Linux from windows xp. Is it possible to install Linux and Windows on one computer?

There are many ways to try Ubuntu. Some people prefer to install it themselves next to Windows, some change hard drives, some rape virtual machine. For me the easiest way is Wubi. Windows-based Ubuntu Installer. An application that allows you to install Ubuntu as a regular Windows program.

The essence of Wubi is very simple - we launch the program, it creates a folder on your hard drive where you can download necessary files, download the original Ubuntu image, make some minor adjustments, reboot... And your Ubuntu is ready to use!

Almost all products based on Ubuntu - Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Mythbuntu - can be installed using exactly the same images. Previously, there were also Netbook versions, but at 11.04 it remained only for Ubuntu. For version 11.10, Lubuntu will most likely appear.

Wubi is available on all Ubuntu disks. It is located in the root folder of the disk, the file wubi.exe. But this file can be downloaded separately. There is a direct link to it on the Ubuntu website.

Here is this orange button with the inscription “Start download” - and the download will begin. The program weighs nothing at all, less than 1.5 megabytes. But it’s still better to download the original CD image. I'll tell you why later.

After launch we will see this:

Actually, the main window of the program. Everything is very simple, you see, there’s no place to even get confused!

In the very first window you select which hard drive You want to install Ubuntu. I have one, so I'll leave it.

Just below you select the location that is needed for the new Ubuntu. Possible from 3 to 30 GB, in 1 GB steps. Ubuntu itself takes up about 7 GB, but I set it to the maximum. You never know what you need...

In the lower list, select which system you want to install. Let me remind you that on disks for 11.04 these can be Ubuntu, Ubuntu Netbook, Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Mythbuntu. Who likes what more?

In the column on the right, select the language of the future system, enter the username (login) and password with confirmation. It turns out that there is one password for the entire system - both for user login and for administrator.

It is also possible to set up special facilities for people with disabilities. To do this, click the “Accessibility” button.

A window like this will appear in front of us. I don’t know what each of the points means, because I haven’t tried it myself, there was no need. You can experiment if you wish. Click the “Next” button to return to the previous program window.

There is nothing more to insist on. If you still want to install Ubuntu, feel free to click “Install”, if you don’t want...

We install. The files and image will begin downloading. I said that downloading the original image is better, because you can do without downloading the Wubi image by simply skipping this point. To do this, the installer and the image file must be in the same directory, no matter which one.

The installer will check the image file and, if everything is ok, extract the necessary files from it. None additional files, for example MD5, does not need to be downloaded.

This method is convenient for those who will download x64 images by default. If you want to have an x86 system, it is enough for the Wubi image and installer to be in one place, and then the x86 system will be installed.

Attention! The image file with this method must be a CD and not an alternative one. Wubi, unfortunately, is not friendly with DVDs. Although the Wubi file itself is available on DVDs.

If everything went correctly, you will see this window:

I captured just the moment of checking the disk image file.

Once the installation is complete (1 minute with the existing image, 30 minutes with download), all you need to do is reboot:

Reboot... Done!

If something goes wrong or you don't like your Ubuntu, you can easily remove it. Run the same installer again:

Click the “Delete” button and the system is completely erased from your computer. It's as if it never happened!

If you wish, you can experiment as many times as you like.

Instead of an afterword.

It happens that when running the Wubi installer, an error pops up. It’s okay, just press the “Cancel” button the required number of times. This does not affect the system, both Windows and Ubuntu.

Each Ubuntu build comes with its own version of the Wubi installer. The version used in the example is Wubi 211 - it corresponds to Ubuntu 11.04. If you want more earlier version, they are easy to find on the Internet.

Wubi works on all systems except Windows ME.

Windows and Linux are used for different purposes. The user decides which system is more convenient for him to work with. But why not choose both OSes at once? After all, each of them has its own advantages. It is quite possible to load them onto one machine. And you don’t even need virtualization technologies for this. The systems will be located next to each other. And you can switch between them. Installing Linux from Windows will allow you to work on both operating systems, even if you do not have a second computer.

