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My goal is to run Windows 8.1 on my Laptop from the factory-installed HDD, and use the same EXT USB 3.0 HDD that I use to backup my files as the location for my Ubuntu Install. I am under the impression that I simply need to use the Universal USB Installer from the Installation Instructions, however my question is:

When selecting my external USB 3.0 HDD, do I need to format it in order to use it to install Ubuntu, or can I keep my stuff on there and use the USB Installer program along side my backed up files? I really don't want to reformat my Ext USB 3.0 HDD but I don't currently have a smaller USB flash-drive handy, nor do I have a BIOS capable of booting to my built-in SD Card Reader or a blank DVD-R to make a bootable DVD.

So my only option is to use this USB 3.0 External HDD, but as I said, I can't lose the files I have on it already, and I don't want to reformat it.

Tim
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Adamplex
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1 Answers1

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Please if possible make backups of your data on your external USB drive, you could loose all data due to mistake (close lid and suspend), error/bug or hardware issue.

It should (assuming reliability and enough space) be possible to resize the partition with your data on, to make space for Ubuntu.

You can do this before installing (How to resize partitions?).

The installer does offer to resize partitions to make space, not sure if it provides this option on drives without an existing OS.

Community
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NGRhodes
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  • I appreciate the information. Using Disk Management in Windows 8.1, I was able to "Shrink" the volume of my external HDD's partition and then turned the, now leftover, uncatalogued volume space into a separate partition. I allotted 15.0 Gb to this newly partitioned (as FAT32), and then used the universal USB installer to use the 15Gb partition as a "built-in flash drive". After doing so, I rebooted my PC, booted into the boot manager, and selected "USB Device". Because the 15Gb partition on my USB HDD was flagged as Primary, the PC automatically selected it to boot to and I installed Ubuntu. – Adamplex Apr 16 '14 at 06:05