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I am totally fed up with Vista, it has 3 different keyboard settings (AZERTY QWERTY and QWERTZ) depending on the software used (or the time of day) and freezes 7 times an hour or more often if it`s a windy day. I live on the 5th floor and I do not want to become a murderer...

Instead I really want to try out Ubuntu with a view to totally getting rid of Vista (rather than doing a total reinstall or upgrading to W7) if I feel comfortable using Ubuntu. I have done some reading & research but I`m rather confused about the whole issue of partitionning ie can I do that if I already have the following partitions:

Boot: 75GB used 47.5GB free (system NTFS) Recover: 7.20GB used 19.20GB free (system FAT32)

on a MEDION (Aldi) laptop from 2007 with the following specs:

Intel Core2Duo T5250 @ 1.50 Ghz 2.0Gb RAM Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family

Also I don`t quite understand LIVE CDs beyond that they are the operating system equivalent of perfume testers. I got some CDs from recent magazines I bought (UBuntu 13.04 and 12.10 - both 32bit), can I use these as LIVE CDs? If so how do I do that? Do I need to press a key when rebooting?

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Misa

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    Not related to Ubuntu (so kind of off-topic but could still hel with part of your issue) - your keyboard problem probably has to do with your settings in Windows - usually ctrl+shift (silly combination) is used by default to switch enabled layouts. Start-Region and Language-Keyboards and Languages should allow you to disable whichever you want rid of (You can also enable the language bar to choose manually / disable the key combination for switching from that menu)
    – Jez W
    Jun 24, 2013 at 11:28
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    Think of a Live CD as a car test drive. It works exactly like the real deal, but you aren't supposed to use it for long, anything left inside is to be considered lost, and if you like it you can take it home after signing some papers.
    – BoppreH
    Jun 24, 2013 at 12:40

3 Answers 3

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I have done some reading & research but I`m rather confused about the whole issue of partitionning ie can I do that if I already have the following partitions:

Boot: 75GB used 47.5GB free (system NTFS) Recover: 7.20GB used 19.20GB free (system FAT32)

Yes that is possible.

Also I don`t quite understand LIVE CDs beyond that they are the operating system equivalent of perfume testers.

A LiveCD (or a LiveDVD) is a CD (or DVD) that you can use to try out the operating system without installing, or install it. So, yes, it's basicly both a perfume tester and the perfume itself in one.

I got some CDs from recent magazines I bought (UBuntu 13.04 and 12.10 - both 32bit), can I use these as LIVE CDs? If so how do I do that? Do I need to press a key when rebooting?

Yes. Put the disc of 13.04 in your PC, turn your PC off, and turn it on again. Wait a moment and a menu should appear that asks if you want to try Ubuntu without installing, or install it.

If not (and Windows Vista appears again), you should restart your PC again, and wait until the screen appears with Press <some button> to access boot menu. Then quickly press that key, and in the menu that appears, choose CD-ROM using the arrow keys and Enter.

Before installing, MAKE A BACKUP FIRST! Most installations will go flawlessly, but, like with everything, there's always the possibility of things going wrong.

The installation is pretty self-explanatory.

About partitioning: The partitioning is really easy. During installation, you can choose to install alongside Windows or install instead of Windows (WARNING: THE LATTER WILL DELETE ALL YOUR FILES STORED IN WINDOWS!!!). If you install alongside Windows, something like this will appear:

enter image description here

Just slide the line between Windows and Ubuntu to choose how many GB's you want to reserve for Windows and for Ubuntu. Then click "Install Now".

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them!

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  • LiveCD, LiveDVD… and you can use a USB, hence LiveUSB. USB's are faster than DVD's and (for me) more convenient. Jul 2, 2013 at 15:52
  • @PaddyLandau I agree, but LiveUSB's are more difficult for newbies because most computers don't boot from USB by default, and OP says already have a LiveCD.
    – jobukkit
    Jul 2, 2013 at 15:55
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To install ubuntu from a live cd you need to change your bios settings.Set your boot priority order to optical drive(you need to press F2 or F10 depending on your manufacturer before the boot logo appears). Insert the disc and just restart.You will be taken into the ubuntu installation.
Now during the installation you will be asked if you want to install beside windows (select this if you want to keep vista)
If you don't want it select replace windows.

Don't forget to take backup of your data, replacing windows with ubuntu will delete all the data.

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  • Hello, Thank You for all your help and reply. I sniffed or test-driven Ubuntu 12.10 and 13.04 and got on with each one of them. To be honest I couldn`t really tell the difference (if you excuse what is probably blasphemy for some...) Jun 25, 2013 at 19:31
  • oops Am I right in assuming that if the LIVE CD works then the real install will work too? If I just want to install Ubuntu over the top of Vista (ie get rid completely) would I do that via the LIVE CD too? Jun 25, 2013 at 19:34
  • I would suggest you install Ubuntu alongside Windows and use it for a couple of months. Meanwhile take backup of all your files and documents. Then when you are comfortable, do a full install replacing Windows. The Live-CD works like a regular installation except that you can't save any documents. You could also create a Startup Disk on a USB flash disk, which also works like a Live-CD. While creating it there is option to choose persistent storage (if the flash disk has free space) so you can save files. I would recommend using at least an 8 GB flash disk.
    – Sri
    Jun 26, 2013 at 4:18
  • I strongly agree with @Sri . Start out with a dual boot system. That way, you can keep getting (at least some) work done using Windows while learning Linux. As has been mentioned by others, Linux will be able to access your data stored under Windows so you won't have to start from scratch. However, while you're learning, you should copy the files from Windows to Linux and just work on the copies so if you mess something up by mistake it won't be a problem and you can learn a lot faster that way.
    – Joe
    Jun 27, 2013 at 1:57
  • Thank You Sri and Joe could you please tell me how much space to give to each Windows and Ubuntu during the install. That really is the bit that is worrying me and keeping me from installing as I don`t want to get it wrong... Many thanks &;) Jun 27, 2013 at 20:18
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It is worth pointing out that if you install alongside Vista you can access the Windows files via the file manager, so you may copy some files to the Ubuntu installation without loosing the originals.

You can always reinstall at a later date to use the whole disk when you are happy with Ubuntu or you can use "dual boot" with Vista if you find there is no equivalent for a Windows only file type.

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