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Acer w/ AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual core 3800+ 2.00 GHz, 4 gig RAM, 32 bit Windows 7, originally built for Windows Vista. Added an NVIDIA graphics card.

1 TB barracuda hard drive partitioned into 3, 1 partition [201GB] set aside for Ubuntu, Win 7 on one and files on the third.

I want to put Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on the empty partition to work alongside Windows. Am also concerned, as I read that Ubuntu 64bit may not see the existing Windows installation – especially if it is a 32 bit program.

Can anyone tell me the safest and most effective means of installation ?

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1 Answers1

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Thanks to Kevin Wyamn who answered this at Installing Ubuntu 12.04 along Windows XP and Windows 7

You can install Ubuntu alongside Windows 7 just fine. Assuming you're trying to go the easiest route, boot from your Ubuntu LIVE DVD/USB and select "Install Ubuntu".

In the very early steps it will ask you what you want to do:

  • Install Ubuntu Alongside [existing Operating System/s]. This will replace Windows MBR bootloader with GRUB/GRUB2 bootloader. USE THIS

  • Replace [existing Operating System/s] with Ubuntu (this will format your entire drive and install Ubuntu). Like above, this will include the GRUB/GRUB2 bootloader.

  • Something Else (this is for if you have created a partition explicitly for Ubuntu with the appropriate file format [ext4] and want to install Ubuntu here). This is a bit trickier though because the installer will expect the drive to be bootable.

You'll be presented with a menu [GRUB/GRUB2] during the boot process (as long as there is more than one Operating System present) that will allow you to choose which operating system you want to start up from.

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K7AAY
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