Can somebody help me with installing Kubuntu on a Gateway and keeping Windows XP too?
 

Here's the thing: I want to install Kubuntu linux on here, and keep Windows for games and stuff. Can somebody give me step-by-step instructions? I want to be able to select Windows or Kubuntu every time I turn on my computer! I have a Kubuntu CD right here, with all it's rockin'ness and awesomeness. Please answer my question ASAP! I want to be a linux geek and join the Tux club and buy a plush penguin! :Pengy:

http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw...+boot+linux+xp

I suggest adding one of the following to narrow the search, depending on which bootloader you want to use, or are stuck with(I believe ubuntu uses grub by default): grub, lilo, ntldr

woah... this is WAY more complicated then i thought... so my BIOS won't do it? i have to get some other program? maybe i'm not ready for this level of geekiness... NO! i will go on. so i just pick a dual-boot thingy?

It's not really that complicated. Usually when you install a distribution, if Windows is detected, then an entry for it will be added to the bootloader's configuration file and when you reboot after installing, you'll be able to choose.

Also, please make backups of the files you need on your Windows partition(s) before installing Linux, just in case something goes wrong.

It still seems complicated... and scary... but i'm not quitting! A linux user I will be!

So when I tried to install this, I went through all the steps, partitioned it (i think :P) and it started installing. I went downstairs to watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and came back up to find that it just stopped. No windows open, nothing. I shut it down, took the disc out when it told me to, boot it up, and no kubuntu! What happened? What's my problem? Am I cursed? Is my computer haunted? Help me!

Oh, I just realized that I should have posted this on the Laptop forum. OH, MODERATORS! I did something n00bish! Could you please fix it? Thanks!

It's pretty much impossible to say what happened without knowing what the installation said. Were there error messages or anything? Did it actually freeze? Are you sure the screen just hadn't gone into power saving mode?

Press the "Report" button and ask the mods to move your thread. Doing that guarantees that your request will be seen, because they may not happen to read your thread (I don't think it's possible for them to read every single thread!).

I completely agree with Nylex, it really isn't that complicated, provided you've read up on linux drive-naming conventions(hda1, hdb2 etc), maybe fdisk, and have some free partitions. A couple months ago I was in exactly the same boat as you, and it did seem quite daunting at first when I was reading up on things. However things were not nearly as difficult as I thought they would be.

do you remember where the bootloader was installed? I guess not if you weren't at the computer. Does windows still boot? if it does, check out bootpart, you can use it to get ntldr to boot whatever linux bootloader may have been installed. you'll need to know where you installed the bootloader though...

If you want to install linux so that it boots right away after installation, make sure you install the boot loader to the MBR. If you install it somewhere else, then you need to use something like bootpart to get ntldr to hand-off the boot to linux.

edit: I guess this is all moot though since we don't know what happened to the install...

Um... wow... I wonder if anyone I know personally could help me install linux over the phone or something... So I need to do some reading? Anyone have some good reading suggestions for a complete :newbie:? Like, "Linux for Idiots with Terminal Stupidity," or "So you Want Linux but don't Know a Damn Thing About It?" If such books exist, I'll go ahead and get those.

Oh! Perhaps I could video tape each installation attempt and email it to someone who's smarter than me, and they could tell me what I did wrong!

you could look at the lessons on linux.org for a start. back when I was only running windows(a very short time ago), I started reading "Beginning Unix" and got about 1/3 of the way through before deciding it wasn't worth reading unless I had a *nix install to work with, so I grabbed the Slackware 10.2 cds, read the detailed description of the install process contained on the cd1, and jumped in. I was fortunate in that I have a super-awesome acronis boot cd that rocks for paritioning/formatting drives and I didn't have to deal with fdisk(though I could have because I read a bit about it, and fdisk is pretty simple anyway), or any partitioning during the install.

I've also installed ubuntu once, and although it got wiped almost imediately, I found the installation to be quite user-friendly. give it another go and pay attention to it this time...

there's probably a fleet of books that meet your criteria at your local bookstore, but really there's just as much info available online.

Oh. I think you watered it down almost enough for me. But the problem with reading online is that I'd have to work on two comps at once. So I think I'll go to B&N and pick up Linux in Easy Steps. (that one actually exists. Big pictures and text, easy for idiots to comprehend)

Thank you for all your help! I invite you to my website: www.supertunaman.com. No, this isn't spam, I am actually inviting you. You don't have to come.

good luck tuna.

btw neat clock on your site there.

supertunaman, two things:
1. Having a link to your site in your signature and in your profile is perfectly OK. We don't like it, however, when people post such links in separate threads/posts. Just to let you know (refering to post 13 in this thread).
2. Also, I'm not moving it to Laptop because it's not very laptop-oriented (it may, when it comes to specific drivers and such stuff), rather a general question, so it's fine where it is now.