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I have a Windows computer with a lot of personal data (about 50 GB or more). I want to install Lubuntu, but I don't want to lose all my files when installing. I don't want to dual boot, either.

I don't have physical external storage available (flash drives, discs, etc). I do have 15 GB on Google Drive, but it is not enough (Nowhere else offers nearly that much storage).

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  • You can try mega.co.nz it can store up to 50GB
    – blade19899
    Nov 29, 2013 at 20:42
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    This is not about Ubuntu. If you need a place to store that much data, and you want to do it quickly, go to your local shop and buy an external hard disk with an interface that matches the fastest available interface on the PC in question (eSATA, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Firewire 800, etc…). You could use Ubuntu One, and pay for the extra space needed, too. But uploading that much data over the Internet can literally take months, depending on your connection speed, and utilization.
    – dobey
    Nov 29, 2013 at 20:48

2 Answers 2

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Well, there are 2 cheap/easy solution is (if your hard disk can hold the double of data that you have):

Using Ubuntu almost all the time (aka I don't want to use Windows)

  1. Defragment the Windows partition.
  2. Boot up with the Ubuntu live cd/usb.
  3. Start GParted.
  4. Shrink the NTFS partition.
  5. Create another partition.
  6. Store the stuff in the new partition.
  7. Remove the old partition.
  8. Tell the installer to install in the empty space.
  9. Profit.

Using whatever is available (aka I don't care what to use if I get the job done)

  1. Defragment the Windows partition.
  2. Open the Disk Management Util
  3. Shrink the NTFS partition.
  4. Create another partition.
  5. Store the stuff in the new partition.
  6. Boot up with the Ubuntu live cd/usb.
  7. Remove the old partition.
  8. Tell the installer to install in the empty space.
  9. Profit

I recommend at least have another copy somewhere faraway of you, in case some follows the Murphy's law.

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  • lol ubuntu is profit isnt it
    – Nick
    Nov 29, 2013 at 21:04
  • second part, isn't 3,4,5 the same thing?
    – Alvar
    Nov 29, 2013 at 21:54
  • @Alvar yeah... but I can't do graphical representation :(
    – Braiam
    Nov 29, 2013 at 21:57
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If you are severely restricted from acquiring physical storage, one option possible is to resize your HDD's partitions in order to have a new, empty partition with at least as many space as needed for the files. Then move the files to the new partition, and install Lubuntu on a different partition.

This is a very risky procedure, because if anything goes wrong while resizing the partitions, then you risk losing all your data, so I'd recommend backing up your files previously. While not possible in your particular case, for future readers it is a valuable advice.

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