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Subject : Re: LUG: Welcome to the LUG! First meeting: installfest party -

From : Richard Carter <rwcarter@ncsu.[redacted]>

Date : Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:26:58 -0400

Parent

If you go the dual boot method:
I would personally stay away from non-Windows tools when resizing a Windows (NTFS) partition. I, and people I've talked to, have had corruption problems with Linux tools trying to manipulate the NTFS file system, even in recent versions (as stable as they may supposedly be). I've also had problems with editing files on my Windows partition from within Ubuntu, causing consistency checks. I keep them totally separate and don't even mount my Windows drive from within Ubuntu any more.
Anyway, point is, I would absolutely use Windows to resize your partition, and the linked webpage is exactly the instructions I would recommend. Get to Disk Management as it says and just hit resize. You can do it while Windows is running. Resize it to leave however much space you want for Linux to have; most Linux distributions are quite small (only a few gb at most, correct me if I'm wrong LUG) so if you are limited in disk space, as little as 10-20gb should be plenty. It's all up to you.

Otherwise, I like Wubi. It's a program that installs Linux "into" Windows. It's similar to dual booting in the sense that your computer will ask you Windows or Linux each time you boot your computer; but Linux is stored entirely in your Windows C: drive (no need to resize your partition, etc) and if you get tired of Linux and want to delete it, there is an uninstaller in the Add/Remove Programs just like any other Windows program. It's great when you are trying Linux for the first time and not sure if you want to keep it. But dual boot does have advantages if you're going to be running Linux in the long run.

It's hard to say which one I'd recommend for you, but I'm leaning towards dual boot. If you run Windows primarily but ever have problems with it, if you dual boot then you can "retreat" into Linux without worrying about it being within your Windows partition. Something about that separation just feels better to me, so I have separate partitions on my main laptop. But in my netbook, I just wanted to try out Ubuntu Netbook Edition so I installed it through Wubi. I have kept it, and there's certainly nothing wrong with running Linux long-term from the Wubi installation method.

Also one more thing: typically Wubi would be faster and easier; download the Wubi installer, run it, select which Linux you want and hit install, and it automatically downloads and installs it. But at this meeting, you'll be able to do a network boot of the Linux installer which is incredibly super fast and awesome and I totally recommend it. So it might actually be easier for you to install via dual boot. :)

Now that I've fully confused you, good luck on making your choice!! :-P


-Ricket


On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 9:55 PM, Brian Cottingham < spiffytech@gmail.[redacted] > wrote:
No, you don't need to purchase Ubuntu; it, and most other flavors of Linux, are free of charge.

If you want to install Linux in a virtual machine, or with the special "Wubi" installation method (the easiest ways to install Linux), you don't need to do any preparatory work.

If you want to install Linux in a dual-boot mode (so your Linux install is completely separate from your Windows install), you'll need to repartition your hard drive ahead of time. This web page says you can do it with built-in Windows tools. I haven't tried this method (LUG members usually use a GParted live CD), but if it works it's probably the easiest way for you to do the partitioning. Always back up your data before you repartition your hard drive. Hitting the wrong buttons means you lose your whole OS and all your data.

-Brian



On 9/2/10 9:34 PM, Lucas Bromir wrote:
Hey! I'm new to LUG but I'm excited about the install party;  I had a couple questions: Will we need to buy linux or ubuntu? I'm new to all this but I'm pretty excited to get into it, I've always wanted to but was unable to. Also, is there anything we need to do previously before coming to the event to our laptops? I'm running on a pc windows 7 if that will help with anything.

Thank you,

Lucas Bromir

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 4:39 PM, Edward Anderson < nilbus@nilbus.[redacted] > wrote:
If you recently found us and signed up for announcements (perhaps during welcome week or CCC), Welcome!
You are now part of the coolest engineering group at NC State! (seriously ;-)

Our big welcome activity this year is an Installfest, different than we've ever done it before.  It's going down about like this:

Teaser - what are you getting yourself into?! Pendragon is going to show off some cool stuff on his Linux machine.
Install - do it yourself. Follow along as we walk you through it on the projector.
Food - free pizza and drinks will be arriving after we get started with the installs.
Card Games - we'll have Settlers of Catan, Flux, and playing cards. The LUG is more a social group than anything else, so have fun and get to know people!
Intro to Linux - we want you to know how to do everything in Linux that you'd normally use your computer for. We'll have these short intros:
- Ubuntu Software Center
- Searching for and installing software from the command line - install ubutnu-restricted-extras for Flash, codecs, Java, etc
- Pidgin for IM and IRC (chatting with us in IRC might soon be a requirement for membership ;-)
- Electric Sheep eye candy
- OpenOffice
- Get the Chrome web browser
- Using Google and Ubuntu Forums to find answers
- VIM text editor and Eclipse
- Scripting in Python
LAN Party - Quake 3! Just bring your computer (weren't you doing that already?)

What are the new guys installing?
This time, we're focusing on doing quick Ubuntu installs in Windows in virtual machine, via wubi, or as the main OS. Quick and easy.

Please think ahead of time about which type of install you want to do:
Virtual Machine: Windows and Linux run at the same time using VirtualBox - we recommend at least 3GB RAM and multiple cores for this to run smoothly. Runs windowed or full-screen.
Wubi: Ubuntu installs from inside Windows. When you turn your computer on, Windows asks if you want to start Linux or Windows. Both run at full native speed. You can uninstall Linux/Wubi later via add/remove programs. If Windows dies for whatever reason, so does your Linux install.
Native Install: Forget Windows... get brave and install Linux as your main OS. You probably won't want to go back anyway ;-) Back up your data first!
Dual-boot: Choose which OS to run at boot, but unlike Wubi, it doesn't rely on Windows working. There's no time to resize partitions during installfest, so you must do any resizing.
Upgrade: Of course, you're free to do whatever you want here. This is also a good time to upgrade or try something new. We'll also have Fedora, Open SuSE, Ubuntu64, and others by request.

Not installing? We can definitely use your help with all the people who are. Come enjoy the food, games, and good conversation

Time & Place : Riddick 461 - This Tuesday (Sept 7) at 6pm

Be there! 



-- 
--Brian