Installing Linux from under Windows will allow you to work on both operating systems simultaneously

To run both systems, you must have enough space on your PC. For different versions different amounts of memory are needed. On average it is 7–20 Gigabytes. But for stable operation you need to allocate 30–40 GB for each OS.

It is best to install two hard drives. Otherwise, you will have to cut up the disk space. Win and Linux must be on different logical drives. That is, one distribution is in the C:\ section, the other is in D:\. At the same time, you need to leave space for storing personal data: documents, images, music, videos, games, programs and other things. If this all turns out to be system disk, problems may arise.

As a result, you should have at least three partitions: two for Linux and Windows, the rest for personal use. Or better yet, two hard drives. The following utilities are suitable for dividing disk space:

• MiniTool Partition Wizard.
• Paragon Partition Manager.
• AOMEI Partition Assistant.

The OS changes the boot records in the MBR, which control startup order. If you reinstall Win, you will no longer be able to access Linux. This is why it is not recommended to use one local disk for these systems. If you place them in different sections, they will not interfere with each other.

The installation proceeds in order: first Windows, then Linux. The Microsoft product erases important components of other operating systems and replaces them with its own.

Before installation, it is better to make a backup copy of your existing system. If problems arise, you can return your computer to normal. This copy must be saved to external media or to a local disk that does not have system files.

In Win, the following programs are suitable for this:

• Acronis True Image.
• Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013.

• Macrium Reflect Free.

Windows also has a built-in function:

1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Menu “Backup and Restore” (or “Data Archiving”). It is located in the "System" category.
3. Button “ Configure backup".
4. Select the drive to place the copy. Or you can send it to the network. But for this you need suitable online storage.
5. To restore the system, go to the same menu.

In Linux, you can use the “Back In Time” utility for backup. It is Ubuntu's Software Center. Ubuntu's built-in tool, Deja Dub, is also suitable.

To work with it:

1. Go to System - Backup (Options - Backups).
2. Open the "Storage" tab.
3. In “Folder”, specify the directory in which the copy of Linux will be stored. Don't place it near the OS. Select a directory on another drive.
4. Instead of a folder, you can use network storage.
5. Go to the "Overview" section. There will be options to create backup copies and recovery from them.

In any case, the installation must start from Windows. If you have a computer with Linux, this system will have to be removed.

Save your personal files. It is not necessary to transfer them all to the drive. You can reserve only the data you need.

Partitioning a disk using MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard has free version and professional. To cut a disk into partitions with the application, you do not need to buy it. This feature is also available in the Free package.

• Find it on the Internet, download and install the program on your computer. It is on the developer's website partitionwizard.com.
• Launch it.
• In the middle of the work area are displayed local disks. Click on the one you want to cut.
• In the list on the left, click on “Split” (“Move/Resize”).

Click on “Split” (“Move/Resize”)

• In the next window there will be items “Original Size” (“Partition Size”) - the one that will remain on the disk. AND " New size" - the one that the new volume will have. Allocate memory and click OK.

• You can change the name of the newly created section. To do this, click on “Set label” and type the name. For example, "UbuntuDisk".
• If you are going to use the disk to boot a new OS, select it and select “Set as primary” in the list on the left.
• Click on the "Apply" button. She's on the top left. Next to it is a check mark icon.
• Restart your computer. Wait while the system cuts the partitions. In this case, you cannot turn off the PC. Otherwise, you will lose all the data that was stored on the disk being processed. You can see the changes after a restart.

Other programs for cutting sections have the same principle of operation. It won't be difficult to figure it out.

Acronis True Image can function not only on Windows, but also on Linux. But this program is paid. Unlike Partition Wizard.

Windows installation

Let's say you decide to start from scratch and remove all the old OS. Now you have a “clean” PC on which no distribution kit is installed. Launch Win from a disk or flash drive. To do this, change the boot order.

