Part I) Prelude -- Select your computer and decide whether to keep Windows
Most physicians offices find it very difficult to leave Windows behind in favor of Linux completely. The safest solution for many is to maintain links with their operating system past while providing for the future. Linux has come into the mainstream over the past few years for small businesses and individual users, and Ubuntu Linux has made the transition from older operating systems to better, newer Linux operating systems not only easy but attractive. Because this website is dedicated to making that transition, we will take the easiest and safest steps to effect this transition. This will include mechanisms for backwards compatibility at all times.
The best mechanism for backwards compatibility with Windows, of course, is to have actually have Windows installed (along with Ubuntu Linux) on your computers. The next few sections address how to do this by creating a "dual-boot" computer, i.e. a computer can run either Windows or Ubuntu Linux at the touch of a button.
The next section details the first steps needed to create such a dual-booting computer. Ideally, you have an unrestricted copy of Windows (98 or later) available to you (the "retail" versions are best, not the OEM versions). You don't need an expensive computer -- all my computers have been purchased for less than $300 and I have been extremely satisfied. Dell and eMachines computers are two of the most widely budget brands available, but they are most often bundled with Windows (an OEM version that comes in multiple "tiers" of functionality). This bundled operating system can add $100 to $300 to the price and usually is not the version of Windows you will likely want. It is better to buy a budget computer without a bundled operating system and to purchase any Windows operating systems (the "retail" version) you might want separately.
Now, OEM versions of Windows (if you have one) can be re-installed to a computer that has had no component changes (such as a new hard disk), but only with the same settings as with which it was initially installed. Re-installation of an OEM operating system will also include re-installation of any adware, spyware, "automatic" utilities, or crippled "demo" versions of software that your computer dealer placed there "for you." Most people spend a few hours removing these. New OEM versions of Windows can also be purchased directly from Microsft without all these "add-ons" for a discount (compared to retail versions). But the basic limitation of any OEM version is that if you make any modifications to your computer (such as replacing a burned out motherboard or processor or upgrading the hard drive), they will no longer function and can not be reinstalled. This can be a disaster (see below).
The safest course for the next step, then, is to install a retail version of Windows on a computer that has been purchased without any operating system on it at all.
Part I) Partition your disk and install Windows for your dual-boot system
Should you decide to use Windows, whether frequently or only rarely, you will likely want to have a place for it on your computer's hard drive from the start. On one of my computers I installed an unused copy of Windows 98. On another I installed Windows 98 then upgraded to Windows XP Home. On my business computer I placed Windows XP Pro. I then made every computer into a dual-booting system, capable of starting in either Linux or Windows.
On all but two computers I never use Windows at all, but it was reassuring in the beginning to have Windows installed as a backup. Once you get used to Linux, you will wonder why you stuck with Windows for so long. Still, some people like to keep Windows on their computer, for a specific game or a particular tax program.
Installing Windows is optional, of course. If you choose to go directly to installing a Linux system (I recommend Ubuntu), then you don't need this section. You can download Ubuntu and install it very easily. Skip to the Section on Installing an Ubuntu LAMP server.
But if you would like to have Windows on your computer, installing it before installing other operating systems is a good idea. Microsoft doesn't play nicely with other systems. If you install Microsoft products after Linux, it tends to erase half your settings.
Also, if you also choose not to install Windows at all, be aware that there are other ways to run Windows programs on a Linux machine. CodeWeavers' CrossOver Office and Wine are Windows emulators that run a large number of common Windows programs on Linux. My experience as of late 2006 is that these are not 100% reliable and take a fair degree of work to make functional. I usually just end up switching to my Windows installation on a dual-boot machine to run any program for which I can't find an equivalent in Linux (which are very few.)
Also, VMware and VirtualPC are virtual machines that allows you to run the entire Windows OS on a Linux system, so that programs think they are actually running in Windows. They seem to be very popular, but I haven't tried them.
So, if you have a copy of some version of Windows and wish to be safe, it is best to install it in the beginning. That way you will always have it installed in case you wish to upgrade to a future Windows version, switch back and forth between Windows and Linux, or simply hate Linux.
a) Make sure you partition wisely during Windows installation.
It is best to have your hard drive divided into several large divisions, or "partitions." Each partition can use its own filing system, such as NTFS (used by Windows XP or higher), FAT32 (used by most Windows systems), or ext3 (used by Linux). Each partition can also be protected from access by systems on other partitions, if you choose. You can have four different primary partitions, or three primary partitions and an extended partition, on each hard drive. (Linux generally divides its primary partition into sub-partitions. Windows can subdivide an extended partition into "logical drives," as well, if more subdivisions are desired.)
For example, you could put Windows XP on one partition and have it be invisible from Linux on another partition, and vice versa. This could prevent the Microsoft operating system from "accidentally" erasing Linux operating system files, for example.
