Ubuntu 11.04 Installation Error - Partitioning

George...

I highly recomend u to install ubntu " outside windos" , it works much better because it runs native...
as for ur question... is it possible for u to tell us what partitions u have? can u write both info: the one u get fron windows and the one u get when trying to install ...

Can you please elaborate on what you mean by outside windows? If it is going to remove Windows and all my data then it is not an option.

Windows Partition Data: (Everything from left to right in Windows 7 Disk Management

15.00 GB (Recovery Partition) <---- I don't really know what this is, nor did I create it
Healthy

SYSTEM 100MB NTFS
Healthy

C:/ 97.66 GB NTFS (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump)
Healthy

D:/ 14.09 GB NTFS
Healthy

Ubuntu (U:)
28.80 GB NTFS
Healthy

D:/ 84.78 GB NTFS
Healthy

D:/ 225.33 GB NTFS
Healthy

D:/ is for some reason split into 3 parts. combining them back together would erase data - again, not an option. I don't want any data to be lost.

Please let me reboot so that I can LiveBoot Ubuntu. I will take a photo of my screen and type up the information.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9051823/Screenshot.png

this is a screenshot of Gparted with all my "so-called" partitions. I can't understand much of this but it has seemed to recognise the Ubuntu drive after i attempted to install. If i uninstalled Ubuntu from the drive (while on Windows) and formatted it, it would appear like the other drives - with a red X and un-readable.

Don't try to install ubuntu on dynamic drives. This will lead to unpredictable results - but probably data loss. Ubuntu cannot read these and will instead rely on the information in the MBR partition table.

You can confirm that you have dynamic drives by booting windows and looking in the Windows disk manager utility.

I downloaded a few Partition programs and none of them could do anything with my hard drive, and one of them told me that my hard drive was dynamic. I'm assuming that that's why they couldn't do anything with it. My question is what is a dynamic drive, and how can I change it without losing any data? What exactly is it that you recommend me to do? All help is very appreciated!

Thanks,
George

I don't have any expertise in this... I'll refer you to a thread on ubuntuforums: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1705481

I've heard that some tools can convert dynamic back to normal - but this is not provided by Windows. It seems the best approach is to backup everything and reinstall or use a separate disk for Ubuntu (in this case don't mount your windows drive from Ubuntu).

Hi,

I m sorry but I just find it a mess what u have on partitions... according to this..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning#PC_partition_types
you should have at the most 4 primary partitions... but it seems that you have a lot more...
as bcbc says,,, is it possible for you to back up and repartition?

I may be purchasing a 500-750GB WD Passport External Hard Drive in the very near future. I suppose I could back everything up and then re-format and partition. Would anyone be kind enough to provide me with a guide on how I would do this? I am not in any way an expert in this sort of thing, only basic stuff. My ideal hard drive would be a C drive for all the Windows Data and the Libraries (eg Music, Videos, Photos, Downloads etc.) and a D Drive for Programs, Games etc. and maybe a small (30GB tops) partition for Ubuntu. Could someone please explain what format these would need to be and how to do it etc so that i can attempt this in the near future. Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. I am very grateful for all of the comments.

Many Thanks,
George

so... your HDD has 500 GB

I would do this...

sda1 (C:) NTFS
primary partition
win* programs & system
100 GB

sda2 (D:) NTFS
primary partition
DATA
300 GB

sda3 (swap)
primary partition
3 GB

sda3 (mount point: /) ext4
primary partition
the rest GB

I understand the C and D partitions and they seem quite ideal, although i might make D bigger. What do you mean by swap and mount point? And if I completely format my hard drive to repartition, how am I going to repartition if there is no data on the hard drive, such as the actual windows operating system? Or does this get preserved. Or do you suggest livebooting in ubuntu and partitioning that way with Gparted? Also, the EASEUS Partition program that I have downloaded claims to be able to convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk without data loss. Is this dome kind of scam and if it isn't, how safe/how guaranteed is this to work?

