[SOLVED] Mint 12/Win7 dual-boot partition problem

[tomween1]

I have a few questions before installing.

I am running a dual boot win7 32/ Ubuntu 11.10. My last install of a Ubuntu OS was back in the 6's. I am not liking the new 11.10, mainly the Unity/Gnome/Gnome2.... choices. Though there are many helpful in the Ubuntu community, there are way to many conflicting answers when asking a question. This having been said, I have seen a few mentions of Mint 12 and like it's look and comments I tend to hear. So...
1) Can I simply install Mint over 11.10? If not, how do I go about replacing the Ubuntu 11.10 OS with Mint?

OR

Am I wrong in my thoughts, that this is a different OS and that it is a shell?

2) If it is a full OS will I still be using the same apps found in Ubuntu apps?


I have been using Windows products since 3.0 and realize how brainwashed and lazy I've become. I am not even an average computer knowledgeable person, however I want to be. PLEASE show compassion and patients.

[Oscar799]

Yes you will be able to install Mint to the same partition as you installed Ubuntu - during installation you format that partition which prepares it for the new OS.
Mint main edition will offer the same range of apps as Ubuntu,either pre-installed or available from Software Manager
At login Mint 12(Lisa) offers a choice of desktops - Gnome3,MATE or Gnome Classic
If you don't want that then maybe Mint 9 (Isadora) would be a better choice for you,it is a long term support release (LTS) which will receive updates until April 2013 and uses Gnome 2.30.2 desktop.

Mint 9 is available here http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=13

Mint 12 is available here http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

The user guide may be helpful too the latest one is here http://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php

[bimsebasse]

2) If it is a full OS will I still be using the same apps found in Ubuntu apps?

Pretty much, though some application are different. Everything you have installed in Ubuntu 11.10 you can also install in Mint 12.

[HankB]

Hi tomween1,

Before I say anything else, I'll state that regardless of how you do this, it is wise to have a complete backup of anything you want to save. It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Before you install Mint, do you have a separate partition for your home directory? I'm presuming if you've been using Ubuntu for this long, you are aware of the implications of installing vs. upgrading. I'm commenting as much here for any newbie who might not be aware of this.

To switch from one distro to another you will need to reinstall. If your home directory is on the same partition, you will need to back it up as it will be wiped out during the install. (When you do the Mint install, you will want to reformat the partition on which it installs.)

If you do not have a separate home directory, now is a great time to make that change. Then should you need to reinstall later, you may not have to disturb your home directory. On the other hand, if you have already tweaked your desktop in Ubuntu and preserve that through the install, much of that customization should be preserved. That can be good if you like what you have. It can be bad if you want to see what is new with Mint. Or it can be troublesome if something in your present customization causes problems for the new installation.

FWIW, I installed Mint 11 on a separate partition and my desktop looked pretty much like it had under Ubuntu 11.04. That was actually a bit of a disappointment as I was curious about what the default Mint desktop looked like.

[tomween1]

I thank you both very much. It's nice to know there are some good people still left in this world!

So lets start here. Attached is a snapshot of my hard disk. Now that being said... I seem to remember way back, that you couldn't see a Linux partition through Windows. Does this still hold true?

I really like the look of 12. Do the older versions look similar?

EDIT: when I try to attach the ss, this is what I get "Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached."

[tomween1]

Yes you will be able to install Mint to the same partition as you installed Ubuntu - during installation you format that partition which prepares it for the new OS.
Mint main edition will offer the same range of apps as Ubuntu,either pre-installed or available from Software Manager
At login Mint 12(Lisa) offers a choice of desktops - Gnome3,MATE or Gnome Classic
If you don't want that then maybe Mint 9 (Isadora) would be a better choice for you,it is a long term support release (LTS) which will receive updates until April 2013 and uses Gnome 2.30.2 desktop.

Mint 9 is available here http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=13

Mint 12 is available here http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

The user guide may be helpful too the latest one is here http://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php

Ok riddle me this... Why are there so many different versions? I looked at Mint 9^ and it shows 9 or 10 different dl's. (with exceptions, I do understand the langue and 64bit differences. I myself use 32bit)

[HughT]

Hi tomween1 and welcome. Yes Mint is a complete operating system very similar to Ubuntu. Linux systems can read the Windows NTFS file type, but Windows can't read Linux. You'll have all the programs you're familiar with from Ubuntu, since Mint is based on Ubuntu and uses the same repository for down-loading new programs (through Synaptic Package Manager, Mint Software Manager or apt-get). I'm currently using Mint 11 Katya, but will probably move on to 12 soon. The 'look' of Mint is similar across the versions, but of course you can change the look easily through 'Preferences'. Your Ubuntu 'Home' folder contains many of the preferences and tweaks you may have built up over the years. These are made visible in your Nautilus file manager by hitting Ctrl+H. I'd guess that most of these will be compatible with the latest Mint, BUT I wouldn't bet on it! There could well be some incompatibilities due to different versions of the Gnome desktop. Best to back up all your work and go for a clean install.
regards.

[tomween1]

Try again w/ pic. Hmmm nope, still getting Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached. Why Got it



I also have realized my disk space for Ubuntu is SERIOUSLY low. I have used 89.8% 0f the 5.5gb's used at install. I tried to figure out to increase the disk size but I will investigate this now.

From the windows side

[tomween1]

During the install of Mint 12 I needed to stop at this point. I do not know which partition to extend and truthfully not sure how It's done. I am aware that the largest partition is win7. Thank you

[Roken]

As it stands at the moment you have two swap partitions, which is completely unnecessary. If you are going for a clean install with this and have already backed up your documents that you want to keep, I would delete /dev/sda6, sda7 and sda5. Once deleted you will have around 8 - 8.5 Gb of unpartitioned space. Create a swap partition at the end of (and common thoughts vary on this) 1.5 x your physical ram (if you have a lot of ram, i.e. > 4Gb, then you can probably get away with not using a swap partition at all) and create your ext4 partition in the remaining space. Mount the ext4 as / and mount the swap as swap. Then you should be good to go with the rest of the installation.

[Oscar799]

Moved here from Newbie Questions

[tomween1]

Thank you Roken. I am confident up to this point "Create a swap partition at the end of (and common thoughts vary on this) 1.5 x your physical ram (if you have a lot of ram, i.e. > 4Gb, then you can probably get away with not using a swap partition at all) and create your ext4 partition in the remaining space. Mount the ext4 as / and mount the swap as swap. Then you should be good to go with the rest of the installation." I do have 3Gb of ram (If this helps) Are the steps you've mentioned all performed within the application shown in the pic?