Smooth Operator: My Dual-Booting Experience
by Eric SociaI recently had some problems with my Ubuntu 7.10 installation on my HP Pavillion. I therefore decided to bite the bullet and just wipe it clean and dual-boot Vista and Ubuntu. I was, however, worried that I would encounter a bunch of problems in doing so, since I seem to be so prone to that kind of thing. To my delightful suprise, however, I ran into absolutely zero issues, and the installation for both Vista and then the secondary installation of Ubuntu 7.10 went completely smooth. Both OS’s are running perfectly and I’m thoroughly enjoying the fact that I can now boot into whichever one I like, depending on my needs at the time.
For instance, Ubuntu does not currently have support for syncing my particular Windows Mobile 6 Pocket PC, but Windows Vista does so without a hitch. On the other hand, Vista is fairly bulky and not as customizable as Ubuntu. Linux is, in my opinion, much more fun to use anyway. I love being able to easily find and install, or compile from source, completely free applications that were created by everyday people like myself. And yet, Windows operating systems are the target OS for tons and tons of PC video games that I’d love to try out. Sure, I could run Windows apps and games in VirtualBox from within Ubuntu, but that uses a lot more memory than simply booting into Windows and running those programs/games right inside their native OS.
In any case, I just wanted to point out to everyone that it certainly IS possible to dual-boot Windows Vista AND Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) without ANY problems whatsoever. I’ve done it, and you can, too.
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I really like Ubuntu, the only problem is that I battle to find drivers for certain things like wireless network cards.
I love dual boot! Its great…. i just need to get more ram so I can search these off topic forums that i am addicted to.
Dual booting is great when you want the best of both worlds. There are also other alternatives, if your machine is powerful enough.
I currently use VMware to have several OS running at once. Since I develop sidebar gadgets and browser extensions, this is a must for me. I have to make sure that my code executes correctly on different OS’es
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Well I have used dual booting many times but with combination of windows 98 and xp.I dont know how well ubuntu works because I didnt heard much about it.
There’s your problem, you bought a HP
Yes. There are some problems with HP
Ubuntu is just getting better and better!
Dual boot is nice, make sure you have a proper backup plan for your imp files, recovering data in dual boot is not easy.
dual boot works great for me. i have it with windows xp. no major issues
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Have never used Ubuntu. I played around a little with nix back in the day, but now I dual boot Mac OS X + XP and I really enjoy having both options.
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I like your comparision because your dont bash the MS. IMO Vista runs a lot slower then ubuntu and but I would never stick with ubuntu as i dont have the same feasilibity
Dual boot is cool, but I would highly recommend ditching Windows for OS X.
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Ubuntu is really good, except for the fact that it is difficult to find drivers for certain applications like wireless network cards.
I like your comparision because your dont bash the MS. IMO Vista runs a lot slower then ubuntu and but I would never stick with ubuntu as i dont have the same feasilibity
I always have dual boot on my machines… Only really use windows for gaming
What software are you using for syncing Windows Mobile to Linux? Just curious - I have some older Mac hardware (intel) that I’ve been thinking about getting a linux install up and running on, and I’m trying to fill in all the application gaps before I tackle it.
Thanks!
Actually, that was the problem… Ubuntu doesn’t even have any software that supports syncing Windows Mobile 5/6 devices.
Thanks for the heads up on the dual booting! Personally, I prefer using SUSE, but only because I’m more familiar with it.
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I have been wanting to try Ubuntu for a while now, I too will be putting it on a HP Pavillion.
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yeh dual booting is essential for saving ya sking when things go pete tong ! Its saved my life so many times i can remember how many. a wise move for anyone.
I’m glad to see you didn’t come back with another post about being a neglectful blogger. It was clever the first time. But, if you took months off between posts and came back every time with the neglectful blogger bit, that would be lame.
What is dual booting? This is the first time I’ve heard of it.
Dual booting is when you’ve got two or more different OS’s running on a single computer…
I’ve used Ubuntu on a friend’s computer and it’s great, but I’ve never tried dual booting before. Are there any tutorials out there that you’d recommend for this?
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I run mac, and just dual boot into Windows =)
Really simple, gets the job done =)
The daulboots works great with windows xp to bad i still need windows to to some of my work
HP Sux
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Its new thing I learn today, I don’t have much knowledge about this
Man, I’ve tried to get into Linux so many times, and every time I give up in disgust. I’ve done this every year or two since like 1999, and every year I hear the same story: “Oh, it’s gotten so much better now; it’s ready for the desktop!”
But every time, there’s something small and stupid that I just can’t get to work. So I keep tweaking at it, and researching, and finally, usually about 3 or 4 hours later, I give up and wipe the drive.
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Hey ! Glad to know that someone else is also using Ubuntu
I’m using Ubuntu full time, in fact, posting this comment from Gutsy. In about 20 plus days, the new Ubuntu code name Hardy Heron is coming out soon !
Not too sure about playing games in Virtualbox though .. (I don’t think hardware acceleration is supported) .. I’m using Vmware server to boot my Windows stuff if I need them.
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God, I can’t even imagine trying to get unbuntu to run on a pc I didn’t pick the components for.
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I have wanted to try Linux for a while now. I just got a second harddrive and I think I might give it a shot.
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Dual boot is awesome.. but you need a lot of ram to run it smoothly.
FTHFightgear
dual boot is recommended these days
i hate hp, i always have problems with their products
its great that Ubuntu 7.10 is working for you cuse it does not work on my Laptop.
it’s so strange, my laptop runs Ubuntu 7.04 without any problems bt when I upgraded to 7.10 its been problems after problems.