• Go to BIOS. It can be called up by pressing a certain key immediately after turning on the PC. It varies depending on motherboard. F1, F2, F5, F7, DEL or Ctrl+Alt+Esc. Information about which button is needed will appear next to the line “PRESS TO ENTER SETUP”.
• In the BIOS, all controls are configured for the keyboard. Navigate through the menu using the arrows, enter using Enter. There is a small manual with instructions in BIOS menu right.
• Open the "Boot" tab.
• Subsection " Boot Device Priority".

• Put USB or CD-ROM first. Depends on what drive you use to boot Windows.
• Press F10 to save changes. The computer will restart.
• The message “Press any key to boot from CD” may appear. It means "Press any key to load data from the CD."
• Reading information from the source will begin. Don't interrupt the process.
• The installation wizard will open. Just follow his instructions.
• You will need to select the partition into which the system will boot. You can split it there if you haven’t done so before. Select the volume and click on "Disk Configuration". After that, click on “Create” and set the size in megabytes.
• Save all changes and click on the “Next” button. The installation will begin. Do not interrupt it, do not turn off the PC power. The computer may restart several times.
• After this, you need to configure Win: select a password and name for account, time zone, specify which update settings to use.
• Go into the BIOS and change the boot order again so that the PC starts from the hard drive.

Linux

Before booting Linux, you need to prepare the disk. This can be done in Win.

1. Right-click on “My Computer”.
2. Select "Manage".
3. In the Storage Devices category, click on Disk Management.
4. Right-click on the partition on which you plan to install the system. It cannot be loaded onto the same disk with Windows.
5. Click on “Shrink Volume”.
6. In the “Compressible space” field, specify how much space should be allocated for the OS (in megabytes). This memory will be reserved for the system.
7. Click "Compress". “Unallocated space” will appear in the disk line-up.
8. If you want to return the volume to its previous size, instead of “Shrink”, select the “Expand” command.

• Insert the operating system CD into the drive.
• Go into the BIOS and change the boot order so that the computer starts from the disk.

• When the installer opens, select the interface language.
• The Installation Type menu will offer installation options. Check "Others".
• Create OS partitions on the previously compressed volume. For the root directory, simply enter “/” (slash, forward slash). For the home directory - “/home”. And for the swap partition you don’t need to enter anything.
• Follow the installation wizard's instructions.
• A little setup is required: creating an account, entering a PC name, and the like.
• During installation, pictures will be shown describing the capabilities of the system.
• The installation will complete and a notification will appear on the screen prompting you to restart your computer.
• Go into BIOS and change the boot order.

Now, when you turn on your PC, you can choose whether to use Linux or Windows.

Linux has a multiboot feature operating systems. Ubuntu even supports collaboration with Win.

1. Prepare the disk, allocate memory on it for the OS.
2. Run the installer. It will automatically detect if there are other systems on the PC.
3. The option “Install Linux alongside Windows” should appear. Select it.
4. Follow the installer's instructions.
5. Don't boot two OSes into one partition.

Installation on two hard drives

The simplest and most effective option is to upload to different hard drives. This way the systems will work stably even without sharing space.

1. You have hard drive 1 and hard drive 2.
2. Disable hard drive-2, install Windows on hard drive-1.
3. Disable hard drive-1, install Linux on hard drive-2.
4. Connect both hard drives.

Now you can select the OS through the BIOS Boot menu. Just change the boot order to start from the desired HDD.

Installing completely different systems next to each other is not that difficult. This does not require software virtualization. You will be able to take advantage of all the benefits of operating systems. And work in the environment that is best suited to accomplish the assigned tasks.

In order for the installation of Linux and Windows on one computer to be successful, you need to allocate enough memory for each OS and upload them to different partitions.

Which of these systems do you think is better?

Ubuntu

On the Internet you see a lot of instructions on how to install Ubuntu, many suggest going straight to the actual installation on a disk together with Windows, but many beginners are often afraid, due to their inexperience, to do something wrong so as not to accidentally format the disk or even destroy all their data on another drive.