I am incredibly grateful for everyone's help and feedback so far.

Many thanks,
George

Lets start in order...

Linux uses two types of partitions: swap (virtual memory).. and ext4 (for files) (there are more options for files but the most common is ext4). Mount point is the place on your tree where you want to see the contents of the partition
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Partition/
and yes.. i do mean to livebooting.. delete all partitions... repartition.. install win7, install ubuntu...
i m not familiar with the idea of dnamic disk... so i cant tell u more...

Thanks very much for the explanation. However, I have one or two final questions before I put this to bed. First of all, I still don't understand what you mean by mount point - what do you mean by tree? Also, what do you recommend I use to partition when I'm livebooting on Ubuntu?

hi..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_(computing)

http://amath.colorado.edu/computing/unix/tree.html

use gparted... it is ok

Thank you very much for all of your assistance with my problem. My final question is, when using gparted, how can I actually partition my HDD? I have nevver used Gparted before, nor do I know how to make something the "swap" or "mount point". How would I actually go about doing this? Are there any settings which dedicate a swap or mount point partition. Also, where will I install Ubuntu, under your suggested partitions? I assure you this is my final query and I apoligize for stringing this support out.

Many Thanks,
George

Before you start, use Windows to create full system restore DVDs. If you are
planning to reformat and reinstall you need to do this unless you have the
original Windows install DVD (not an upgrade, you need the full version, or
an OEM suppllied version). Even if you have a Windows DVD you will still
likely need a separate device drivers disk to get everything working.

I personally would try converting the dynamic back to normal before doing a
complete rebuild. You still need all the backups (so make sure you have that
before attempting). That thread I linked to had a number of links showing
examples where someone converted.

If I were rebuilding my machine, I'd get Windows setup first, then use it's
built in disk manager to partition. Then I would install Ubuntu.

bcbc,
Would the system restore DVD's be the same as a System Repair disc. I have found a feature in Windows 7 called "Create a system repair disc". Is this the right feature? the description is as follows:

Select a CD/DVD drive and insert a blank disc into the drive

A system repair disc can be used to boot your computer. It also contains Windows system recovery tools that can help you recover Windows from a serious error or restore your computer from a system image.

I think I already have some discs like this. I'll fish them out and check those. I think they have Samsung R780 Recoery Disk printed on them, and there are 3 of them.

@Your Recent Message about "If I were rebuilding....."

I thought that the built in disk manager didn't support ext4, only NTFS and FAT32

No a system repair disc just contains certain tools to perform a repair on a
fully installed windows system. You cannot install from it.

The samsung ones sound more promising (they'd have to be DVDs not CDs if
they contain a recovery image) - but if you want to be certain you should
check with their support site.

I have asked my father, who apparently created the discs, and he says "Yes they repair the Windows 7 Home Premium, but they also function as clean install discs". So that's what I will most likely use. They are DVD-R also, as they are purple tinted on the bottom. Thank you very much for everyone's help. I am forever grateful for it. Are you able to provide an answer to my most recent question.

"@Your Recent Message about "If I were rebuilding....."

I thought that the built in disk manager didn't support ext4, only NTFS and FAT32"

Many Thanks for everything,
George

Windows doesn't deal with Linux. If you install Windows after you installed
Ubuntu, it will take control of booting. And then you need to reinstall
Ubuntu's bootloader (grub2), which isn't a big deal, but generally... the
consensus is to install Windows first.

In any case if you use your recovery DVDs they'll probably overwrite
whatever is on the system.

While you cannot create an ext4 partition from Windows, you can create free
space that Ubuntu will use when you install. It will default to creating an
extended partition in that space and within that a logical for root (/) and
one for swap.

So generally, the steps would be:
1. Install Windows
2. If it's taken the whole drive which it probably would, split the windows
partition and leave the space you created empty.
3. Install Ubuntu - it will use the free space (unless there is some issue
e.g. all four primary partitions used).

