Doubts with Partitioning with Ubuntu

[vizkid2005]

Hi Guys ...
I`m New to open source OS`s like ubuntu ....
I`m really keen to try it out ...
In fact I downloaded a version of ubuntu and made a cd of it ...
It was Ubuntu 10.04.1 L ... I really wanna try it out ...

I was looking for suggestions from experienced users who can tell me the do`s/dont`s for a newbie ...

The first obstacle I`m having is before the installation even starts !!!
I can`t understand the partition formats and don`t wanna mess up my hard drive ... I`ve bought a new machine ... i5 760 based ... To start things off I had installed Windows 7 64bit ... I also allocated partions using standard NTFS format ...
There is no unallocated space left ... I have an NTFS partition of 50gb in which I plan to install ubuntu (the above version) ...

Please help me ....

Thanks Guys ...

[gk2k]

You can install ubuntu inside the 50GB partition. But for installation inside windows remember before reinstalling (if and when u do it) backup your data in ubuntu.

[vizkid2005]

k ... I tried Installing but when the time comes to choose the partition the computer hangs ... Mouse and keyboard don`t work ...
This even happens when I use ubuntu directly from the cd ...
What should I do ???

What exactly does "dev\sda1, dev\sda2, etc." mean ???
What are they ???
Are they the file systems like NTFS and FAT ????

Also There are 32 bit and 64 bit versions on the ubuntu site available for download ...
Which should I opt for ???
I have i5 760 ....

[celldweller1591]

32/64 bit, depends upon you. If you have 4GB + ram and you want to utilize it fully in Ubuntu as well, then go for 64bit else stick to 32bit.
You said the screen freezes during installation. Try booting the liveCD wtih "acpi=off" option.
Well you need to understand linux directory and partitions properly. /dev/sdxy is the drive partition where x is to be replaced by drive letter and y by the partition number.
Sometime, partitions may be seen as /dev/hdxy , but the case is almost same.
/dev/sda is your mbr and /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2/ etc are your partitions no matter they are EXT,FAT or NTFS etc. To understand linux directory stucture ,see here.
For partitioning details see this page.

[vizkid2005]

Originally Posted by celldweller1591

32/64 bit, depends upon you. If you have 4GB + ram and you want to utilize it fully in Ubuntu as well, then go for 64bit else stick to 32bit.
You said the screen freezes during installation. Try booting the liveCD wtih "acpi=off" option.
Well you need to understand linux directory and partitions properly. /dev/sdxy is the drive partition where x is to be replaced by drive letter and y by the partition number.
Sometime, partitions may be seen as /dev/hdxy , but the case is almost same.
/dev/sda is your mbr and /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2/ etc are your partitions no matter they are EXT,FAT or NTFS etc. To understand linux directory stucture ,see here.
For partitioning details see this page.

Thanx buddy !!!
I`ll check those links out ...


But do u think my machine freezes becoz of gfx card problem ?? I read on ubuntu forum gfx card can also be the source of a problem ...
During the freezes only my mouse and keyboard don`t work .. I was playing music when it froze but the music continued ....