Installation Preparation Questions
 

Greetings all,

Okay, I'm brand new to Linux, have just downloaded Ubuntu Mate, and I have a few installation preparation questions.

I'm running an Intel i3 3220 (2 cores) on a home-built system with Win 7 64-bit Home Edition with an Asus MoBo (EFI bios), 8 gigs of ram, an NVidia GTX650 and plenty of hard drive space. I will be dual booting.

I've spent a lot of time over the last few days researching Linux, Ubuntu and Virtualbox (which is in what I will first run the program just to test drive it).

First, I take it the regular 32-bit version of Ubuntu Mate is what I need, not the 64-bit version; is that correct?

Next, is there anything I need to be aware of with regard to the Asus EFI Bios.

And what about dual booting with Windows 7: what do I need to know there.

Finally, after installing Ubuntu Mate, do I need to get Guest Additions for it, or is that strictly for Virtualbox use?

I've tried to research these issues, but it gets to be a bit overwhelming. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Starkman

Not the anser, just some pieces...
 

I no longer run Ubuntu, so I will not address very much of your question.
One thing I WILL address is the 32 vs 64 bit question. For a virtual machine the 32-bit is just fine, but to manage 8G of ram (in fact anything more than 3.5G ) efficiently you want the 64 bit version.

Another is guest additions. These are VB specific drives used ONLY under virtualbox, and they are NEVER required. The support more efficiency and additional video modes and performance (and a few other tweaks) under virtual box, but are never needed for a physical install. I often run headless systems, and avoid any drivers not in the kernel upstream as much as I can, but I do use guest additions where I use the virtual desktop.

For the rest, we need someone what has hardware like yours, and runs recent versions of Ubuntu in dual boot configurations.

I hope that this helps.

If your computer is running 64-bit Windows, it should be a 64-bit computer and you would do best to install 64-bit Linux. You can check in Windows Control Panel--System to make sure.

The Ubuntu install walks you through the process very nicely and gives you the option to set up dual boot, as do most (not all) Linux installers. This article is a good starting point, if you haven't read it already: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

My Win7 dual-boot machine has all the primary partitions hogged up by Windows for no good reason other than it could, but you can resize a primary partition and then create an extended one. Linux installs quite nicely to an extended partition.

Back up all crucial data to external media; whenever you mess with partitions, there is a chance something can go wrong. Data that is not backed up to external media is data that is not backed up; it's merely replicated.

Resizing a partition can take some time. Be patient.

Guest Additions is strictly a VirtualBox thing.

Installed the 32-bit version
 

Well, I screwed up and installed the 32-bit version. I'll format the hard drive and get the right version in there.

Thanks much,

Starkman

You'll definitely want the 64-bit when you go to put it on real hardware. Your system supports it, and you'll only use less than 1/2 your ram with the 32-bit version.

BTW, IF you're planning on upgrading to Windows 10, do the upgrade first, then install Ubuntu, just to save yourself some headaches after Windows upgrades (will overwrite grub).

As for EFI, I know with Debian when you install you need to have ALL legacy suport turned off, or the debian image will try to install MBR grub, instead of uefi grub. I also don't run Ubuntu, so don't know if that's also true for that.

This isn't making sense!
 

Okay, I downloaded and am installing the 64 bit version, but it's treating it as if it's a server edition, asking a lot of server questions. Is that normal? And why is it that the download site says to choose the x86 download for almost all Windows machines (the 64-bit download not listing anything that is typical of Windows machines)? Just doesn't make sense.

Thanks,

Starkman

Timothy,

Apparently not. My file reads ubuntu-15.04-server-amd64.iso (note the "server").
I went to here (https://ubuntu-mate.org/vivid/), and instead of choosing torrent or the direct link below it, I clicked on "Official CD Mirrors for Ubunutu) and chose the University of Oregon, which led me here (https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+mirror...on.edu-release).

I then chose the first of the two mirror links. And...I see what I did wrong: they offer two categories: desktops and servers. (You already know which one I chose!).

Okay, now here's the deal that's confusing me. For the 64-bit version, it says, "Choose this to take full advantage of computers based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g., Athlon64, Opteron, EM64T Xeon, Core 2). If you have a non-64-bit processor made by AMD, or if you need full support for 32-bit code, use the Intel x86 images instead."

As noted above my system is a typical system: Intel i3 3220 (2 cores) Win 7 64-bit Home Edition, Asus MoBo (EFI bios), 8 gigs of ram, and an NVidia GTX650. Based on the description for the 64-bit version, nothing I have requires the Ubuntu 64-bit version as for the Win 7 64-bit I have, I chose it because of the larger amount of ram I had (originally 16 gigs, but 8 of it died recently).

So do I still need the 64-bit version of Ubunuto? If so, is it because of the amount ram I have (soon, again, to be 16 gigs)? If so, why doesn't the download site mention ram requirements along with the 64-bit system requirements? It's confusing otherwise.

Okay, well, thanks again. I'll wait for your response.

Starkman

You don't NEED 64-bit. But without it, you will be limited to 3.5 GB of ram, as mentioned earlier. Also, 64-bit has performance advantages in SOME circumstances over 32-bit. In the end, unless installing on a horrendously outdated machine, you should always install 64-bit nowadays, especially since 32-bit programs can run on a 64-bit installation nowadays, which was not true in the early days of 64-bit linux.

Got it. Thanks much!