Laura

palandri

Retired Moderator
Jul 25, 2009
7,586
3
0
Laura, just an FYI on Linux

I installed Win8.1 on my main box a few weeks ago. Tonight I added an older 250GB SATA hard drive I had to install Linux on, and I downloaded the latest version of Ubuntu.

I booted to the Ubuntu DVD and selected Install and all Ubuntu sees is my primary dev/sda hard drive with Win8.1 and it gives me three options: Install Ubuntu along side Win8.1 on dev/sda, wipe out Win8.1 and install Ubuntu and do something else. I selected do something else and the only hard drive it sees is dev/sda and dev/sda1. It doesn't see dev/sdb.

So I booted to Win8.1 and go to to Distrowatch and get the latest edition of GParted and make a DVD. I then booted to the GParted DVD and I wiped out dev/sdb. Then I booted using the Ubuntu DVD again, and selected Install and it still doesn't see dev/sdb. So I booted to Win8.1 and Win8.1 sees my secondary hard drive as just a big empty hard drive.

So I booted to GParted again and formatted dev/sdb to ext4. Then I booted to Win8.1 and now it doesn't see my secondary hard drive, so I think I am on the right road now. I booted to Ubuntu again and now it see dev/sdb and says it's unformatted. What format is Linux using now? So I selected to install Ubuntu on dev/sdb and then it asked me if I wanted the boot loader on dev/sda or dev/sda1, which seemed odd. I went ahead and selected dev/sda, since dev/sda1 is where Win8.1 is.

Well, I am dual booting now on my main box, but what a pain.
 
I'm going to use separate computers for Windows and Linux now, instead of dual boot. My new ASUS has UEFI, not BIOS, and that's too much of a pain especially with partitioning. I've heard that GParted doesn't even work on UEFI, and some people have issues booting Windows if they disable UEFI.
 
I've only read about UEFI. I don't have any devices that have that yet. I suppose the next time I upgrade my motherboard on my main box it will will come with UEFI. It ought to be interesting to setup.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
343,601
Messages
2,266,689
Members
428,914
Latest member
Michael Niehaus