Scratch

Ubuntu has a great free software collection center. You can download most stuff from this and it auto installs. Installing other software is not automated and you will need to know commands to install software.

Uh, I've done it several times with no problem, Dinoclor. I think it must have been an issue on your end.

It isn't only me who has had grub removed. Do a google search. It's a hassle to get ti back because you have to use partitions, and you don't want to install it to the  wrong partition...

ianmat wrote:

jji7skyline wrote:

Have you looked at other distros as well? 

yes i have, i have used several distributions of Linux before. Ubuntu just seemed to be the most compatible

Yeah, it is great for out-of-the-box support. I had to install Linux drivers for an old Geforce 4 MX 400 series video card once and it was a pain, so I'm glad you rarely have to do that with Ubuntu.

fire219 wrote:

The only tip I have is make sure you know that making a dualboot with Windows and Ubuntu is dangerous (though booting Windows DOES NOT erase GRUB).

If you make a single typo while setting up the dualboot, you could completely screw up your computer's MBR (Master Boot Record), and make the computer unrecoverable, unless you are a super computer geek. (Me and my dad are, and it still took us 5 hours to fix his PC when he screwed up the dualboot)

Well, that's what so nice about Ubuntu. When you install it, it just goes ahead and sets up GRUB for you. 

You could always use the live CD to fix grub.

Dual booting with windows is fine. Just make sure when you install ubuntu do not install the boot loader that it comes with (I think on the second last page when installing ubuntu click on a button called advanced and uncheck bootloader install. I didn't and it took me ages to get windows back. I ended up using the bootloader that comes with Vista to make Win 7 work because I couldn't find the win 7 disk, as well as typing in a bunch of commands to install the boot loader). If you install windows second then this doesn't happen and the bootloader which comes with ubuntu is fine.

From what I've heard, the only really troubling thing in installation is to install windows FIRST, because during the INSTALLATION of windows it erases boot records.

Harakou wrote:

Ubuntu is pretty straightforward; Canonical (the developers) has done a good job of making the installation process easy and providing lots of useful programs through the software center.

I would recommend using Ubuntu 10.10 instead of 11.10 though. It's more personal preference than anything, but I think that the old Gnome 2 setup is much better than the new Unity UI.

You might also consider another variant of Ubuntu (or a whole different distro entirely) depending on your needs and the specifications of the computer you're using. What does it have for hardware? Ubuntu isn't terribly resource intensive, but Gnome/Unity are two of the more resource-hungry UI's out there.

I'm also going to agree with veggie here; I had an Ubuntu/XP dual boot for months that worked fine, and my current Ubuntu/Win7 dual boot is working smoothly as well.

Actually, I have 11.10, but since I like the old interface, I just switch to it from the Login screen. Old interface + new system + less bugs = AWESOME. 

Harakou wrote:

fire219 wrote:

The only tip I have is make sure you know that making a dualboot with Windows and Ubuntu is dangerous (though booting Windows DOES NOT erase GRUB).

If you make a single typo while setting up the dualboot, you could completely screw up your computer's MBR (Master Boot Record), and make the computer unrecoverable, unless you are a super computer geek. (Me and my dad are, and it still took us 5 hours to fix his PC when he screwed up the dualboot)

Well, that's what so nice about Ubuntu. When you install it, it just goes ahead and sets up GRUB for you. 

Lesson: Get a Mac.

Mac has super-easy dual--booting. Just hold down option key during boot and it displays your bootable drives. With a GUI too not a command line.

Wubi works fine, and is great for learning how to use and trying Ubuntu. The only problem is that it limits you to about 20 GB of hard drive space allocated to Ubuntu, so it isn't that great if you want to use Ubuntu alot.

jji7skyline wrote:

Lesson: Get a Mac.

Mac has super-easy dual--booting. Just hold down option key during boot and it displays your bootable drives. With a GUI too not a command line.

-.- You seem to think that Macs are the only computers that are worth having.

We are talking about GETTING the dual-boot set up, not how easy it is to boot after it is set up. It is just as hard to get a dual-boot set up on a Mac as it is on a PC, and it as easy to start up a PC with a dual-boot setup as it is a Mac.

Ubuntu 11.04 and up (the current version is Ubuntu 11.10) uses the Unity desktop environment. Unity has a rather unconventional interface, but it really isn't that hard to adjust to. If you want a more normal interface, perhaps you would like to try Kubuntu, Xubuntu or Lubuntu. All of those are official derivatives of Ubuntu with different interfaces.