See: LoCoRunningInstallfests

Installation

It is important to follow a consistent procedure when installing Ubuntu on a large number of computers. Otherwise, configuration issues and even data loss can occur.

1. Connect the computer to power, networking, and peripherals (if necessary).
2. Power up computer, verify that the machine POSTs, and if a dual-boot is desired, that Windows is working.
3. If computer is running Windows Vista, proceed now to the Vista-specific instructions.
4. Boot an Ubuntu CD. Open a terminal window, and run the following as super-user: fdisk -l
   • If you see anything other than a single NTFS partition, or two NTFS partitions where the hard disk seems to be split in two, skip down to the Complex Partitions section.
5. Go through the installer, if a dual-boot is desired use guided partitioning to resize the partition, otherwise use guided (use entire disk).

Vista

Windows Vista has a built in partition management utility. It is best to use this to shrink the partition, and then use the guided (largest contiguous free space) option in the ubiquity partitioner. The Vista disk utility is in Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Local Storage.

Complex Partitions

Some PC manufacturers provide a(some) partition(s) on the hard drive to restore the OS, instead of providing a Windows XP CD, in order to cut costs. Some work in very complicated ways, even requiring files on the recovery partition to boot the main OS. GRUB doesn't handle that sort of situation very well currently. Also, Dell's MediaDirect and similar functions on laptops stop working with GRUB installed to the MBR, because they require a special bootloader.

1. After shrinking the main or data partition in these situations, install grub into the beginning of the newly created Ubuntu partition by clicking Advanced in the last window (the one with the Finish button).
2. Once the installation finishes, stay in the livecd,
3. Install ntfs-3g on the livecd, and then mount the main/bootable Windows partition with -t ntfs-3g
4. Use the dd command to copy the GRUB bootloader to a file in the root directory of the mounted Windows partition:

   • dd if=/dev/ubuntupartition of=/path/to/windows/grub.mbr bs=446 count=1

   5.Then put the following entry in C:\boot.ini:

   • C:\grub.mbr="Ubuntu Linux"

Sharing files between Ubuntu 7.04 and Windows

When partitioning the drive. Create partition entries for NTFS partitions and give them mount points such as /media/windows. DO NOT choose the format option.

Post installation

Optimization

• Ubuntu 7.04 - Enable concurrency:

   gksudo gedit /etc/init.d/rc  Find "Concurrency" and change its value from "none" to "shell". This should speed up bootup.

  Caution: This can cause boot errors in Gutsy, as certain scripts will try to execute concurrently, when they should be sequential. DBus/Hal is a commonly known one, and will result in a "Failed to start HAL" error upon login.