Dual Booting Ubuntu Linux

I installed Ubuntu on a new hard drive and set up my computer to dual boot both Ubuntu and Windows XP over the weekend.

The entire process is piece of cake easy and involved little more than these steps:

Download Ubuntu 7.0.4 iso image from Ubuntu’s site.

Burn iso image onto CD.

Install CD and reboot computer telling it to boot from the CD during the restart.

At this stage, I learned that the iso image is actually a Live CD. It launches an operational version of Ubuntu straight from the CD. I was able to browse the internet and play some games while I tested to make sure things worked.

One of the icons on the desktop was an install icon. Doubling clicking it launched the real installer.

It noticed I had two hard drives and asked which one I wanted to partition for Linux. I picked the new external USB hard drive and off it went with no other interaction the rest of the way including setting up the GRUB Loader to show the different OSes during boot up.

Only it wasn’t quite that easy. The hard drive that I installed on we a Western Digital 160 GB My Book. I used it briefly to back up some of the files from the Windows XP hard drive. When it configured itself for that, I named the hard drive “My Book.” The Ubuntu installer could not partition the drive because it did not like the space in the hard drive name.

It took me several hours to realize that this was the problem. I logged back into Windows, renamed the device, rebooted to the Ubuntu installation CD and went through the steps again, and this time everything worked.

I browsed, played Sudoku and went to bed. I will start testing and configuring the system to make sure the printer and scanner work and that I can play DVDs etc. as time permits.

I’ve installed Linux versions in the past, including some of the Ubuntu 6.x.x versions and was amazed at how easy the install went this time.