Where to go from here

Hi 80yearold and a warm welcome to the forum

So. Have you bought a new PC and it has got Windows 7 on it and you want to make a dual boot with a linux distro?

Hello 80yearold, welcome to Seven Forums!



I know next to nothing about Linux but if you're asking if Partition Wizard will format to the Ext3 file system, yes it will.

click to enlarge

Hello 80 year old. Welcome to the forum. I'm a lot younger than you. I won't be 80 years old until March.

I'm still not clear what position you are in now. Have you got a new machine with Windows 7 on it?
If so. are you now wanting to create an ext3 partition and put Ubuntu on it in a dual boot?

Assuming the above, as you can see from BFKs post it's perfectly possible to create an ext3 partition.
Also you can shrink your Windows partition via Disk Management in Windows. Then install Ubuntu from disk and allocate it to the space you have created.
I haven't used Ubuntu for a while but Linux Mint will do this for you.
You will then have Linux as your first boot choice-in GRUB. You drop down to Windows and choose that and Windows boot loader appears.

Hope this helps, John

PS. I gather you've been a Linux man for a while and as you can see I walk on both sides of the road but I think you will find Windows 7 absolutely amazing

If you plan to run Ubuntu, you may want to consider running it in Virtual Box. Then you do not have the complcations with double booting, the Grub taking control and all the other unneccessary headaches. I run it that way and it performs like a charm. Only Firefox was a bit slow, but I fixed that with Chromium. In addition you have access to Ubuntu and Windows7 in parallel which is very handy.

There are a few experts on this forum which can help you with an optimal Virtual Box installation. And I am an oldtimer too (73) - probably sounds like a youngster to you, LOL.

Hi Allen. This tutorial tells it all: Dual Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu

A expense of being redundant user name while true was chosen to elicit patience not as a sympathy ploy.
I have tried to understand what I have read and sadly my comprehension is not what it once was.
I am looking to get back to what I had in my prior unit but with more HD.
I had an extended with 3 logical drives and had Ubuntu , Lenny, and would get curious with 3rd and try different distros.
Frankly out of my comfort zone and need someone willing to walk me through. Present HD came with 3 primary, a boot, recovery, and 286+ GB that for my purpose needs to be extended to:
3 logical of about 30 GB each and remainder unallocated. If this is not acceptable please advise as this is my one and only hobby and I miss Linux.
Hope to find someone with patience and time to help me.
As an aside I am a retired chef and there I have not lost my comprehension
I want to thank all who replied and apologize for what appears an old mans folly. And John I envy you ability walk both sides. Ubuntu and any distro in Linux is my comfort zone. Yep that being said been around since 3.1 Cheere