I wouldn't know how to restore from a partition but I'm guessing it's there because I'm suppose to have 1tb but only have 900gb on a fresh start, I'm still in warranty, but I prefer to do it my self as I love technology aha, Im keen to learn new things and try different things :)

Hi...

Normally, the BIOS splash screen (at boot) will tell you the key to press to access the system restore feature (or under a similar name.) What is the "make and model" of your system?

Regards...

Toshiba satellite c50-a-1dv

Linux Mint / Ubuntu have a GUI front end for installing software. I would argue that that's actually easier to use than what you typically have to go through on windows to install software.
If you can use the app store on your smart phone then you can install software in Mint...

This forum is the right forum for such qestions.

EDIT: and as far as the command line is concerned: There is nothing better to get help on forums like this one. Many times, a more experienced user will be able to help you fix your system with just a hand full of commands that you can just copy-paste.
If he had to describe the equivalent point-and-click steps that would make it an order of magnitude more difficult and error-prone to help.

Hi...

I found this site which may help. There will be one of three buttons to press, according to the article, the one for your model I couldn't tell you. Hopefully, your restore partition is still intact. ;)

Regards...

Brilliant thank you very much I will read through this once I've finished work, I shall be back tonight with some questions on dual booting if you guys don't mind. Thanks again :)

You're welcome, hope it works. :)

Regards...

hey guys newbie back here :P, little help required regarding dual booting, i have a linux distro on a disk ready to be installed. i have made a new partition for the os to be installed on. is there any steps or things i should do before attempting ?

didnt work in thbe end buddy think the partition was deleted. im fine with using w.10 though. thanks for the info though :)

Yes, I do have a couple of thoughts for you.

First make sure this is the right distro for you. You said you disliked Linux Mint. What were the reasons?
What is it that you want to do with the system? Go to http://distrowatch.com/ and browse the site a bit, it might help you find the distro that suits your needs best.
Next, try it in a live system. Actually, try a couple distros. Important: Also try how well they work with your hardware! E.g.: Webcam, sdcard reader, function keys with special meaning on laptop, printer, scanner ... etc...
If you know which distro you want to use, typically you still have to choose between different desktops. I found that with Linux Mint, the look-n-feel of the different desktops are pretty similar but cinnamon seems to provide the best out-of-the-box experience.
On other distros the differences between desktops can be more drastic so it's definitely worth trying at least the most well known kde / gnome / xfce / lxde. For a more light-weight experience there are window managers such as openbox or fluxbox. They are very snappy and extremely customizable. The learning curve is a bit steeper though.

As far as the system installation is concerned make sure to do the partitioning manually. I have heard from people who experienced problems with the auto-partitioning tools when installing dual-boot systems.
Do not forget to create swap space and consider creating a separate partition only for your data.
I personally recommend against just mounting the data partition as /home. I prefer to actually mount it as /home/myuser/data or similar, so that the data partition is not "polluted" with application config directories. This also ensures a clean fresh start if you overwrite the installation with another distro later on.
Another advantage is that you can choose a windows compatile file-system for the data partition (e.g. ntfs) and access the data from both Windows and Linux...
Note however that this means that if you wipe the partition to install something else all your configuration files (including e.g. the thunderbird email accounts and inbox) will be gone, so you have to backup such files beforehand.

Hope this helps a bit...

Brilliant information. I have chosen Kali linux to test/try out. I think it's Live. I'll use gparted to partition a part of my drive before installing.

Kali Linux?!? I'd be curious to hear what were the main drivers for that choice. I don't think it is the right choice for a newcomer to Linux to be honest. It's a distro designed for forensics and / or security auditing. It has the advantage of having a lot of software for these purposes preinstalled which makes it a good live system for IT specialists in this field.
For standard desktop usage it's not the best choice IMHO.
If you tell us a bit on how you actually intend to use your system we might be able to give some recommendations...

You're welcome. :)

Regards...

I want a secure os, not for everyday use, e.g using to test security. Main purpose is to learn/ write in code. I would explain in more detail but I'm not sure if it's legal :O

If you are not sure it's legal don't do it. Don't be a script kiddy that installs kali linux to be a hacker and mess with your neighbor's wifi. Apart from being totally pathetic, this might get you into serious trouble.

As far as a secure os is concerned, I would claim that pretty much any distro is more secure that windows, especially the copy you just installed.