Ubuntu
ubiquity package

USB's

Asked by Ben Duncan

I've downloaded Ubuntu onto my USB, I go onto the BIOS during the Windows 7 startup, I choose to boot from that USB. The boot seemingly works fine (The loading page shows up, the music plays,) but it doesn't display Linux... It just sets my monitor to sleep and starts Windows 7.

(I don't have wubi installed if that is the problem)

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Solved
For:
Ubuntu ubiquity Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Solved by:
Eliah Kagan
Solved:
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

What video chip do you use?

If you are planning to install a true install, I recommend you resize your NTFS partition in Windows7 and install ubuntu to the free space.

Revision history for this message
Ben Duncan (benforwork) said : 		#2

I don't w

Revision history for this message
Ben Duncan (benforwork) said : 		#3

I don't want to true install it, I would like to dual boot it.

Revision history for this message
Ben Duncan (benforwork) said : 		#4

I also use a:
Graphics card: Radeon 3000 graphics
Chip type: ATI Display adapter (0x9616)

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

That's fine, You have 3 choices.

1) Resize NTFS and install Ubuntu as a true install.

2) Use wubi and install to a disk image on your NTFS partition, this is significantly harder to fix if there are issues and the performance is directly affected by fragmentation in NTFS. This will also install a new bootloader just like the true install

3) Use virtualbox to run Ubuntu in a window inside your desktop, this is least invasive but will perform worst. It is easier to fix issues in this way than Wubi

Revision history for this message
Best Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said : 		#6

@actionparsnip
And since you do not actually have to manually resize the Windows partition in Windows (the installer is perfectly capable of automatically shrinking it down, in the vast majority of cases), I think we should be assuming that Ben Duncan wants to go with the first option, as his actions so far are consistent with it and inconsistent with the others.

@Ben Duncan
Did you MD5SUM the .iso image you used to create the USB flash drive? Did you verify the Flash drive's integrity (boot from it, press Spacebar when you see the person and keyboard icons at the bottom center of the screen, then select your language and "Check disc for defects"; don't worry that it says "disc" as it applies equally well to flash media)? If not, please do those things. Many installation problems, including problems that occur early in installation or while booting from the installation media, are due to a bad installation .iso image or bad or corrupted media.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#7

Windows 7 resizing it's own partition is a better idea as NTFS is a proprietary file system. Microsoft have obviously coded a mechanism to resize this so why use a 3rd party software when a tool already exists in the standing OS. Makes more sense to me

Revision history for this message
Ben Duncan (benforwork) said : 		#8

Thanks, everyone; Eliah, thank you again, I'll get going with the true install!

They weren't lying when they said Ubuntu had the best community.

Revision history for this message
Ben Duncan (benforwork) said : 		#9

Thanks Eliah Kagan, that solved my question.

Revision history for this message
Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said : 		#10

@Ben Duncan
I'm glad we were able to help.

@actionparsnip
While there is nothing wrong with resizing the partition in Windows, and I wouldn't be willing to say it's worse to do so, I don't agree with your reasoning that it is better. The Ubuntu installer is not a 3rd-party software tool when you are installing Ubuntu; in the context of installing Ubuntu, it's the Microsoft utility that is 3rd-party. Resizing with the Ubuntu installer is officially supported by the Ubuntu project, and resizing with Disk Management in Windows is not. The Ubuntu documentation tells you how to use the installer, and how to use GParted, but not how to use Disk Management in Windows (please let me know if I am now wrong about this...I rather hope I am, as I think it would be appropriate for the documentation to cover Disk Management in Windows as well). NTFS is a proprietary technology but it is now extremely well understood. We can read and write safely to NTFS, and we can dynamically resize NTFS partitions safely too. To say otherwise at this point would be FUD-like. Resizing with the Ubuntu installer typically takes fewer steps and less time and involves fewer reboots. Most importantly, resizing automatically with the installer is less technically demanding and carries a far lower risk of catastrophic user error and data loss. Finally, only Vista and Windows 7 (and the corresponding Server versions) support dynamic partition resizing--in previous versions of Windows, the Disk Management MMC snap-in does not provide this functionality at all.