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i have windows xp and would like to install linux ubuntu to run along beside windows. every time that i tried to install linux it will download it but will not let me install it. i just tried to install the linux installer and it won't let me install that either. how do i get the linux ubuntu to work on my computer?
To build on what MARogue said, much more detail would be helpful.
What exactly have you tried and what specifically happens? If you think it would help, don't hesitate to take a digital photo of your computer screen to capture any error messages that appear and post the error messages or, if necessary, even the pictures.
This is just shot in the dark, but you may need to enter the computer BIOS and enable the boot from CD/USB. How exactly to do that depends on the individual BIOS. Look for something on the screen during POST (power on self-test) that says "Press [somekey] to enter setup." Then check that "boot from CD/USB" is listed above "boot from hard drive."
i tried loading it to a cd and it said that there was not enough room an the empty cd. i tried loading it from a thumbdrive and it said that it cannot open this file. they said it needs to know what program created it. when i follow it to another page there are options that i can click on all of whigh wants to sell me something. i tried loading linux installer and it said, cannot unpack.
i tried loading it to a cd and it said that there was not enough room an the empty cd.
Then you probably downloaded a dvd image
Quote:
Originally Posted by bennettnet
i tried loading it from a thumbdrive and it said that it cannot open this file. they said it needs to know what program created it.
...you're not trying to open the downloaded file from within Windows are you???
Linux is an operating system, it does not run inside Windows, it runs INSTEAD OF Windows. To install it, you need to SHUT DOWN your computer, and then boot from the cd/dvd/usb where you extracted the Linux image. You also need to make sure you extract the image CONTAINED IN the .iso file to your installation medium (cd/dvd/usb), don't just stick the .iso file itself on the cd/dvd/usb, as that won't accomplish anything.
Last edited by suicidaleggroll; 04-16-2014 at 11:35 AM.
If the *.iso is larger than about 800-900 MB, you will need a blank DVD. To burn it to disk, you need to use the "burn image" tool in your burning program; different programs hide it in different places, but it should be somewhere on the menu. That will recreate the files and structure of the original disk.
If you just copy the file to the disk, all you will have is a copy of the file. If you just copy the file to a USB stick, all you will have is a copy of the file--that's why you need something like unetbootin if you wish to use a USB stick.
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