Im running XP now, waiting for Ubuntu 8.04
I love your title “Smooth Operator”. Great fun! Anyway, I’ve been hearing so many great things about Ubuntu that I just have to try it myself. Red Hat, Mandrake, and SUSE have also been very good to me although I like to always try new open source OS’s. Thanks for the heads up!
You should add a video tutorial on how to dual boot Vista and Ubuntu. Some of us are still newbies.
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I have always wanted to try Linux, but I know I’ll still need XP.. probably i should try dual boot as well.. hope it works for me too
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i have been using ubuntu since quite sometime. needless to say i m just enjoying the benefits of a having a non-windows PC. no problem of viruses or and malware getting installed. morever, the add-ons of firefox are simply amazing.
I can confirm that it works fine to dual boot Vista and Ubuntu. Thanks!
Combination with Vista just eats too much RAM. That surprised me a bit, so I cant say my experience is good. Maybe I should finally get a Mac…
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Just found your site. . .
Nice
You picked the right linux to istall! Ubuntu is great to dual boot with. It goes in easy and reads the hardware better than any other linux distro I’ve tried. I know people bang on it because it isn’t the fastest but for those of us who don’t want to re-program our operating system it works!
I like Xubuntu. It’s lighter and faster and you can always add on the desktop you enjoy.
I’ve heard that they expect to hav Ubuntu up to speed in a year. Meaning, it should be like Mac. . . all hardware just works. I doubt they will ever get everything to be compatible with it. Just too much windows stuff floating around.
Congrats on your intall and hope you enjoy linux.
C
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I’ve been thinking about getting an Ubuntu laptop from Dell. I’m def. through with PC’s for good. I hate Windows. Vista ruined my life - i can not get work done…everything crashes. :o(
I’m def. getting a mac, but I was thinking about checking out Ubuntu too. I’ve heard great things about it.
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Ubuntu is all the rage these days. I think I’ll have to give it a try. From all the hype I hear about it, this Linux OS is supposed to be the next best thing after sliced bread.
Ubuntu is buggy sometimes, but its nice to change OSs from time to time
I recently did something similar — dual boot on my Mac between Moac OS and XP. It’s great having both worlds.
I’ve always had trouble with dual boot. I prefer to keep it single
Do you like Ubuntu? I wanted to install it as the second OS on my computer, but I haven’t experience with Linux systems.
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I like the single boot as well. I have always have dual booting problems.
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Hey men ! Window vista is the new operating system. It provides more security
in comparison with previous OS.
dual boot is great. so is ubuntu
My laptop runs Ubuntu 7.04 without any problems and it’s very useful
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I’m a bit worried to dual boot even though I would love to try out Linux. Perhaps one day I will bite the bullet as you did and go for it.
awesome dual booting!
which vista version u using?
feel curioous
Very humiliating news as LANCOR company has filed a lawsuit. Just for infringement related to there keyboard technology against nicholos &OLPC.
That’s a smart decision it will fulfill you need of a full fledged os as well as the one which is lighter. I will try this too. It is a nice idea to copy.
I am going to give Ubuntu a try because I have heard so many good things about this Linux OS. Ubuntu seems to be the easiest one to use as of yet. Thank you for the great post.
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I think that open source projects and operating systems are the best. I am a big supporter of open source. I will try Ubuntu because it is the most popular one out right now. I have tried other Linux OS and have liked all of them so far. I really like Red Hat. We will see how Ubuntu works out for me.
Yep, you gotta luv Ubuntu! It is very easy to use and easy to install. If you want to try out Linux, Ubuntu is a great start. Thanks for the informative post.
I’ve always wanted to try Ubuntu.
I just don’t see the point in bothering with dual boot. If your computer crashes your gonna have to reinstall one of the operating systems anyways and windows has most of the software unlike ubuntu or linux.
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wow, nic system
I have only just installed Ubuntu for the first time on the weekend, and I am really loving it. I have used other linux distros (slackware for 1) and I always end up giving up and going back to winxp because of ease of use, but Ubuntu seriously kick ass. I still have vista on my laptop, and xp on my work laptop, so it’s not like I have ditched windows, but I have to say I am a fan of Ubuntu. I might have considered a dual boot if I didn’t have 2 other computers.
Cheers.
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setting up a dual boot isn`t that hard, ive got linux, xp, vista and xp home theatre running on one system.
works like a charm.
greets roger
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I have used other linux distros (slackware for 1) and I always end up giving up and going back to winxp because of ease of use, but Ubuntu seriously kick ass. I still have vista on my laptop, and xp on my work laptop,I will try Ubuntu because it is the most popular one out right now. I have tried other Linux OS and have liked all of them so far. I really like Red Hat. We will see how Ubuntu works out for me.
I am using a duel boot of windows vista and Mac leopard man i have to tell you this is really great.
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I have always wanted to try Linux, but I know I’ll still need XP.. probably i should try dual boot as well.. hope it works for me too
setting up a dual boot isn`t that hard, ive got linux, xp, vista and xp home theatre running on one system.
works like a charm.
greets roger
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Thanks for the post and subscribed here, looking forward to upcoming great content.
I played with Ubuntu but instead of using dual boot I found it better and easier to use VMWare player!
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Awesome to hear… I still dream of the day that will be possible with my system. I think it may be time for a upgrade. Congrats!
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I originally started booting both myself and realized that I like the Ubuntu much more than Vista being a lifetime Windows guy - it’s funny how things grow on you when you use them enough!
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Thank you for sharing an informative post.
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