Hi!
i only used ubuntu sucessfully for 3 months. i am happy with it, but i have some programs that need to have windows instaled since they require a good performance from my graphic card.
i still want to have ubuntu, but i prefer dual boot rather than virtual box, or wine.

i followed this tutorial:
http://bit.ly/et1ET

when i try t install windows it says that i can't install in that ntfs partition.

hug

plz answer

ps: first post (in this forum) :P

In Ubuntu, open a terminal and enter "sudo fdisk -l"---post the output here.

bertolo@bertolo-desktop:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 82.3 GB, 82348277760 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 10011 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xe9b9e9b9

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 31 248976 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda2 32 10011 80164350 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 32 1505 11839873+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 1506 7459 47825473+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 7460 10011 20498908+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

Disk /dev/sdb: 1031 MB, 1031798784 bytes
33 heads, 63 sectors/track, 969 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2079 * 512 = 1064448 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000e38a4

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 970 1007600 6 FAT16
Partition 1 has different physical/logical beginnings (non-Linux?):
phys=(0, 1, 1) logical=(0, 0, 33)
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(231, 32, 63) logical=(969, 10, 51)
bertolo@bertolo-desktop:~$

someone told me that i need ntfs partition in the first position to install windows.
but i can't move swap to the end

I have not done a Windows install in many years, so I'm fuzzy. I seem to remember that Windows will not install in a logical partition. (which is all you have).

I see two very easy ways to to proceed:

1. Start over: Install Windows first, let it have the first partition, but limit the size to ~ 15GB. Then install Ubuntu + maybe a partition for shared data.

2. (If you have a desktop) Install another hard drive, and put Windows there. This avoids any manipulation of of partitions and leaves Ubuntu undisturbed.

If you wind up re-installing, give Linux some more swap space. I use 1GB, regardless of RAM size. If you use suspend to disk (hibernate), then you need swap at least as big as your RAM. (But I would still use 1G minimum.)

i will install windows 7 it will do fine in non first partition

Which ntfs partition? You only have a FAT32 partition on sda7. You can install windows to a logical partition (Post W98 anyway) but you need either another windows version on a primary (or at least the boot files) in order to boot windows from a logical. I'd agree with pixellany, those seem to be your only two options.

but i can't get any partition before swap :/

I can't relate this comment to the advice you have been given so far.....

I see three options:

The 2 I mentioned previously

#3: Use something like GParted to completely rearrange and resize your existing partitions.

I prefer my two options....

You used your first partition (sda1) as swap which isn't necessary. You can put swap on a logical partition. This doesn't create problems but it's a waster of a primary partition. You also have swap marked as bootable (*)which also doesn't do anything.

You are allowed four primary partitions. You can use one of these to create an extended partition (which can contain no data) in which to create logical partitions (which can contain data). You have created two primary partitions, swap and extended so you could create two more. The problem is that your extended partition includes the entire disk after swap so there is nowhere to put a primary unless you re-size one or more partition.

What do you have on the FAT32 partition? Any OS or data. If that is where you are trying to install and don't have anything on it, you could delete that partition and then shrink the extended to create another primary using GParted or Parted Magic.