2 partitions, 1 for recovery

[wiab4355]

as the title suggests, my laptop has 2 ntfs partitions; 1 thats boots vista and the other for recovery (pres f8 on bootup, usual stuff)

while hoping to try kubuntu, i noticed the partition thingy only recognized 1 x 80gb hdd

if i had carried on the installation, would i have lost my recovery partition for good?

also, on bootup, pressing the f8 gives options to repair the vista part by using the recovery part - will this f8 option also be lost?

god, i'm such a noob!

[TTIO]

I'm also rather noobish, but I think I can answer this

If you only have 1 hard drive, but two partitions, Kubuntu may well recognise it as just the one disk still (I don't actually know seen as my disk had windows and an unformatted partition when I installed).

And certainly, using the recovery shouldn't get rid of it. If Microsoft have made even a half-decent OS (though I hear that they admitted to messing up with Vista) they should have it merely copy the necessary files, so that you don't lose anything. Of course, it may be more complicated than this, I don't know.

[thorkelljarl]

Try opening a terminal as root and using the command "fdisk -l". In case of doubt, type "man fdisk", or see Linux Command Directory: fdisk. Windows should lie on the first of the HDD, with the recovery probably before the OS file, perhaps as fat16 or fat32. You can use any Linux live-cd or try Parted Magic with a graphical interface and fdisk as an option. Parted will let you shrink your Win files and format for linux. There are guides online on dual booting linux with Vista, but I would remember to do whatever is the equivalent in Vista of defragmentering and a backup before moving anything, as well as doing a few dry runs with Parted Magic. Cabnetmakers learn to measure twice before cuting the once. Held med det.

[Jonathan183]

Double check partition option during the install I think by default Ubuntu and Kubuntu will use the whole hard drive eg wipe Windows and any other information off the drive.
As thorkelljarl indicated the recovery partition is likely to be a separate partition ... my laptop as shipped had 2 partitions - one with recovery info and one with Vista on. Run

sudo fdisk -l

to check the disk partition structure.
If you want to dual boot then during the install you want to shrink the Vista partition to make room for Linux or do a Wubi install.

[thorkelljarl]

Correction:
It appears that Vista is best reduced in size with its own disk management tool if it is to boot without a repair using a Vista installation disk. Thereafter, Kubuntu will allow you to open a terminal and run fdisk -l as sudo to check what you have, and you may take notes. It should also permit you under some expert setting to format just where and what you want,and to make changes which will be provisional until you are asked, finally, to accept them. I would play with the formating tool to see how it works, always paying attention to my escape with the back, abort or cancel button. You can always just reboot: its a live-cd. Faint heart ne'er won...