raymac46 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 (edited) Did my first dual boot in years today and my first ever Linux - Windows 7 dual boot. It went pretty well - nice to see I haven't lost my touch. One of my coffee buddies runs Linux all the time on an old desktop. He wanted me to set up a dual boot on his Acer Aspire 5517 laptop - still wants Windows for a few things but prefers to run Linux Mint when he can. He dropped off the laptop today and I set to work. Updated his Malware Bytes and scanned the Windows setup. Got rid of 750 pieces of Malware. Used CCleaner to clean up a mess of temp files. Set the BIOS to boot from the DVD. Used GParted live DVD to shrink down his Windows partition. I took 30 GB for Linux and 2 GB for swap. There is so much crapware on Acer that I had to make extended partitions for Linux and swap. Booted back into Windows and checked the disk. All OK. Booted up Linux Mint on DVD and of course the wifi didn't work (Broadcom.) Plugged in a wire and proceeded with the install. Upgraded all the software through the wired connection. Used the Driver Manager to add the Broadcom firmware. Wifi then worked. Installed the other software I think he should have. I have GRUB2 set to boot into Linux and he can choose Windows from the GRUB menu. Aside from the wifi and crapware partitions this Acer is a good Linux machine - it's AMD all the way for processor and graphics so the FOSS drivers are perfect. It has a 64 bit Athlon 64 X2 and 4 GB of RAM so it can run the Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon desktop - very nice. Edited September 29, 2014 by raymac46 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 It's like riding a bicycle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 (edited) It is indeed. However in spite of all the strides made to improve the installer, and make the hardware compatible, it isn't a slam dunk - especially if you are new to the game. I still think that if anyone new is considering a Linux trial, it's a good idea to get some help and advice before attempting an installation. That goes double if you want to dual boot. It's easy to mess up a partition, install the bootloader incorrectly and end up with a non-functioning system. And a lot of people couldn't deal with the wifi problems that are almost inevitable with a cheap Windows laptop. Edited September 29, 2014 by raymac46 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Yes, I trashed many an existing OS or partition table when I was first learning to install Linux. And if I had a nickel or so for every time Kamicota (Colin) or Longgone (Dale) blew their MBRs away, I could almost splurge on a burger and fries at McDonald's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 That goes double if you want to dual boot.It's easy to mess up a partition, install the bootloader incorrectly and end up with a non-functioning system. I took the coward's way out many years ago and used a third-party boot manager for years. I always installed grub to a /boot partition, and the boot manager was set up to boot that partition when I chose the proper entry from its menu. A few months ago when I installed openSuSE on an older XP laptop was the first time in 11 years that I omitted the third-party software and let the installer put grub in the MBR, mainly because I didn't really care if I lost the XP install. Everything was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) Although I did some dual boot setups early on in my Linux experience, lately I have either blown away XP and installed Linux on older machines, or installed Linux on a new machine that doesn't run anything else. With the advent of reliable virtualization I prefer to run a VM rather than dual boot. But my friend wanted to keep his Windows 7 and I really couldn't expect him to run a virtual machine. So it was back to dual boot. At least it was Windows 7 so no UEFI to worry about. My major concern was borking his Windows install, either by messing up the bootloader or shrinking his HDD to make room for Linux. I did it right the first time so no worries. Edited September 30, 2014 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Great job Ray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluttermagnet Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Love these stories, Ray. Slowly, steadily, a little Linux sunshine into the lives of friends and family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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