After botching an Ubuntu install on my laptop in 2009, I waited until now to try it again. This time it's a Sony VAIO laptop running Windows 7 Starter Edition, and I have sort of succeeded, but with some issues.
1. The hard drive (320 GB) originally (in Win 7) was NTFS and had no partition - it was just 'C'. While installing Ubuntu from a pen drive, it was split up into two large partitions and two or three smaller ones ('swap', etc). Now, when I have Win 7 open, I can see only one of the large partitions and when Ubuntu is open, I see only see the other one. Saved documents, thankfully, are visible in both, but in Ubuntu accessing them means clicking through several directory levels. This is what I want to do for optimal use of disk space, as well as convenience:
Place Windows in a smallish partition of its own, say 20 GB, Ubuntu in another partition of about 20 GB, and my data in a third partition of about 270 GB. I have installed Gparted in Ubuntu, but don't know how to go about it and am afraid of wiping out data.
2. Instead of the Windows/Ubuntu dual boot screen, the first black screen I get has 7 options. I have to click on one of the Windows options there to get the dual-boot screen. How can I eliminate the first (7-option) screen/step?
Will much appreciate some help here!
1. The hard drive (320 GB) originally (in Win 7) was NTFS and had no partition - it was just 'C'. While installing Ubuntu from a pen drive, it was split up into two large partitions and two or three smaller ones ('swap', etc). Now, when I have Win 7 open, I can see only one of the large partitions and when Ubuntu is open, I see only see the other one. Saved documents, thankfully, are visible in both, but in Ubuntu accessing them means clicking through several directory levels. This is what I want to do for optimal use of disk space, as well as convenience:
Place Windows in a smallish partition of its own, say 20 GB, Ubuntu in another partition of about 20 GB, and my data in a third partition of about 270 GB. I have installed Gparted in Ubuntu, but don't know how to go about it and am afraid of wiping out data.
2. Instead of the Windows/Ubuntu dual boot screen, the first black screen I get has 7 options. I have to click on one of the Windows options there to get the dual-boot screen. How can I eliminate the first (7-option) screen/step?
Will much appreciate some help here!