PS here is a good site with some example scenarios (although the windows
dual boot examples assume Windows is already installed)
http://members.iinet.net/~herman546/index.html

So, with a primary partition for Windows (lets say C), that would be for all my Libraries as well. and Ubuntu would assign itself some of the free space. Would I then be able to create a partition for Ubuntu alone? - so I would have Windows, Ubuntu and Free Space? Related to this, when installing Ubuntu, it prompts for me to choose the Installation Size. Are you able to explain what this is? Is it how much space is allocated for Ubuntu, or something else? This has been incredible help.

Don't confuse the Wubi installer with the standard Ubuntu install. Wubi prompts you to select the size of your install, but it installs to a 'virtual disk' that is the size you select (up to 30GB max). Wubi (the windows ubuntu installer) runs from Windows. Wubi allows you to run Ubuntu in a dual boot without any separate partitioning - it's great to try out Ubuntu, but for long term use a direct install is required.

When you install direct to a partition, you have to boot from an Ubuntu CD or USB - it does not run from Windows. The Ubuntu installer (ubiquity) will use the largest free space, and/or the size you specify if you set it to split windows or setup manual partitions.

You can share data between Windows (ntfs) and Ubuntu, but it's not as easy the other way. Windows can get readonly access to ext4 partitions, but as far as I know the ideal way to share data would be ntfs.

My ideal would be:
Partition 1 (or 1 and 2 as windows 7 creates a separate boot partition often)
Windows
Partition 3 (extended)
Partition 5,6,7 (logicals start at 5)
5: ntfs Shared data
6: ext4 ubuntu / (root)
7: swap

You could also create a separate logical partition ext4 for your Ubuntu /home (I don't usually bother, but many people recommend this).

I definitely don't want to replace Windows - Not an option at all. I only want Ubuntu for when I get a little bored of Windows 7. I only want to use it for simple tasks such as using Skype, playing Linux Games such as Urban Terror, or just when I want a break from Windows to a much more simple OS. Am I right in thinking that using Wubi in this case is the better option? When you're livebooting, no programs or settings are saved. Would they be saved if I used Wubi? If this is a yes, I will simply back up my entire hard drive, attempt to convert to basic, repartition and re-install Windows then download Wubi. If the conversion fails, I will keep the back up, format, install Windows and repartition, etc. If im going to do this method, how do I change my hard drive to basic disc? Do I liveboot on Ubuntu and format it to Basic with the data loss that way, as im using USB the hard drive isn't doing anything, right?

Why don't you save yourself the trouble and install vmware or virtualbox. It won't give you the full graphics capability - and is only useful if you have plenty or RAM - but you don't have to go to all this trouble to install an OS that you're not even sure how much you'll be using. And I don't think linux games are very good - so not sure if graphics would be a big concern. Also skype works better in Windows.

You could create an Ubuntu USB with a persistence file so you can boot in live USB mode and save your settings.

If you do convert back to basic disk, then yes Wubi will probably be sufficient for what you want. Just keep important data backed up separately off the virtual disk Wubi uses. But if you go to all that trouble, going the extra bit and doing a full partition install doesn't seem a big deal.

For right now - I'd suggest trying the virtual machine/live USB route. In particular make sure everything is working from the live USB (not the virtual machine) i.e. make sure all your hardware is compatible before going to all the trouble of rebuilding.

I think what I will do is back-up and convert to Basic Disk and then use Wubi. For the things I want to use it with (simply to have a break from Windows), this seems like the better option for me. While im getting the money for an external hard drive, are you able to tell me how you make a persistence file for my USB memory stick.

Refer to http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download step 2, click on
USB and then Show Me How.

This shows me how to change my USB Memory Stick to make it bootable. But ive done that, i want to know about the persistence file.

Section 8 shows a screen; on that screen there is an area with
"Step 4: Select a persistence option for your USB (Optional)", and below
that there is a drop down box that says "No persistence".

I would assume that if you click on that box it will give you some options
for persistence.

Thanks so much for all your help!