I have seen many legends and fairy tales, do not install the Ubuntu operating system from Windows using Wubi, maybe there are some disadvantages that you will not fully experience if you install the system using this method, but this is not a significant part that you can ignore at all .

How did I start using Linux? At first, when I was still studying, we took a course on Linux and it was necessary to install one of the systems. The first thing I did was install Mandriva and I don’t remember which version of the distribution, but I didn’t really like it. During the next class, the teacher explained that it would be better for us to install Ubuntu since this distribution is widely popular among both beginners and experienced users. This is where I started my journey into the Linux World.

How did I install Ubuntu? Having looked at a lot of instructions on how to install the system, I was afraid to do something, let alone harm the Windows that was installed as the primary system. I chose the installation type from under Windows - Wubi, for beginners this is an excellent solution since the installation takes place in several steps that anyone, even an inexperienced user, can handle.

What do we need for Ubuntu installations using Wubi? It is advisable to cut with Acronis disk director a separate disc of about 20 GB, this disk space will be enough for you to start mastering Linux.

Next, download the image of the Ubuntu operating system - ubuntu.com, have you downloaded it? burn the image to disk or extract the contents of the image using the utility Power ISO to the folder on drive D. Once you have extracted all the contents of the image inside you will see the file Wubi.exe, run the file which will begin the procedure for starting the installation of the Ubuntu system from under Windows. I hope you completed the previous step of cutting a 15-20 GB blank for installing the system, if so, continue.

After running the file Wubi.exe, the following window will open, look below:

• Installation disk - at this point we select the disk (the blank that we cut for this purpose is not disk C or D).
• The installation size is the disk space that we will allocate for the system, choose approximately 15GB, which will be enough for you.
• Desktop environment - Ubuntu.
• Installation language - Russian, as you wish, you can choose English or any other.
• Username - the user under which you will log in, in other words, the super user Root.
• Set a password.
• The last step is to click on the install button.

After completing the installation steps above, the system files will be extracted to the disk of your choice on which the operating system will be installed Ubuntu Linux. Upon completion of extracting the files, you will be asked to restart the computer, reboot, from this moment the immediate installation of the system will begin, everything will happen automatically; you will not even need to press anything or enter commands or anything else. The system will install for about 15-20 minutes, after which a reboot will also be required upon completion; after rebooting, you will have to log in under the user you created at the very beginning of our installation.

That's all, the system is installed and you can get used to it. You may also immediately have a question: how to set up the Internet?? If you have a cable provider, then the setup takes a couple of minutes, open a terminal and enter the command:

A window will open. Enter the password you created for the user when installing your system.

Afterwards, the Internet connection setup program will open. PPPoE, which will detect and display our network devices. In most cases, you just need to press Tab - “Yes” - Enter.

We will then be asked if we want to use the options:
noauth(do not require authentication from the PPPoE server)
defaultroute(automatically adds a default route) and remove the nodetach option. Click “Yes”.

After program pppoeconf will notify us when the configuration file changes dsl-provider.
We agree and click “Yes”.

We will be asked to enter our login from the contract and click “Ok”.

Enter the password from our agreement. Click “Ok”.
Be careful the password is case sensitive. If you entered it incorrectly, you can correct the password by repeating the procedure by starting the pppoeconf program again.

Establish a connection using the command - sudo pon dsl-provider
Disconnect connection using command - sudo poff dsl-provider

After you have fully become familiar with the system and understand which command is responsible for what, where and how and what is corrected, and at least basicly master the terminal and some of the commands, you can easily remove the system installed under Wubi by going to the second Windows system - Control Panel - Programs and components - Installing and removing programs - and at the very bottom you will find our Ubuntu system, select it with a mouse click and click delete. I will tell you how to properly install Ubuntu with Windows in the next article.

That's probably all. I look forward to your comments.

Some of the images are taken from - home.eltel.net

This article will help you install any Linux distribution from under Windows machines directly from the iso image on your hard drive. The article may help owners of netbooks, as well as those who, for some reason, cannot use a regular installation disk.

