no "install alongside windows" option on disk

[Quackers]

If you already have 4 primary partitions on your disc you will need to delete one first. You can then shrink your Windows C: drive with Windows Disk Management (after defragmenting it first). This will create the space necessary for a new extended partition, which can hold as many LOGICAL partitions as you wish.
Other people in your position have deleted the HP TOOLS partition as these tools can be downloaded separately from the HP website, if needed - though you probably won't ever need them.

[mrjoeyman]

If you already have 4 primary partitions on your disc you will need to delete one first. You can then shrink your Windows C: drive with Windows Disk Management (after defragmenting it first). This will create the space necessary for a new extended partition, which can hold as many LOGICAL partitions as you wish.
Other people in your position have deleted the HP TOOLS partition as these tools can be downloaded separately from the HP website, if needed - though you probably won't ever need them.

Yes this is true because you are only allowed 4 primary partitions on a disk. But I think you could work around this without deleting anything. Just make the leftover (unallocated) space after the shrink, an extended partition and then create, either one logical partition to install Linux on, or if you want to have a custom partition scheme, make them all logical. Except of course for the swap.

If it gives you errors, then you will have to delete a partition and start over. And yes good advice on the defrag.

[Quackers]

That won't work I'm afraid. If you shrink the C: drive and leave unallocated space you will still have 4 primary partitions, which as you have said, is the maximum possible on a MBR partitioned disc.
If you try to create an extended partition (which is a different type of Primary partition) you will be attempting to create a 5th partition. At best it will fail. At worst Windows will change its partition type to dynamic disks. This is not good news if you want to install a different operating system.

[mrjoeyman]

Thanks Quackers! Very good to know. There you go OP, let us know how it works out.

[HDVH]

OK so can I relistically just delete the HP tools bit then? Planning on using Ubuntu just don't wanna completely get rid of Windows... but HP Tools? I don't even know what it is! Just checking it won't upset the day to day running of my comp if i judt click delete? Thanks guys!

[mrjoeyman]

Nope shouldn't be a problem, but it might not be large enough of a partition. How big is it?

[Mark Phelps]

OK so can I relistically just delete the HP tools bit then?

NO -- that partition is way too small for installing Ubuntu.

Instead, you need to shrink the Win7 OS partition -- which you do ONLY from the Win7 Disk Management utility. Do not use GParted or the Ubuntu installer to do this shrinkage.

If you're then left with a block of unallocated space -- that continues to the end of the drive -- you are OK to create an Extended partition in that space.

But, BEFORE you do that, use the Win7 Backup feature to create and burn a Win7 Repair CD. You will need this to restore Win7 boot capability if anything goes wrong during the subsequent dual-boot Ubuntu install.

[HDVH]

OK burning a system repair disc (presume that's what you meant!) as we speak.

I'd already shrunk the 'C' partition before i realised (thanks to you guys) that I couldn't have more than 4. Sooo, I currently have:

System: 199 MB
C: 124 GB
Unallocated: 91.35 GB
Recovery: 17.24 GB
HP tools: 99 MB

So does this look OK and could someone please walk me through 'creating an extended partition' in the space I've got unallocated!

Thanks everyone for your help so far!

H