Linux intallation

[Lorenz Kyle Villegas]

Good day! I'm new to Linux and I want to dual boot Linux with windows XP I already have a 20GB partition for the Linux to be installed at. Is it safe to install Linux if that 20 GB partition was recently used to store my temporary files or is that partition needs a format first? I have read this ubuntu desktop installation guide and I think its something about the "something else" option on "allocate drive space" step but as I say I'm new to Linux and as it says its for advance users. any help? Thanks in advance

 

[Cyber-Berserker]

When a system is installed, it over-writes whatever was there. (formats) So the files on that partition will not hinder installation.

"Allocate drive space" will ask where to install the system: use the entire drive or a partition on the drive. In this case, install the system on the 20GB drive.

 

[ryanc]

Does the partition still hold temporary files or can the partition safely be wiped?

 

[samtheemo]

If you have no any other files apart from those temporary files in your partition, you can simply go for an installation without hassling with formatting any of your partitions on the drive, as the installer will format the partition automatically before installing the system. Seems like you're trying to install Ubuntu on your PC for dual boot, which means you won't find it necessarily difficult to do so since Ubuntu is a fairly nice distro for new Linux users.

 

[Archonsg]

Query : Are you installing Linux onto a PC or this a laptop?
2nd Query : Do you have a spare HDD?

Reason I asked is this, and speaking from experience, is that if you are fine with an install that will permanently change the way your drive boots, (you can't just remove linux if you don't like it or if something goes wrong, however unlikely, and your linux boot is screwed up) go with option 1. That is install linux directly onto your windows HDD.

Option 2 is what I am doing right now and it actually saved me from ALOT of heart ache / time wasted.

I have several spare HDDs so I disconnected all my other HDDs, and did a full blown install onto this spare HDD. As I am (still) experimenting with the different distros (From Ubuntu and all the other *buntus, to Fedora, to Slackware, to OpenSUSE to Mint ....) installing them fully (yeah I know I can live boot them but I prefer to see them in action in "real world" usage and that means having these distros installed onto an actual HDD) then nuking the one I am on and installing some other distro.

And trust me, I have had my MBR screwed up by ubuntu's Grub just recently. How bad was it? No matter what flavor of Linux I installed, ubuntu's grub just pops up, then freezes. Even with Gparted trying to nuke the MBR didn't work. In the end I had to do a full wipe that took a several hours to fully wipe the drive before it would allow me to install anything at all.

Besides. Now I have this drive plugged in along with my Windows HDD and I can UEFI boot into either one at any time and I can remove and nuke one or the other HDD without damaging the other.
I do have a third drive as my "common" repository drive though where all my downloads / data / docs / stuff goes into that can be read by both system. (or you can always install a NAS for that.