How to install Linux to my laptop?

AllOnTheBus · 23 Dec 2011

Awesome - another classic case of wasting time to try to help someone
who finds it amusing to delete their original question. Ahh well - if anyone else is interested here's some info.

Let's turn it into a semi tutorial instead - lol :)

Semi Tutorial for Lenovo laptop users wanting to run Ubuntu

Here is a link to a Lenovo forum telling of the problems which
may be encountered with a user friendly version of Linux such as Ubuntu is:
Ubuntu on a Y460? - Lenovo Community

More info from a Lenovo forum (Linux users)
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Linux-Di...em/td-p/357539

You need to get an Ubuntu ISO image, burn it to disk using IMG Burn (or similar)
and then boot the OS onto a partition on your hard drive like most operating systems.
I say most operating systems because there are what is referred to as live Linux distros.
With these you simply change your boot order in BIOS and run the OS from RAM - one such
example of a live Linux distro is Knoppix. I guess it's gonna depend on what you want to
do with it!

By the way - IMG BURN is free and can be found here:

The Official ImgBurn Website

Linux versions are free (OPEN SOURCE) also, find them here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download (Get Ubuntu 11.04 here)
http://www.knoppix.net/ (Get Knoppix here)

Your other option is to use Linux in a Virtual machine either by way of the software now
available in Windows 7 or with Oracle Virtual Box (VMWare - my preference) - let me know if you would like to know how to use that or if you have any more questions.

Cheers

By the way, if you want to run Linux as a solo OS on your hard drive, the new/er versions make an installation very easy. You would probably want to format the hard drive first and then basically boot the Ubuntu (or similar ) disk and follow the prompts pretty much like you would with Windows to set up.

steviejay42 · 23 Dec 2011

There is another option. The Ubuntu family of distro's (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu & Linux Mint) can be installed within Windows by using the wubi installer (or mint4win I think it's called in the case of Linux Mint).

Simply download the iso for which ever version you prefer and burn it to disc. Then run the disc on Windows and open it to view it's contents. You'll find the wubi.exe (or mint4win.exe) is included. Just double click and follow the instructions when it runs. If you want to remove Linux at a later date just run the installer again.