I am new to linux and i installed ubuntu 9.04 alongside XP, giving a 1GB swap partition and a 36GB or so partition for what I thought was the root folder, but the root has no free space available. I have a folder that has exactly what the root has in it that is labeled media and is 35.6GB. How do I make the root folder bigger so I can install things?

apt-get install gparted then sudo gparted enter password then click on the partition and re size them.
back up anything that is not in the root partition.
gparted may already be installed though.

There is a screw up in the Ubuntu installer - by default it gives root about 2.3 GB of space.

The fix could be anything from a reinstall to deleting the 30+GB partiton and growing the Ubunta root . open applications>accessories>terminal - cut and paste the output of these commands in your next post. (lowercase L at the end of fdisk)

1st command list mount points and space avilable
2nd command list the partition table.

Ubuntu on auto partition should leave more room for root. But come to think of it I always use custom partition
configuration unlike alot of people I create a huge root partition and install on that. the installer then creates just a home folder on the large / partition.
the benefits it is easy to mirror that system. The fall back is if that partition becomes corrupt you could
loose your home data. To back up just your home folder is quite simple.
This solution is good for home use and single type users.
As far as using this setup for a large system I would deffer and use complete separate drives.