Installing Grub4Dos

Windows XP/2000

• Unpacking grldr And menu.lst
• Editing boot.ini. You may need to remove the “read only” attribute to be able to save the file
  attrib -r boot.ini
• Add to the end of the file
  C:\grldr="Grub4Dos"

Windows Vista/7

• Unpacking grldr, grldr.mbr And menu.lst from the archive to the root of the disk with Windows installed.
• Launch the console as administrator and execute
  bcdedit /create /d "Grub4Dos" /application bootsector
• In response to the previous command, we will receive the id of the created record, which we will substitute in the next three
  bcdedit /set (id) device partition=C: bcdedit /set (id) path \grldr.mbr bcdedit /displayorder (id) /addlast

Editing menu.lst

Title Boot Installer fallback 1 root (hd0,1) kernel /vmlinuz vga=normal ramdisk_size=14972 root=/dev/rd/0 rw -- initrd /initrd.gz
Here we substitute the disk number and partition number with yours. If you install Ubuntu, you can download (amd64) the necessary images vmlinuz And initrd.gz. In other cases, they can be found in the iso image of the distribution itself. For reference, here is a small table of names in different distributions

Installation

After the reboot, a new item will appear in the Download Manager. Choose

The Grub4Dos boot loader will appear. Select “Boot Installer”

The installer will prompt you to select a language. We choose our great and mighty

The installer may not be able to find the image on its own

In this case, you need to restart the search from the main menu and specify the location manually

After selecting the image, several more familiar windows will appear and the installation will begin.

Editing menu.lst. Option #2

Title Boot Installer fallback 1 find --set-root /image_name.iso map /image_name.iso (0xff) || map --mem /image_name.iso (0xff) map --hook chainloader (0xff) savedefault --wait=2
No additional actions are required here - the usual Ubuntu installer will load.

Since the image is loaded from hard drive, I advise you to pre-allocate a partition for the OS and swap before starting the installation.

If you have never seen or tasted the world of Linux, without fear or risk of losing data: I present to you wubi — Ubuntu installer from Windows (w indows Ub untu i installer). Supports the latest Ubuntu from 12.04 to 14.04, you can freely download it on this page in the folder with the release you are interested in.

Download and launch wubi.exe, here are some simple settings:

• Installation disk- you can select the system or any other disk or partition; a feature of the installation is the placement of the operating system ubuntu systems to file root.disk stored in<диск к папкой установки>:\ubuntu\disks\
• Size available for OS from 5 to 30 GB. It will immediately take up disk space, then the size of the /home partition can be increased.
• Graphical desktop environment Ubuntu version using Unity, Kubuntu with KDE, Mythbuntu is designed for installation on MythTV, Edubuntu is aimed at educational institutions, Lubuntu version with minimal consumption of computer resources with the LXDE environment, Ubuntu Studio deploys ready-made photo, audio and video studios with the XFCE graphical environment .
• Language of the future system
• Username
• Password will be prompted upon login and for system operations.

We have decided on the initial settings, click Install And Allow access to download installation disk with the operating system. All you have to do is wait a little and reboot.

By the way, if you want to install the 32 bit version, create a shortcut with the full path to wubi.exe, for example C:\Users\Intencio\Downloads\wubi_13-04.exe and finally finish off —32 . The program will start, the settings will remain the same, it will only load ubuntu-13.04-desktop-i386.iso

After rebooting, the computer will continue to install Ubuntu, the choice of systems to boot will appear the next time.

Let's wait a little while the partitions are mounted and the installer copies the necessary files

The computer will automatically reboot and we can already choose where to boot!

By selecting the second item, we will be taken to the Grub boot loader menu - it will help us finally immerse ourselves in the Linux environment)

Let's enter the password, we set it at the very first stage of installation, and we'll get into our newly-made Ubuntu!

This is where our journey to mastering virgin soil will begin - the world of operating systems of the Nix family)