Intel Mac Ubuntu Not Working.

[Hevlic]

Hello. I am new to Linux, and I have tried to install Ubuntu, Xubuntu, and Kubuntu inside windows on my mac in an attempt to determine which would work better. However, this did not go well, as most of the features didn't work at all for each of them (Kubuntu wouldn't even install). After browsing around online I ran across a Ubuntu download "ubuntu-base-20060326.iso" that states to have been specifically designed for intel macs (which I am using). After burning it to a disk and booting through that disk, a dialogue flashed onscreen, and then----- nothing. Is the image I downloaded defective? Or do I have to do some partitioning of the drive to get it to work? And, if at all possible, is there a way to run it without partitioning? After all my prior mishaps partitioning, I am extremely hesitant to do it again.

[Hevlic]

I guess I should also ask, does running VirtualBox on my computer partition my hard drive in any way? And if so, can it be undone?

I ask this simply because when I tried to install Linux so many other times before, my computer wouldn't allow me to resize my boot camp partition. It seems to me if there are any other partitions on the hard drive, hidden or not, the computer will tell me I need to back up all my data and reformat as a single volume. I have no device I can use to backup my information on (no flash drive or disk that will hold 30GB), so in the past I had to painstakingly burn each and every vital bit of information to a 2.7GB DVD. I guess I'm wondering if I screw up installing Linux, can it be fixed without having to go through the trouble of deleting my hard drive?

[Rubberman]

VirtualBox stores the guest OS in a virtual disc that is a file in the host operating system. It does nothing with the hard drive of the system. If you mess up, or don't want to use the VM installed OS any longer, you just delete it. VirtualBox has tools and a GUI to do all of that.

[Hevlic]

Okay, thanks! I'll just use VirtualBox for now.