Help installing linux/ubuntu

Installing Ubuntu or Linx

I tried to install Ubuntu 10.4 when it first came out over a year ago, I bought my first Linux mag and it had the Unbuntu install disk with it. I had tried a couple of days before downloading the install disk but kept getting errors on it after checking it, so I bought the mag. I had partition and formated my hard drive, one which would have windows xp and an other for ubuntu, thought it would be better this way having a dual boot, I knew that I could have used the ubuntu partition (which I'm sure I tried later) but as I was saying, so once I started the install and go though the set-up and it would look to do the updates which it would find the wirless signal but didn't seem to work:( even after I tried doing the updates after it install it was still the same, but the worst thing was after restarting the computer it would lock me out, so each time I had to use the windows recovery disk but fixing the drive wouldn't work so every time I had to do a complete format and reinstall of windows (which was a few times) I spent all weekend day and night trying different options still no good, this was before I was registerd on any Amiga sites so couldn't ask for help, I did try to get some answers form the ubuntu help site. So in the end I had enough. I had thought that my mobo was to old for the dual boot system. I have changed that system since then and I have picked up a couple of pc's including a couple of old mac's, 2x imac g3's and a quicksilver powermac g4, I also have a p3 with swappable drive bay and a p4. It would be great to have a linux system and a morphOS syestem up and running but without the long weekend day & night just to set it up :) Any thoughts on the problems and how to avold the mess-ups would be great also if you've had problems setting up yours.

Cheers
Don :thumbs:

The first thing to get right is the HDD partitions if you wanted to dual boot Windows and Linux. Personally I like less hassle and just dedicate a PC to Linux as a standalone system and just have it installed as the only OS. However I have done a fair few dual boot setups. The easiest way is to install Windows first and only setup a partition on the HDD large enough for Windows. leave the rest of the HDD unpartitioned. Once that is all installed and working then boot the PC from the Linux disc. Start installing and it will ask you some questions about detecting another OS and if you wish to dual boot. Now using the Linux installer partition the rest of the space on the HDD using the Ext partition formatting it uses. It will also normally install Grub, which is the boot loader and will load and ask you to pick which OS to load.

Then it should run through installing Linux and is normally quite automated much like Windows installers these days. Once installed you might have some hardware such as Wireless that might not be working. With Networking and Wireless i have found this can be the most troublesome to get working if it hasn't installed out of the box by itself. The most success I've had is a Linux utility that allows you to install and use the Windows drivers for the device in Linux. Worked well for Linksys PCMCIA wireless adapters on a laptop, and for a PCI wireless card in a PC. Failing that see if you can install a wireless card that uses a Prism chipset as these are the most compatible.

Hope that helps.

Any more questions please ask.