Can't partition hard drive
 

I'm trying to install Ubuntu 9.04 on an HP Compaq dc5000 uT with Windows XP Pro. service pack 3. Downloaded the ISO file and burned a CD with Infra Recorder.
The demonstration version works ok as far as I can tell, this is my first try at using any form of Linux. If I can get Ubuntu to work I plan to get rid of Windows completely.
I'm stuck at step 4 of the install process, all options in the partition window are dimmed, nothing is clickable. Can someone point me in the right direction please? Thanks

Jim

Is your hard disk mounted? Did you click on it's icon in the "Places" section on the panel to see what files are on it, etc?

No, I can see no icon for the hard drive. The only drive showing up under any heading is the cd drive.

Did you do the md5checksum after your download?. Instructions are usually on the download page.

Did you burn the iso file as an image? Use a low speed?

What is step four of the installation? Everyone doesn't use Ubuntu and the process is not the same for all distributions.

I downloaded and installed MD5SUM, but never could get it to work. I added it to my send to options, but when I send a file to it, it flashes quickly and that's all.
The CD was burned as an image at 10X, the burner verified and closed it.
Step 4 is Prepare disc space, that whole window is dimmed.

This might be a dumb question, but have you resized your XP partition?

How many partitions do you have on your windows operating system?

if u'r still using windows xp, u can use "partition magic" to do that

brianL: No I have not resized the partitions in XP.
Gagan Brahmi: I don't know how many partitions there are on the hard drive, I don't know how to check that.
ralph linux: I googled partition magic, I don't want to pay for a program to resize partitions which I will dump as soon as I get Ubuntu to install.
It is my understanding that the ISO installer will set the partitions automatically if chose "use the entire disc". That option is just not open right now, the entire window is dimmed.
I have a feeling that there is an error on the CD, I'm working on getting MD5Sum installed properly. Found an error I had made and I'm going to uninstall MD5SUM, download winMD5Sum, and put in my send to menu as winMD5Sum -p. That was two errors, I didn't use the win version, and didn't put the space minus p on it when I put it in the send to menu.
I found an easy to get to the "send to" menu. Click start > run > sendto > OK. Then you can add or remove folders in the send to munu.
If all else fails, I'll see my son this weekend and he has a known good disc which I can borrow. Thanks to all of you who have tried to help.

A standard reference...

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_w...lled_first.htm

If you want to see your partitions, boot a linux live-cd and with root privileges (sudo for Ubuntu), open a terminal and type "fdisk -l"

You might post the results here if you want more help.

You can also download PartedMagic, a useful partitioning tool to have on hand.

http://wiki.partedmagic.com/index.php/Main_Page

As well as the link that thorkelljarl has given you, there is plenty of info in these forums about dual-booting. Try the Search option at the top of the page.