converting from windows to linux ubuntu
 

hi chaps, vry new to this. i have downloaded and installed linux ubuntu onto my hp laptop. now my account in linux does not show my files etc on my harddrive which have obviously been created by windows. how do i transfer/see them in linux?

interested in learning but no the best at computer language

Hi,

Thats easy,

where,

/dev/sda1---->Your Windows partition, substitute this if it is different in your case accordingly.

You can see the files created in windows under /mnt

Similarly if you have many other windows partitions, find out them using

And mount them as well.

thank you very much for your reply. i am currently running a dual boot setup. how do i make the switch to linux permanent and ensure i wont lose any data (wont be worried about windows stuff). do i perform the above before hand?

Personally I would backup the needed files to CD/DVD/external drive and then reinstall and claim all the space for Ubuntu.

Failing that, perform the above and copy across the necessary files to be kept and then select gparted from the menu
(System -> Administration -> gparted -- if not there you may need to install it) and then format the partition accordingly

The mount command(s) described above make your Windows partition(s) usable in Linux until the next time you reboot Linux. Then you might need to do it again.

If you plan to copy everything you want out of the Windows partition(s) the first time, then the mount command is effective.

I expect you may need to dual boot for a while before you drop Windows. It is possible to edit the file etc/fstab so that the Windows partition(s) will be available every time you boot Linux. That is a good idea if you will be using dual boot for a while. Look for some good instructions on what belongs in etc/fstab before trying that edit. It can be messy to clean up if you get that wrong.

For more specific instructions, first post the output from
and