i have tried to install ubuntu. evidently it installed
4 times. the reason was i could not find where it was at and no option to select which os i wanted so i kept trying. i found out that through winxp disk management about it being installed.on a hd disk which is used for media only. when asked on installation how much space i was to allocate i split
the amount shown. but it never said where it was installed and never gave me the option to select which os?? what am i doing wrong???

If that means you did not see a menu on boot from which to select an operating system, the most likely reason is improper installation of the bootloader. The Ubuntu installer gives you several options as to how to install. Alongside another operating system if one is detected, erase and use entire disk as well as something else. The something else option is a 'manual' install which gives you options as to where to install. Not knowing which option you selected, how many hard drives and/or partitions you have and how many operating systems xp & Ubunte?, it will be hard to give an answer. It does tell you where it is being installed but you may not be familiar with the naming conventions or if you used the Alongside method, it doesn't tell you nearly as much as the 'Something Else' option.

Not preparing yourself. There are countless tutorials on installing Ubuntu as a dual-boot with Ubuntu. I would suggest you read a few. The link below is the Ubuntu site and gives a brief overview of the installation. The second link below gives a much more detailed explanation.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/deskt...ubuntu-desktop

https://help.ubuntu.com/12.04/instal...386/index.html

Is this a wubi install?

Hello,

what you are doing wrong is going through windows with the installation. If your hard disk already has some free (unpartitioned) space, you can simply leave the windows aside and install ubuntu just by using the DVD and ubuntu will set up the dual boot automatically.

Now, if your windows xp takes up your whole hard disk, you will have to resize the partition inside windows itself (to prevent disk errors), and leave enough space for the ubuntu and its swap partition.

Once you have your desired free space on the hard disk, just boot into the ubuntu DVD and follow the steps. If you are new to partitioning, you can get great help from:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowtoPartition

Ubuntu is actually the easiest GNU/Linux to install and the ubuntu community website guides you well:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation

All the best.