It's day 3. Still trying to install Ubuntu onto Windows 7. Getting nothing but error after error after error!! The latest is when attempting to check for any broken install packages - yup - another error message! This time - "Permission denied, can't check directory file". So how the heck do I gain permission??? What's the solution this time???

What does "onto" windows 7 mean? Ubuntu is an operating system just like windows 7 and has to be installed either to a hard drive or in a virtual environment.

Going to need more details as to exactly what you are doing in order to be able to help. Is this a PC or laptop, etc.

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Am running a desktop PC with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Attempting to install Ubuntu as a dual boot option. Have created a dual boot CD which I can boot into Ubuntu. Trying to install it alongside Windows and not as my only option has proved to be nothing but an error-strewn nightmare. Attempted install - first error message - "E-sub process/usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)" Trawled through various tech responses - went to Ubuntu terminal and nothing works in attempting to fix this. The latest error stated "Permission denied, cant check directory file". Seriously??

As a complete novice to Ubuntu, I am having second thoughts even bothering to use this as an alternative operating system. It seems everyone is/has been a techie or developer of some kind. How much ACTUAL thought has gone into thinking - can a novice USER deal with Linux and it's various offshoots??

Probably close to 25 years (or more) of thought have gone into FOSS operating systems - much more than most commercial operating systems. Certainly more thought than Microsoft ever put into any Windows product they have ever produced.

Does the "live CD" run and do you get a desktop when running from the live CD? Also, how much disk space have you carved out for Ubuntu? It will require an additional partition on your hard disk to install.

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1) I can get into Ubuntu - to look around without installing. Its attempting to install alongside Windows 7 is where there is no progress. Why cant Ubuntu produce easily downloadable options which clearly indicate:
- to install Ubuntu entirely as your prime OS
- to install Ubuntu as a dual boot option with Windows, 7, 8, 10 etc.

Surely its not rocket science to devise this?? This would include, clear sensible language in step-by step format to install what the user required and NOT from my experience be expected to be some
semi-techie or developer.

They do. There are options in the installer to install alongside another operating system. The installer is a step by step wizard that can detect other OS's already installed. How much partition space have you carved out for Ubuntu?

Keep in mind dual-booting 2 operating systems is not something easily accomplished with little tech knowledge. If you have a disk of say 500Gb and carve out 100 GB for Linux, the rest for Windows 7 (you would have to shrink the Windows 7 partition first), then when you install Ubuntu, it sees this and asks if you want to install alongside another OS.

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Step 1: Calm down.

Step 2: Realize many have come and done this before, you are not alone in your struggles with learning Linux a 3nd how it works. People here will be much more willing to help if you keep a "calm head".

Step 3: Be specific.. screenshots would be helpful. Simply stating an error without any context is unhelpful to those trying to help you. At what point in the install did this happen? What version of Ubuntu? What is the make/model of your computer itself? (Hardware issues can play a role as well.) Was Windows 7 last shut down or just put into hibernation or standby? Details would be helpful

Welcome to the world of Linux! Just because it's different doesn't make it wrong.. just makes it different. Truth is, the learning curve is well worth it - and a system like Ubuntu doesn't have a massive curve.

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I get to the "Something else" option, then am faced with a list of areas to select. My question is - can a partition be reversed?? Also I am advised to create a Swap partition. I am unable to select the "+" option to apparently do this. All this just adds to the frustration because what I EXPECT to see is not always there in terms of instructions!

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Please provide screenshots. Last time I installed Ubuntu the LTS was 7.04...

Chances are there is just a visual issue/confusion with the builtin partition editor.

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I did manage to shrink the Windows 7 partition, came out and ran the install process again. Did Ubuntu recognise this partition?? No it didnt. This is exactly what I mean, what the instructions state SHOULD happen is not what is happening.

If you shrink a partition, the remaining space in your drive is not a partition, it is just "space".

You need to shrink the partition then create the others. If you aren't familiar with partition creation, the installer they use should have the option for automatic partitioning. Use that..

There is no way to agree/disagree with you on whether something has been "left out" of their documentation as your own rendition of the problem is lacking too many details to help you specifically.

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First of all, there are tens of millions of people all over the world who have successfully installed and are using Ubuntu.
Did you verify that the download of the Ubuntu iso was good before putting it on the DVD? You might take a look at the link below which has a very detailed explanation of the options and the installation process.

https://www.lifewire.com/ultimate-wi...-guide-2200653

Here is a blow-by-blow description, complete with screen shots, of how to install Ubuntu alongside Windows. Read it and compare it to what you have been doing. Note that there is an option to "Install Ubuntu alongside Windows"! Did you pick that?

Oops! Where did my link go? Here it is again:
https://www.tecmint.com/install-ubun...ows-dual-boot/

Partitions are indeed just that, they divvy up the space into, well, partitions.
In order for the partitions to be usable for some purpose, you format these partitions as per requirements.
For example, the 'ext4' format used by many Linux distros.

Windows usually uses NTFS for harddrives and FAT32 for things like USB sticks, etc.

In order to dual boot Windows and Ubuntu, you're best off with three or four partitions.

One with Windows on it, aka your current Windows partition shrunk to make room for the others, don't format that one...

Then, if booting the 'legacy' (not UEFI way), and with a GPT partition table on the disk:
One small partition, couple of megabytes big, for GRUB (the grand unified bootloader) to install into.
Note: This has an advantage and some disadvantages.
Advantage: You can quite easily install/change your OSes. Disad: You need to update the grub.cfg every time you upgrade your kernel.
If you forget to do this, you won't be able to boot into your Linux installation without going to the grub editor first, where you'd have to go to the line about which kernel to load and then simply change it to the new one. Chances are that the current kernel is symbolically linked to 'vmlinuz', so that should work every time in that case.
Another thing to look out for is that if you install more OSes that you don't overwrite GRUB with those, simply change the grub.cfg file to include them (or have GRUB autogenerate them.)

Then either one partition for Ubuntu as a complete package formatted with ext4 that takes up the remainder.
Or, leave some space for a swap partition formatted as "swap" or a home partition (aka 'your personal userspace' ) also formatted in ext4.

Having a separate home partition can be useful, especially for hardware upgrades, maybe one day you'll want a big big homestead, so you then just copy your old home to the new, bigger harddrive, and point the new harddrive to the old mountpoint and it will be a seamless transition.


Edit:
Before you do any of this though, wait on someone who knows how to restore the Windows bootloader, though.
I haven't used Windows in so long that I have no idea at all anymore, heh.

Adding "Really?" to the title of this post is irrelevant to what you are trying to achieve, and implies that the OS may be misleading people regarding its user friendliness. I'm not claiming to be Ubuntu expert or advocate, just suggesting you read forum rules and ask questions the smart way - what it is you are trying to accomplish or having difficulty with.

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