Trying to use Linux to fix my computer, installin windows inside linux

[z1411]

So I am beyond noob with linux. Im sure nobody has ever heard that one before...

Anyways, my harddrive failed. Bad. But I have two. Im a windows user, and have wanted to convert to linux for a long time, but never got off whatever video game I was playing to do it.

So my harddrive failed, but I have a secondary 500gig... I tried booting windows repair, and the windows install, but neither work (this is odd due to the fact that my hdd failure shouldnt stop me from booting from a flash drive). Amazingly though, I came across a old flash drive with Ubuntu on it. So I installed that, worked perfectly.

Ive spent the last week or so trying to figure out the basics of linux... Which I havent made much progress on, but Ive been happy with tinkering around and forgot about reinstalling windows... Until now.

Anyways, I have the windows 7 cd on a bootable flashdrive, and Im trying to figure out if and how I can install windows 7 beside linux on the secondary harddrive, but doing it through linux. Is this possible? If so, how? I looked over the "how to install software in Linux" but it didnt do me much good with this one.

So far Ive done nothing but nearly fail at installing Wine.

[jayd512]

Hi there!

You have two main options for installing Windows.
1) To install "inside" Linux, you can use a program such as VirtualBox.
Check their website for system requirements.

2) You can create a dual boot system. Using any Linux LiveCD, you can shrink your Linux partitions to make room for Windows. The main problem there is that Windows will overwrite you GRUB entry and make Ubuntu unreachable until you reinstall GRUB.

[z1411]

Id like do to a dual boot. But what Im wondering is if its possible (after shrinking partitions) to install windows with the windows cd while running linux. So basically running the windows cd, like you would any cd if you were on windows, and installing from the linux desktop. Booting to install disc doesnt work for some reason, which is why I want to try installing from desktop.

[yancek]

But what Im wondering is if its possible (after shrinking partitions) to install windows with the windows cd while running linux.

No. Not unless you use something like VirtualBox as suggested above.

Booting to install disc doesnt work for some reason, which is why I want to try installing from desktop.

You mean the windows 7 cd on USB doesn't work? What exactly happens when you boot the USB? Do you get any error messages from windows? Is your windows 7 CD on the USB a full installation CD, a recovery CD??

[z1411]

I get a loading files bar at the bottom of the screen, it finishes, then I get a permanent black-sod. Ive gotten it to actually load up a "Settinng up Windows" page, but it takes a couple hours to get it to that, and then it just freezes on the choosing partitions for a few more hours... Ive gotten it to actually attempt to install on a partition, let it sit for a day and it never completed. Just restarted itself. Its a full install (ive tried repair). Works perfectly on other computers. Ive been working on this problem for awhile now, have tried a lot of things, just thought Id try to use linux to fix it... But sounds like the answer was a "no" in short...

[LSalab]

it just freezes on the choosing partitions for a few more hours... Ive gotten it to actually attempt to install on a partition, let it sit for a day and it never completed.

Is your original hdd still plugged in???

It sounds to me that maybe the damage to your first drive is a lot worse than it seemed, try installing the dual boot without having your damaged drive plugged in. Maybe the windows installer was just having some pretty serious I/O waits and got stuck in the middle of it all.