Mazza558
October 6th, 2007, 12:33 PM
The Ultimate Dual-Boot Setup!
If you love Ubuntu, but need to keep XP around for whatever reason, such as gaming, specific apps which refuse to run with Wine or in VirtualBox/VMWare, this is the perfect Dual Boot setup.
*Does not work with Vista*
All you need for this is:
-Windows XP install CD
-Ubuntu 7.04 and above (as far as I know)
-Internet connection of any kind
-3 or 4 hours of time, at the max. (Usually takes about 2 hours if you're fast)
Overview
This setup is at its easiest when starting from clean installs, so if you enjoy your current dualboot setup, there's not really any point in following this guide.
What you are going to attempt is to create 3 partitions (apart from the swap partition), one with Ubuntu on, one with Windows on, and a shared partition. Sounds familiar? Well, how about making the shared partition ext3, as well as using it for all Windows software, creating personal folders (like Work, Music, etc), and use it as Ubuntu's Home partition?
Think of the benefits:
-No defragmentation on the shared drive
-Your Windows partition doesn't become defragmented as fast
-The shared partition keeps all your settings for Ubuntu if you want to reinstall
-The two OSs will ignore the files from the other OS unless told to (e.g, Ubuntu will ignore your Program Files folder, and Windows can hide all the Ubuntu system files)
-All your documents and other files are shared, and all programs from both OSs can access them
-Windows programs installed on the shared partition perform a lot faster than on NFTS
Here's a visual idea of what your partitions will look like:
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/2640/overviewhz3.jpg
(Windows Driver letter is actually C:/)
The Guide
Step 1: Install Windows
-Backup EVERYTHING you want to keep!
-Insert your Windows XP CD and follow the instructions until you get to the partition menu. Delete all the partitions until you get "Unallocated Space".
-Create a new partition for XP to reside in. I recommend to make the size 5-8 GB, depending on the size of your Hard Drive.
-Follow the instructions and wait for the setup to finish - you should be at the Windows XP desktop.
Step 2: Set up partitions
Now we get to the exciting part!
-Grab your Ubuntu CD and slam it into the CD drive. Start to restart XP so that you don't get Ubuntu's Windows menu.
-Depending on how your PC's set up, it'll either boot straight into Ubuntu or just into XP again. If it boots into XP, restart and look for the key which'll let you access the boot menu.
-When you're in, and you're looking at the Ubuntu LiveCD desktop, you need to find Gparted, the Gnome Partition Editor. In Gusty, this is simply in "Applications > System Tools".
-Create an ext3 partition to be your shared, and home, partition. Make this very big, but leave some space for the Ubuntu partition.
-Create another ext3 partition, but this time, use all of the remaining space apart from 1GB for the Swap partition. It's recommended to leave about 15-20GB for Ubuntu if you're an Application Junkie (like me)
Step 3: Install Ubuntu
-Hit "Apply" to create your partitions. This could take a few minutes.
-When all is said and done, close Gparted and fire up the installation.
-Follow the questions until you get to the partitioning. Select the manual option.
-Select your biggest ext3 partition and click "edit partition". Change the mount point to "/home".
-Select your smallest ext3 partition and click "edit partition". Change the mount point to "/"
-Tick the "format" option for both of these drives, but NOT for the NFTS partition!
-Choose not to import anything from the XP install.
-On the last step, check over the options to make sure everything is in order.
-Hit Install, and watch those percentages fly!
Step 4: Check everything is okay
-Boot into Ubuntu and check that it boots correctly
-Boot into XP to see if it's still working. Stay on XP!
Step 5: Setup Windows to recognize your shared partition
-Install the files required for internet access (if required)
-Point your browser (IE if you have to) to this address:
http://www.fs-driver.org/download/Ext2IFS_1_10c.exe
-Run this program and follow the instructions. You'll find it'll detect both the ext3 partitions. Choose any drive names for the Partitions. It'll then install the kernel extension that allows you to access the partitions from Windows.
Step 6: Tidy Up
-Once you have access to your Ext3 Drives from Windows, open the "/home" partition.
-Now, create a folder called "Program Files", and also create another folder called "Documents" (unless you're on Gusty, in which case, this will have already occured)
-Move all your Personal folders into the "Documents" Folder.
-Go to "Start", then right-click on "My Documents". Click on "properties", and change the target for "My Documents" to the Documents folder on your shared partition. Select to move all of the contents of "My Documents" to the new folder.
-Boot into Ubuntu and change the folder links.
Step 7: It's Testing time!
-Grab one of your Windows games or apps to test.
-Choose to install it to your shared partition, in the "Program Files" folder.
-Watch, as it installs swiftly with no hiccups!
-Fire up your newly installed program and watch how quickly it loads and runs!
Step 8: Enjoy!