Alternatively, you could share a partition between operating systems. Windows usually cannot natively read from or write to ext3 partitions (although now there is a small program called FS-Drive that apparently enables this). Linux can read from, but not natively write to, an NTFS partition. (Although, again, the Linux project ntfs-3g may have enabled this by now.) Fortunately, both operating systems can read and write to a FAT32 partition, so FAT32 partitions are ideal for sharing data.
Many people avoid NTFS for a very good reason. NTFS partitions have a file locking system that often prevents easy sharing of files. Furthermore, while the file locking capabilities are a security feature, they can also be used as a security weapon.
Microsoft's uses the "Windows Validation Tool" to verify the "legality" of your Windows license key for your installed operating system. Its stated purpose is to ensure that you install one Windows package on one computer only. Nowadays, this tool has been installed on all updated Windows systems. It constantly checks to see if your hardware configuration matches the hardware configuration recorded at the time of the original Windows installation. If you were to replace a burned out motherboard or a malfunctioning hard drive, the Microsoft Windows Validation Tool would deem your computer a "new computer" and would automatically lock your NTFS files. To unlock them, you would then have to purchase a new license key from Microsoft, usually costing $99 or more. The new key would then be used to register your "new" hardware components using the Windows Validation Tool. If you have to replace another component, you will have to pay again. Yep -- this happened to me twice on the same computer! (The second time I finally switched to Linux).
You might think that moving the hard drive to another licensed Windows system might let you retrieve the locked NTFS files, but no. NTFS locks the files to the specific user and to the specific operating system license as well. It makes many people swear off NTFS (and Microsoft, for that matter) forever.
FAT32 partitions do not have such a high degree of security, and are therefore better for sharing files between operating systems.
Even though FAT32 partitions can be up to 2 terabytes (2048 Gb), the Windows automatic installer will only create FAT32 partitions of 32 Gb or less. (This was done intentionally by Microsoft to discourage FAT32 usage.) To create large FAT32 partitions larger than 32 Gb, therefore, you must use fdisk (from a MS-DOS or Windows 98 disk), or use a Linux partitioner. In a way, though, multiple, smaller partitions are desirable. Having multiple partitions to separate data is a good idea, and you don't want to dedicate much of your disk space to Windows partitions anyway. Let the ext3 Linux partitions have most of the space.
(Note: "Large file support" FAT is synonymous with FAT32. This terminology is used in fdisk. Always select this option if asked, during any installation process.)
While Windows can be installed on either a FAT32 or NTFS partition, I recommend initially installing it to a FAT32 partition. You can always convert a FAT32 partition to an NTFS partition later, but you can't change from NTFS back to FAT32. [Also, if you allow the Windows automatic partitioner to initially install an NTFS partition, it automatically formats the entire hard disk as an NTFS partition. You would then have to do a lot of work later to repartition it and convert portions of the disk back to FAT32 and ext3. There would also be a small risk of creating disk errors and making Windows dysfunctional during the process.] So, stick with FAT32 initially.
Now, I use several FAT32 partitions: one for the Windows system (20 Gb) and one for file/data sharing (32Gb). On some computers I also place an additional FAT32 partition (32Gb) for specific protected data storage needs, such as writing from the DVR (digital video recorder) used in video surveillance systems.
I created all these partitions using Windows. Later, during Linux installation, I add ext3 partitions for the Linux system to the remaining free space on the hard drive.
The Windows installer is convenient for creating and formatting the first primary FAT32 partition for the Windows operating system itself. Later we will discuss creating additional FAT32 partitions up to 32 GB using Disk Management from within Windows (see below). You can create FAT32 partitions up to 2 Tb (2048 Gb) using the MS-DOS or Windows 98 program fdisk, or by using a Linux partition manager such as Gparted. But 32 Gb partitions seemed suitable to me.
When partitions are created from Windows programs, they will have extra information ("System Volume information") placed on them that will allow Windows to read them more easily. This may not be absolutely necessary, but it seems to avoid a few problems I have read about when sharing drives with a Windows system.
So how do we do it?
Let's assume you have a new hard drive (a 250 Gb hard drive can be bought for less than $100 these days), a CD-ROM drive, and know how to access your BOOT-UP configuration. (Your computer's motherboard BIOS can usually be accessed by pressing F2, or F10, or ESC, or DEL during power-up, depending on the motherboard.)
You have to go through the BIOS menu and make sure that the CD-ROM is listed as a boot-up device.
If you aren't using a new hard drive, these steps will erase all data on the hard drive, so backup any important data off it first.
Now place your Windows installation CD into the CD-ROM drive and restart the computer.
Follow the installation instructions, accept the license and so on, until it asks you about partitions.
