Install Prep
As I mentioned before, the most important step here is backing up your data. I cannot stress this step enough. I burn all of my important files to CDs and then test the CDs to make sure they work. I test them in another computer if possible. I also back my data up to an external hard drive. If you have a second hard drive inside your computer, you can back up your files there as well. If you are backing up to either type of hard drive, I recommend that you physically unplug the backup hard drive until installation is complete for maximum data safety.
You will also want to make a list of all your hardware. Ubuntu should automatically detect most of your hardware if not all of it. However, if something is not working once installation is complete, a list of your exact hardware will be helpful. You can go to Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware (tab) > Device Manager (button) to get a list of all your hardware in Windows XP.
You will also need to make sure you have a working copy of your Windows disc and a valid installation key in case you need or want to reinstall Windows. It might be a good idea to go ahead and make backup copies of any Windows programs you have installed and Windows drivers you might need. I made a CD with nothing but drivers for my laptop so that if I need to reinstall them I can go to one CD.
Creating Space on Your Hard Drive
If you plan to install Ubuntu onto a drive by itself, your installation prep is finished. If you plan a dual boot installation, you will need to create room on your disc for Ubuntu to reside. The first step is to make sure you have enough room for Ubuntu. I recommend 10GB. That should give you plenty of space to install the system and store files afterwards. You can do more or less, but I would not do less than 5GB.
If your disk is full you will need to delete some files or move them to another disk. The best way to clear space is to move or delete large files. You can use the search utility built into Windows XP for this. Go to Start > Search. Click on All files and Folders in the sidebar, then click on What Size is It? Select Specify Size and make your search at least 100000KB. This will find all files bigger than 100MB. Clear a few of those and you'll have enough space in no time.
Defragmenting
Next you will need to defragment your hard disk. Windows writes files all over your disc and sometimes one file can physically be broken into several parts on different sections of the hard drive. Defragmenting your drive should move those all into one continuous place on the drive. It should also consolidate your files into just a few sections of the drive and leave large continuous spaces. This is important because Ubuntu needs to have one continuous space to live on. To start the defragmenter, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. It should look similar to the following image when you open it.
First click Analyze to get a picture of what will happen, then click Defragment to actually start the process. If it tells you that you don't need to defragment, go ahead and do it anyway to maximize the amount of space you will have for Ubuntu. This could take several minutes to several hours depending on the size of your hard drive, number of files, and amount of fragmentation. You can leave it running overnight or while you are at work. However, try not to download or save any files once it is complete to avoid using the blank spaces you have just created. Once it is complete you can close it out. After defragmenting you are now ready to reboot and start installation via the Live CD we downloaded and burned in the last issue.
Booting from the Live CD
To install Ubuntu, you will need a computer capable of booting from the CD drive. This capability has been standard in most computers for about the last ten years. Installation methods other than the CD boot method are possible, but outside the scope of this article. Please check out the installation instructions for Ubuntu at: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation This is also a good place to read up on installation before you get started. There are plenty of details including a list of hardware requirements. I recommend reading through the major points just to familiarize yourself with what you will be going through.
Booting from the CD drive can be tricky. The problem is that there is no one good method since boot software is hard coded into your motherboard and is therefore manufacturer specific. When your computer first powers on, you will need to look for instructions for changing the boot setup. You may need to press the delete key or F2 or F10 or F12. You can check your manufacturer's website to find out how to change the boot order for your particular computer. On my Dell Inspiron 6000 I press F12 to change the boot configuration or I could hit F2 to go into the BIOS setup program and change it there too. Either way, the CD drive needs to be the first drive on the list. Save your configuration and reboot with the Ubuntu CD in the drive and you should be running the Live CD within minutes. You may want to write down instructions on how you changed your boot configuration so that you can go back and change the hard drive to boot first later.
Running the Live CD
Once you have booted to the Ubuntu Live CD, you will be able to use Ubuntu as if it were installed on your hard drive. Go ahead and play around with it. Open some of the programs and try them out. Make note of any hardware that doesn't work so that you can troubleshoot it later. Do not worry about data loss at this point. You shouldn't be able to do any damage to the data on your hard drive while running from the CD unless you start the installation program. Just remember that you are running the complete Ubuntu OS from the CD drive. It will be VERY slow and will take a LONG time to fully boot. Once it is booted programs will also run only VERY slowly. Do not be discouraged though, once Ubuntu is installed on the hard drive, everything will run as fast or faster than similar programs in Windows and booting from a cold start will take less than a minute. In my next article, we will begin the installation process in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP.
Joseph Bales is a writer of fiction and humor, as well as a true computer geek and Linux guru. Visit his blog at josephbales.com.