Replace Windows 7 with Ubuntu 11.04 from Dual Boot

[oogway]

I currently have a dual boot system with BackTrack 5 and Windows 7. I no longer want Windows 7, so I wish to replace it with Ubuntu 11.04. What's the best way to remove the Windows partition and install ubuntu in it without screwing my grub loader (having it updated with Backtrack 5 and Ubuntu 11.04)?

[Hakunka-Matata]

Booting to a Ubuntu liveCD and using Ubuntu's partition editor would be a good way to start. You can delete your windows7 partitions there and create the necessary partitions for your ubuntu installation.

Installing Ubuntu will also install Grub (Ubuntu's bootloader) and that will allow you to select which system to start.

[Basher101]

Depending on how big your Windows partition is, you can get the "install aside" option when you try to install from the LiveCD if you got enough space after deleting Windows

[Furball588]

Do you have a preference on how you want to deal with grub from backtrack?

I guess I'm just not seeing any reason to let backtrack control things if you don't have any preference here.

[oogway]

Well, I would still want the OS selector via grub, having Ubuntu 11.04 as the main OS. Backtrack can be left down as a secondary option (if this is possible, don't really care who manages my boot, Ubuntu or Backtrack).

Should I delete the windows system and boot partitions completely with the Ubuntu LiveCD? I just don't want to screw my Backtrack OS since it's now stable after several weeks scratching my head!!!

[Furball588]

What's your partitioning look like now?

I believe that backtrack also uses grub2. If that's the case, then the ubuntu install should take care of everything. At worst, you can mount the boot partition in backtrack and add the entries into the 11.04 side of things manually

IIRC, if you tell the installer in 11.04 not to install on the MBR, the grub files are still generated, so working the other way would work as well.

[oogway]

These are my partitions right now:

root@bt:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000b278a

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 13 102400 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 13 42517 341412245+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 42517 60802 146869249 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 54690 60802 49092608 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 42517 54189 93754368 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 54189 54690 4018176 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order
root@bt:~# fdisk -l | grep NTFS | awk '{print $1}'
/dev/sda1
/dev/sda2
/dev/sda5

Not sure if that helps. If not, I will just proceed with the Ubuntu LiveCD and cross fingers lol :D

[oogway]

Everything worked as expected. I used the partition manager from the liveCD to delete NTFS system and boot drives. Installed on the newly free partition and good to go!! Backtrack and Ubuntu working great! Thanks guys!:guitar:

[Hakunka-Matata]

Hey, good to see it's all fixed up. Use Thread Tools to mark your thread solved.