I would delete any and all existing partitions. I would then create a new partition and give it a 20 GB size (20480 Mb). You can use any size up to 32 Gb (32768 Mb). [Some people make this partition as small as 10 Gb, or even 2 Gb, but I recommend giving yourself enough space, in case you want to upgrade to a larger Microsoft operating system in the future.]
Then it gives you the option of formatting the partition. I choose the
"Format the partition using the FAT file system."
(If asked whether to use "large file support" or "FAT32", answer yes.)
Ok, now finish installing Windows. If you have upgrades, do them now (for example if you have installed Windows 98 and need to install the Windows XP Upgrade).
If you do an upgrade, make sure you don't convert to NTFS, but stick with FAT32.
Validate your Windows installation with Microsoft.
Do the updates, now, if you desire.
So now let's assume you have an upgraded, updated Windows installation that works to your satisfaction.
We can now create an extra FAT32 partition or two.
For Windows XP (c.f. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000/ ) do these steps:
a) start Disk Management:
1. Log on as administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.
2. Click Start, click Run, type compmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
3. In the console tree, click Disk Management. The Disk Management window appears. Your disks and volumes appear in a graphical view and list view. To customize how you view your disks and volumes in the upper and lower panes of the window, point to Top or Bottom on the View menu, and then click the view that you want to use.
b) How to create a new partition or a new logical drive
To create a new partition or logical drive on a basic disk:
1. In the Disk Management window, complete the following procedure:
� To create a new partition, right-click unallocated space on the basic disk where you want to create the partition, and then click New Partition.
2. In the New Partition Wizard, click Next.
3. Click the type of partition that you want to create (either Primary partition, Extended partition, or Logical drive), and then click Next
** It is wise to make the second Windows partition an extended partition because only an extended partition can be further divided into logical drives by Windows. A primary partition for the second partition is acceptable, however. (Operating systems can only be placed on primary partitions.) Linux uses primary partitions for its own files, but it can access both primary and extended partitions.
4. Specify the size of the partition in the Partition size in MB box, and then click Next.
** I suggest 32768 Mb (32Gb).
5. Decide whether to manually assign a drive letter, let the system automatically enumerate the drive, or do not assign a drive letter to the new partition or logical drive, and then click Next.
** Let the system automatically enumerate
6. Specify the formatting options you want to use by using the following procedure:
� Click "Format this partition with the following settings", and then complete the following procedure in the Format dialog box:
a. Type a name for the volume in the Volume label box (optional)
b. Click the file system that you want to use in the File system box.
** Choose FAT32 from the File System box menu
You can change the disk allocation unit size, and then specify whether to perform a quick format, or enable file and folder compression on NTFS volumes.
** Do not check the boxes, since we are not using NTFS.
Click Next.
7. Confirm that the options that selected are correct, and then click Finish.
The new partition or logical drive is created and appears in the appropriate basic disk in the Disk Management window. If you chose to format the volume in step 6, the format process now starts.
You can now go back and subdivide the new FAT32 extended partition into logical drives, if you wish. You can designate drive letters and name the drives, if you'd like. All this is for Windows usage, since Linux uses its own naming convention when mounting these partitions, anyway. I usually don't bother with this.
Repeat the process until you have the number of FAT32 partitions you desire. You can only have one extended partition, remember, so all other partitions must be primary. Also remember the four partitions per hard drive limit. Leave at least one partition for Linux!
If you have any trouble, then forget about further partitioning and let Linux take care of it during its installation process.
Once you're done, you should have at least two drive letters on your Windows system. You should have one disk drive letter (C:) assigned to the primary partition, the FAT32 partition with the Windows operating system installed, and one drive letter (usually D:) assigned to the extended partition. If you have more partitions, or have subdivided one partition into logical drives, you will see more drive letters.
Windows is now installed with multiple partitions. If you were to do nothing else, you should at least have a nicely functioning Windows box. You could play games and do taxes.
In the next section we will install a Ubuntu Linux server, giving us a dual-boot computer from which you can run either Windows or Ubuntu Linux.
| Home page
| Introduction
| Chapter I: Installing Windows on a dual-boot computer
| Chapter II: Installing Ubuntu Linux Server on a dual-boot computer
| Chapter III: Adding the Ubuntu Desktop on a dual-boot computer
| Chapter IV: Spiffing up Ubuntu Linux
| Chapter V: Ubuntu/Windows shared networks
| Chapter VI: Setting up a Web Site on Ubuntu
| Chapter VII: Ubuntu/Apache Virtual Hosts (Multiple web sites, single server)
| Chapter VIII: Installing Drupal Content Managment System
| Chapter IX: Installing Vista Office EHR
| Chapter X: Installing an Office Surveillance Security System with Ubuntu
| Chapter XI: Installing an open source Groupware Server
| Chapter XII: Installing a non-linear video editor for presentations
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