-Sit back and relax! You are now using the Ultimate Dual Boot Setup! :):KS
If you love Ubuntu, but need to keep XP around for whatever reason, such as gaming, specific apps which refuse to run with Wine or in VirtualBox/VMWare, this is the perfect Dual Boot setup.
*Does not work with Vista*
All you need for this is:
-Windows XP install CD
-Ubuntu 7.04 and above (as far as I know)
-Internet connection of any kind
-3 or 4 hours of time, at the max. (Usually takes about 2 hours if you're fast)
Overview
This setup is at its easiest when starting from clean installs, so if you enjoy your current dualboot setup, there's not really any point in following this guide.
What you are going to attempt is to create 3 partitions (apart from the swap partition), one with Ubuntu on, one with Windows on, and a shared partition. Sounds familiar? Well, how about making the shared partition ext3, as well as using it for all Windows software, creating personal folders (like Work, Music, etc), and use it as Ubuntu's Home partition?
Think of the benefits:
-No defragmentation on the shared drive
-Your Windows partition doesn't become defragmented as fast
-The shared partition keeps all your settings for Ubuntu if you want to reinstall
-The two OSs will ignore the files from the other OS unless told to (e.g, Ubuntu will ignore your Program Files folder, and Windows can hide all the Ubuntu system files)
-All your documents and other files are shared, and all programs from both OSs can access them
-Windows programs installed on the shared partition perform a lot faster than on NFTS
Here's a visual idea of what your partitions will look like:
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/2640/overviewhz3.jpg
(Windows Driver letter is actually C:/)
The Guide
Step 1: Install Windows
-Backup EVERYTHING you want to keep!
-Insert your Windows XP CD and follow the instructions until you get to the partition menu. Delete all the partitions until you get "Unallocated Space".
-Create a new partition for XP to reside in. I recommend to make the size 5-8 GB, depending on the size of your Hard Drive.
-Follow the instructions and wait for the setup to finish - you should be at the Windows XP desktop.
Step 2: Set up partitions
Now we get to the exciting part!
-Grab your Ubuntu CD and slam it into the CD drive. Start to restart XP so that you don't get Ubuntu's Windows menu.
-Depending on how your PC's set up, it'll either boot straight into Ubuntu or just into XP again. If it boots into XP, restart and look for the key which'll let you access the boot menu.
-When you're in, and you're looking at the Ubuntu LiveCD desktop, you need to find Gparted, the Gnome Partition Editor. In Gusty, this is simply in "Applications > System Tools".
-Create an ext3 partition to be your shared, and home, partition. Make this very big, but leave some space for the Ubuntu partition.
-Create another ext3 partition, but this time, use all of the remaining space apart from 1GB for the Swap partition. It's recommended to leave about 15-20GB for Ubuntu if you're an Application Junkie (like me)
Step 3: Install Ubuntu
-Hit "Apply" to create your partitions. This could take a few minutes.
-When all is said and done, close Gparted and fire up the installation.
-Follow the questions until you get to the partitioning. Select the manual option.
-Select your biggest ext3 partition and click "edit partition". Change the mount point to "/home".
-Select your smallest ext3 partition and click "edit partition". Change the mount point to "/"
-Tick the "format" option for both of these drives, but NOT for the NFTS partition!
-Choose not to import anything from the XP install.
-On the last step, check over the options to make sure everything is in order.
-Hit Install, and watch those percentages fly!
Step 4: Check everything is okay
-Boot into Ubuntu and check that it boots correctly
-Boot into XP to see if it's still working. Stay on XP!
Step 5: Setup Windows to recognize your shared partition
-Install the files required for internet access (if required)
-Point your browser (IE if you have to) to this address:
http://www.fs-driver.org/download/Ext2IFS_1_10c.exe
-Run this program and follow the instructions. You'll find it'll detect both the ext3 partitions. Choose any drive names for the Partitions. It'll then install the kernel extension that allows you to access the partitions from Windows.
Step 6: Tidy Up
-Once you have access to your Ext3 Drives from Windows, open the "/home" partition.
-Now, create a folder called "Program Files", and also create another folder called "Documents" (unless you're on Gusty, in which case, this will have already occured)
-Move all your Personal folders into the "Documents" Folder.
-Go to "Start", then right-click on "My Documents". Click on "properties", and change the target for "My Documents" to the Documents folder on your shared partition. Select to move all of the contents of "My Documents" to the new folder.
-Boot into Ubuntu and change the folder links.
Step 7: It's Testing time!
-Grab one of your Windows games or apps to test.
-Choose to install it to your shared partition, in the "Program Files" folder.
-Watch, as it installs swiftly with no hiccups!
-Fire up your newly installed program and watch how quickly it loads and runs!
Step 8: Enjoy!
-Sit back and relax! You are now using the Ultimate Dual Boot Setup! :):KS