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I'm relatively new to linux and want to dual boot along windows. However, I want linux to be on my D: drive, because I'm short on space on my C: drive.

When installing I want to make some partitions on D: but I'm unable to make some extra free space, because it doesn't show how much space is used. It only shows "unknown" in the used space part. My D: drive is also shown as sdc and there is no sdb.

How can I solve this? Will formatting the drive work? Gparted https://i.stack.imgur.com/DVlLC.jpg

Tdcallen
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  • Do you have two physical HDDs or SSDs? In most cases C: and D: drives in Windows are not real drives. And if Ubuntu installer asks you if you want to clear a drive and install Ubuntu, it won't mean C: or D:, but a real physical drive. So be careful. – Pilot6 Nov 14 '19 at 15:06
  • The C: drive is an SSD with windows 10. The D: drive is a 500GB HDD with just some movies and games and has 100 GB free space. However, when I try to partition this D: drive for installing Ubuntu, I can't shrink it to make some free space. The "used" column says "unknown". – Tdcallen Nov 14 '19 at 15:32
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    Can you post a screenshot of gparted? – Pilot6 Nov 14 '19 at 16:02
  • @Tdcallen Please make a screenshot of what gparted shows and upload it to an image hosting site such as imgur.com then put the link to that in your original question with [edit]. Please do not use Add Comment; instead, use [edit]. We need to check for the kind of partitioning used by Windows; its occasionally used Dynamic partitioning causes problems for Ubuntu https://askubuntu.com/questions/910145/ubuntu-installation-problem-with-dynamic-disks https://askubuntu.com/questions/482768/changing-windows-dynamic-disk-partition-to-basic-partition-and-not-the-full-driv – K7AAY Nov 14 '19 at 17:15

1 Answers1

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C: and D: are the designations that are used by the Windows operating system. As you noticed, volumes in Ubuntu are designated in the format sda, sdb etc. Partitions on these drives will be in the format sda1, sda2 an so on...

There must be free space for the Ubuntu installer to use. If you boot into the USB containing Ubuntu, you can choose the option "Try Ubuntu". The live system will include a program called "Disks" (gnome-disk-utility). The Disks application can be used to delete partitions and to format entire volumes.

Before any making changes, be absolutely sure that you are working with the correct drive, since formatting a drive or deleting a partition will effectively remove all of the data. For good measure, when installing operating systems, you should always make sure you have made adequate backups in case you make a wrong move and delete everything.

Please see: How do I install Ubuntu alongside a pre-installed Windows with UEFI? for info on the installation process itself.

Nmath
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  • Ubuntu booted perfectly from my USB. And I have 100 GB of free space on my D: drive. When running the instal Ubuntu program, I can't partition the drive as the used space is "unknown". – Tdcallen Nov 14 '19 at 15:40
  • There's a program already installed on Live Ubuntu called Gparted. If you navigate to /usr/share/applications, run it, find your correct disk and you'll see the unallocated space of 100GB. Highlight it, click 'partition' tab, then 'new'. Then format it as primary partition on ext4. Then install on that. – Paul Benson Nov 14 '19 at 16:03
  • Thank you, will the Gparted partition process lead to dataloss on the drive? – Tdcallen Nov 14 '19 at 16:33
  • @Tdcallen Yes, if you format a drive/partition or delete a drive/partition, the data is effectively gone. If you make a mistake you can also cause data loss - back up! – Nmath Nov 14 '19 at 16:49
  • @Tdcallen As long as you're sure you've highlighted the unallocated space to format, you'll be fine. It's obvious which is the partition (as it's already formatted) and which is the unallocated space which is marked as such. It's self explanatory really, but back up your data just to be safe. – Paul Benson Nov 14 '19 at 16:58