Consequences of downloading ubuntu

Question

If I download ubuntu would it delete all my programs, and stuff in my operating system? I know it says that in the tutorial but wth I dont want to have my stuff deleted.

Answer 1

Strictly speaking, downloading Ubuntu won't do any harm to your machine (You should always confirm you have a verified copy though).

Once that said, I understand you want to know if installing Ubuntu will lead to the loss of your old files. Well, it all depends whether you're planning to create a dual-boot on your machine, if you want to use Ubuntu in a virtual machine or if you mean to delete your former OS and install Ubuntu instead.

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Short answer

• Dual-boot: None harm done normally (be careful of the system partitioning tho), but you more or less won't access your files from one OS to another.

• Virtual machine: None file loss. All your old files are kept in your home OS (and you can't exchange files between OSs unless you install guest additions and configure your virtual machine to enable this feature. It is explained how to do so here).

• Installation & removal of old OS: everything will be lost. Be careful to save your files before you choose this option.

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Detail

Generally speaking (this is not only true for Ubuntu), if you install it next to your former OS (having 2 OSs is called dual-boot, you choose which OS to boot on every time you switch your computer on), you won't loose your old OS nor the files it contains. However, keep in mind that when you're when dual-booting, it's like your OSs don't know the existence of each other, so the files you manipulate in one OS won't be stored at the same place as the ones you're using in the other OS.

However, Ubuntu can see your Windows files (which is very convenient when your old Windows is broken and you want to recover important files before reinstalling it or whatever). You can learn how to access your Windows files in Ubuntu here.

In a virtual machine, it is like you have a virtual computer (called guest) within your real computer (known as host). Installing a virtual machine won't hurt either your main OS or the files contained within. Home and guest OSs aren't supposed to communicate with each other but it is possible to copy/paste and drag&drop things if you install guest additions in your guest OS and configure your VM to enable it. There's a link in the short answer part to know how to do so.

Finally, if you install Ubuntu and erase your old OS, everything will be lost.

Be confident though, the installation software of Ubuntu is pretty straight-forward and there are little chances you don't understand what you're doing. If you're still afraid of doing something wrong, there are plenty of tutorials for installing Ubuntu on the Internet (either in Dual Boot or by erasing the old OS). Here is a tutorial to learn how to install Ubuntu along a Windows OS.

Hope this helps!