Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

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h8uthemost
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Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Hey guys,

I'm new to Linux. I installed Ubuntu as a dual boot along side of XP a few days ago. But I really wanted to install Linux Mint(Elyssa). I was playing with it on a Live CD, and I like it much better than Ubuntu. But...since I"m so new to partitioning, I installed Ubuntu instead because its partitioner is so much easier than Linux Mints. With Ubuntu, you should move a slider. With Mints, the installer only has a manual option. And I did not understand it at all.

So I'm looking for a very detailed tutorial on how to dual boot xp and mint. But, what I'm really wanting is that tutorial to be very detailed on the partitioning. Since that's the only part I'm having trouble with. I've found a tutorial, but it's really complex on it's partitioning.

So if anyone know of a very detailed one, then I would really appreciate a link.

Thank you.
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h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Thank you. But that tutorial is for Ubuntu. And I know how to dual boot with Ubuntu already. I"m just looking for something that shows how to use the partitioner in the Mint installer in great detail.
h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Ah...that's a good idea. :) Would you happen to know of the best way to format a partition?

Thank you for your help.
h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Cool, it sounds like this installation will be pretty easy then. And I have two partitions on my hard drive. One for XP, and one for Ubuntu. I never made like a 50gb partition to hold all my files. Just the two. Will I still be ok if I format the Ubuntu partition?
h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Any confirmation on this? Would it be ok to just pop in the Live CD, run the Mint installer, format the Ubuntu partition and install Mint on it?

EDIT: Well, I'm playing with the Mint installer. And I come to the partition part. And I have three partitions. One is the NTFS partition(which is holding Windows XP), which is 62906MB. About 63GB in size. The second is a ext3(that is holding my Ubuntu) and is 16351MB. I'm guessing about 16GB in size. And the third is my Swap partition. Which is 764MB in size.

http://www.lookpic.com/getimg.php?img=partition.png

Now, when I right-click on the Ubuntu partition, there is an option to Format, but I can't tick the box next to it. Like it's unavailable to me. Would anyone happen to know why?

http://www.lookpic.com/getimg.php?img=edit.png

Thank you for the help.

Actually, in that Use As: box there are a bunch of options. By default it's set to Do Not Use Partition. And I cannot tick the format box. All the other options in that box are:

Ext3 Journaling File System
Ext2 File System
ReiserFS Journaling File System
JFS Journaling File System
XFS Journaling File System
FAT 16 File System
FAT 32 File System
Swap Area

If I choose any of those options besides Swap Area, then the Formatting box can then be ticked. So what option should I choose?
h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Thank you very much epiphanic. You've been a huge help, and because I feel comfortable enough now to install Mint. And I don't really care about losing anything on my Ubuntu partition. I only installed it a few days ago, so there's nothing on this partition that I really need.

Thank you again.

EDIT: I've been told that I should choose the / option on the Mount Point box. So my Edit window should look like this, right?

http://tinyurl.com/5oxvsm

After that I'm ready to install Mint? Now, that Edit Partition window is for my ext3 partition(Ubuntu partition). I choose / for the Mount Point when I edit the Ext3 partition right? I don't need to right-click on the Swap partition, hit Edit Partition, and choose /?
h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Thank you for your help. Everything got installed just fine. I got Ubuntu off and Mint on.

One little problem I'm having. Grub is off-centered on my screen. How can I make the Grub screen sit center?

Thanks again.
h8uthemost
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Re: Looking for a very detailed dual boot tutorial

Post by h8uthemost »

Any possible help on centering Grub on my desktop?

Thank you.
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