Dual Booting/New At Linux

[WindowsXPNoob]

Well I have not tried Linux but through youtube videos and browsing through this forum I'm interested in it.

I want to know that if I want to try out Linux Ubuntu but would also like to have it dual booted so if I'm not in the mood to install everything at once and would still like access to my windows xp computer. How would I go about doing this?

What I mean is should I install Linux Ubuntu first or do the partitioning first? (also could someone refer me to a guide that would help me with partitioning/dual booting)

And once I successfully install Linux Ubuntu onto my computer would I be able to install microsoft office and firefox easily through Wine?

[khafa]

i suppose that your windows xp is already installed. in that case make some free space(shrink the windows partition if its filling the whole disk up).
then you install ubuntu or whatever distribution you going for into the free space(there is a choice during installation to do so).
at the end the linux distro will ask you if to install the bootloader to the MBR, you choose "yes" and you will have your xp and linux right there.
for shrinking the partition PartedMagic PartedMagic
make sure you read the documentation an understand how to use it before proceeding and dont forget to backup your data

for Wine i have never used, someone here who already has will guide you, but you dont need wine to run firefox

[devils casper]

I want to know that if I want to try out Linux Ubuntu but would also like to have it dual booted so if I'm not in the mood to install everything at once and would still like access to my windows xp computer. How would I go about doing this?

I would suggest you to boot up from Ubuntu CD, open Terminal and execute this

sudo fdisk -l

Post output here. Lets check existing partition structure of your HD first.

What I mean is should I install Linux Ubuntu first or do the partitioning first? (also could someone refer me to a guide that would help me with partitioning/dual booting)

GParted Partition Manager is available Ubuntu CD and you can resize/create/delete partitions with easily.

And once I successfully install Linux Ubuntu onto my computer would I be able to install microsoft office and firefox easily through Wine?

Firefox is pre-installed in Ubuntu and there is no need to run it with wine. You will face a lot of problems while running MS Office with wine. I would suggest you to check OpenOffice in Ubuntu. Its pre-installed and MS Office alternative in Linux.

[kostasan]

You can try Ubuntu and most other Linux Distributions without even installing them! For example, boot your pc with the Ubuntu CD and if you like it, you can install it later.
OpenOffice is also available for Windows and it has equal quality to MS Office. And it can save to PDF!

[WindowsXPNoob]

Thank you for all the help but how do I partition my hard drive? I may have done it before, but do not remember how to.

Also one person used Grub to dual boot windows xp and linux Ubuntu. Would I have to use this as well?

When I do dual boot how does it work to switch between windows xp and linux ubuntu?

Are there any downsides to using Wubi? Or is it the same as installing Ubuntu without it?

[devils casper]

Thank you for all the help but how do I partition my hard drive? I may have done it before, but do not remember how to.

Its really easy to create/resize/format partition through GParted Partition Manager and its available in Ubuntu CD.

Also one person used Grub to dual boot windows xp and linux Ubuntu. Would I have to use this as well?

Dont worry about dual booting. Its default in all Linux distros. Linux installer will detect Windows OS, install GRUB and setup dual boot itself. After installing Ubuntu successfully, GRUB Menu will appear at startup and you will have options to boot up either OS.

[WindowsXPNoob]

Okay, and lets say if I like Linux Ubuntu and would like to have it installed onto my computer. Would Wubi be the right choice? And then how would I partition without using the Ubuntu CD?

[techieMoe]

Okay, and lets say if I like Linux Ubuntu and would like to have it installed onto my computer. Would Wubi be the right choice? And then how would I partition without using the Ubuntu CD?

If you choose to install Ubuntu using Wubi, you will not have to partition anything at all. What Wubi does is make a very large (approx. 4GB) file in your Windows C: drive that it uses to run Ubuntu. You won't be getting 100% the same speed as if you ran a dual-boot with separate partitions, but it's significantly better performance than running it from the LiveCD and a lot less work than setting up your own partitions. You can even remove Ubuntu later using Windows Add/Remove programs.

[WindowsXPNoob]

So if I really got to like Linux Ubuntu from the live cd than installing Ubuntu without Wubi would be the right choice because it would be faster than the live cd or Wubi?

If so how do you partition without a live cd or Wubi?

Also would wine let me install stuff like msn messanger, aim, xfire, or computer games (Like Quake, age of empires, age of mythology, or online games.) without struggling too much?

[techieMoe]

So if I really got to like Linux Ubuntu from the live cd than installing Ubuntu without Wubi would be the right choice because it would be faster than the live cd or Wubi?

I'm a little confused by that sentence, but I think the answer is yes: setting up a dual-boot will give you the best performance of the 3 options (liveCD, wubi, dual-boot). The downside is that it's riskier (since partitioning can make you lose data if something goes wrong).

If so how do you partition without a live cd or Wubi?

You actually don't have to do the partitioning yourself. The Ubuntu installer will automatically shrink your existing Windows partition during the install. The only thing you have to decide is how much space to give Linux and how much to leave to Windows. There's a little slider you drag to determine that.

I would highly recommend you backup anything important on the Windows side and run a defrag before you do this, however. The reason is that Ubuntu will try and shrink your Windows partition from the far end of the disk, and if you don't defragment you could in theory lose some files on the Windows side. Defragmenting brings those files away from the far end of the disk and clusters them toward the front.

Also would wine let me install stuff like msn messanger, aim, xfire, or computer games (Like Quake, age of empires, age of mythology, or online games.) without struggling too much?

You can connect to AIM and MSN Messenger using native Linux clients like Pidgin. There is a native Linux version of every Quake title. The other games might or might not work in Linux. Check the WineHQ Application Database for a good idea of what works and what doesn't.