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Is it possible to access and use all the files in the hard disk in both windows as well as Ubuntu?

Also;

  • What is a swap area?
  • Where can I find someone who can help me with installation?
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  • yes it is possible to access and use all files in both ubuntu and windows. just make a ntfs partition or use existing ntfs or fat partitions. they are detected by both os,.. swap area is like a virtual RAM for ubuntu,..
    – rajan
    Aug 9, 2014 at 3:01
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    Also related, if you want to know more general/conceptual information about swap: What is a “Swap Area”?, Importance of Swap Partition
    – Eliah Kagan
    Aug 9, 2014 at 14:01

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Windows uses the NTFS file system by default, whereas Ubuntu uses the ext4 file system. Windows cannot read ext4, whereas Ubuntu can read NTFS. Therefore you have two options, the first one preferable:

  1. Create 3 new partitions. One very large one for Data (e.g. photos, music, documents) as NTFS that both OS can use. One medium sized one (say 10-20GB) for the actual install of Ubuntu as ext4. And one smaller one (say 4-8GB) for swap.
  2. Or, if you don't make the Data partition, Ubuntu will be able to see files that are on Windows, but Windows will not be able to see files that are on Ubuntu.

In order to create those new partitions (from the Live USB) you first have to shrink your windows partition (usually OS C:) from Disk Management inside windows.

The swap area is basically just extra RAM (much slower than actual RAM of course) that lives on a separate partition of your hard drive.

As for actual installation, there are numerous guides available. Refer to any of the following and post a new question if you have a specific problem.

  1. http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2014/05/install-ubuntu-1404-alongside-windows.html
  2. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot
  3. Installing Ubuntu Alongside a Pre-Installed Windows with UEFI
  4. How to use manual partitioning during installation?

If you are unsure, having a friend who is familiar with linux install it for you is a great idea.

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I'm actually pretty sure that Ext2Fsd has support for reading ext4 volumes. If you don't need to write to the Ubuntu side from your Windows install (just want to see the files, not create new ones) you can install the Ext2Fsd driver.

This way you don't have to go about mucking about with you partitions.

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