoft suggests,
/ - 8-10 GB
swap - no more than 2 GB
/home - the rest of the drive.

Install Windows first, then Linux, then you can copy your /home/<user>.

Be cautious about replacing your /etc files as you will have to rebuild your software selection.

[fancypiper]

You have too much in /home (5.1 GB) to fit on one DVD, you may have to split it so that it is less than 4.7 GB (standard DVD-R).

You can probably get by with 5 GB for / if that is all the software you intend to install. My / is 20 GB and I had it full at one time. I am a little more selective with software now and I have 9 GB free in /.

[fancypiper]

This thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8676460#post8676460) has a method to copy your /home to /media/<foldername> and you won't have to burn to CD.

[windowsfree]

I looked at my home folder, i have an ISO subfolder and 3.5 gigs of that is my Windows ISO image. So I will be okay. Thanks for the help.......think I am gonna do it on the desktop that is running Ubuntu 9.10 for now. It has more ram and a quicker processor. I do appreciate your input. I may dual boot the laptop with XP and some point and your instructions were helpful and also a learning experience for me. Thanks again.