Linux Installation precautions and tips!

[Sathyam Vellal]

I'd like to advice users the following when installing a linux system on their machine. 

Carefully look at the partition table and identify primary partitions vs logical partitions. If the partition table is not right for installation, please abort!

They'll have to do a data backup and then come to us for a fresh install. 

During the selection for the bootloader installation, select 

the harddisk as a whole. ie /dev/sda or /dev/sdb, etc

and not the partitions of the disk like /dev/sda1 or /dev/sdb3 and so on.

If there are already 4 primary partitions, please do not perform any partitioning. Instead replace a disk as an extended partition and then partition it.

Do not attempt to resize partitions in windows if there is already a linux system in it. esp the C:\

If a situation appears where the installer has to remove linux from the system DO NOT format the ubuntu partition right away. Restore the windows loader either by a Windows DVD or by EasyBCD and then go ahead.

If you get a grub rescue CLI, all you have to do is reinstall grub and not the whole linux system!  The steps given by Nitheesh in the post "Saving Grub from windows" will do.
http://nitheeshkl.tumblr.com/

If you want a fast installation of ubuntu, switch off internet and proceed.. The updates will not be installed that way which saves time for installers. The users can do that themselves

If the apt-get command issues a lock error during apt-get update or any apt-get install, sudo remove the lock file specified in the error message

Remember to provide a root password (sudo passwd) for every installation as many distros do not prompt for this automatically and inform the users that the password they set for sudo passwd is for the root!

If you face problems with internet (esp found in lenovo notebooks) check if the interfaces are hard or softblocked by

sudo rfkill list all

If any of them say yes, type

sudo rfkill unblock all

If the problem still persists, they only have a choice to enable it in windows wireless/power management apps provided by manufacturers and restart to boot to linux

--

Sathyam M Vellal

Sailing in the C

5th Semester,

Computer Science and Engineering,

P.E.S. Institute of Technology,

Bangalore.

[Sathyam Vellal]

I'm bringing this thread up again for tomorrow's Install Fest. Please look at the post above in this thread which includes some tips for a linux installation. Fair warning - these are old and some might not apply now.

For the great Windows 8 problem, I'm posting these few links, "might" come in handy some time. 

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DiskSpace

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFIBooting
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2013/09/install-ubuntu-linux-alongside-windows.html
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744301%28WS.10%29.aspx

Please comment on this thread if you find more.

Thanks

--

__________________________________________________

Sathyam M Vellal | Computer Science | PES Institute of Technology | Bangalore, India