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I have a windows 8 laptop and i am interested in downloading and installing Ubuntu 12.04.3, but what happens next? Can I change back to my old desktop? How do i use Ubuntu? Please I need advice

user239416
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3 Answers3

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You can dual-boot both operating systems. The general steps are as follows:

  1. From Windows, shrink the partition Windows uses (it uses the entire disk by default). You want to give yourself enough space for Ubuntu, which doesn't require much compared to Windows. If you shrunk it 100GB, you would be fine for the foreseeable future.

  2. Download the Ubuntu .iso, and create a bootable flash drive or CD/DVD. There is free software out there to do this.

  3. Put in the flashdrive or CD/DVD, then turn off your computer.

  4. Turn the computer back up, stopping the boot process so you can get into BIOS.
  5. Tell the computer to boot from either flash or the CD/DVD drive, whichever you put Ubuntu on.
  6. You will be greeted with some options, just go into Live mode.
  7. You can now mess around and test how things work. Once you're happy, click on Install to Hard Disk (something along those lines) and follow the instructions :)

You now have both Windows and Ubuntu installed on the same computer. When you turn on your computer now, you will be given the GRUB screen where you can choose whether you want to boot into Windows or Ubuntu.

n.st
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jaredready
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  • I would suggest using the automatic "install alongside Windows" option in the Ubuntu installer instead of manually resizing the Windows partition. You can't resize the partition that your current system has booted from anyway. – n.st Jan 24 '14 at 16:42
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I recommend trying WUBI which stands for Windows Ubuntu Installer. It installs Ubuntu just like you would any other Windows software.

If you like or dont like it, you can just uninstall as you would any other software in Windows (Control Panel > Uninstall Software). If you like it, I would then recommend that you uninstall wubi then do a complete dual boot install. But this way you can get the feel of things without messing around with Partitions should you not like it, and want to revert to a Windows only system.

Colper
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I was nervous about Ubuntu -3 months later i have it installed on my SSD and crappy windows on a 1TB HDD when i have to use WIN for my steam games.

Other than that i havent looked back. Ubuntu is amazing -and so damn fast!

Cam
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