Hi all, I'm new here as you many have guessed.

I'm also completely new to the (.*)nix environment, but I would consider myself an advanced user of Windows. I know some of the commands used due to my knowledge of PHP.

I would like help tri-booting Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, BackTrack 4 and Ubuntu Server 10.10 64 bit. Windows 7 is the main OS involved, which is on a HDD with about 800GB free space, so space isn't a problem. I have BT4 and Ubuntu ISOs downloaded and on DVDs ready to install.

Do I create partitions first in Windows or do I let the installer do it? What sizes would you recommend? What size for the swap partition?

What order should I install the two OS'? I already tried installing both of them, (Ubuntu first then BT4) but BT4 did not show up in grub when booting, even after updating grub through Ubuntu. I also think I make a mistake when installing Ubuntu as I didn't install any packages. I would like to use the gnome desktop environment on Ubuntu but every time I tried to install the package I got the error "package not found". So then I deleted both OS' and restored the MBR.

Any help greatly appreciated.


Forgot to ask also...I'm using a 3G USB modem to connect to the internet. Will both of these distros work with it?

Welcome to LQ.

You do not need to use Windows to create the partitions.

Typically, swap size = 2 x size of your memory. Mine is about 8 GB.

Size of Linux install ~ depends on how much software you will install. I make my system about 30 GB and it's considerable more than I need.

Since you were able to install Ubuntu successfully, I would install BackTrack 4 and then install Ubuntu. Check to see if you can install BT4 successfully, before installing Ubuntu. Be aware that Ubuntu 10.10 uses grub2 whereas a lot of other Linux distros still use grub legacy.

I noticed that you installed Ubuntu server. Is there a reason why you didn't install the Ubuntu desktop edition instead? The desktop edition will install the Gnome Desktop.

In terms of all the other things you mentioned, I recommend you create two separate threads for your two other problems: installing packages and 3G usb modem hardware compatibility. Please note specifically what you did to install the packages and note the modem model name and number. Please search the forums before creating new threads.

Sorry for the delay in replying.

I'm putting this on the back burner as I have other priorities at the moment, but thanks a million for all the info.