Frequently asked question #4

How to set up a dual boot system for Xp, Vista & Windows 7

For your convenience click here to download the pdf to print these instructions.

1. Backup

Make sure you have a backup of your existing data on your Windows machine. Most PC Users have a backup, if you don't then make a backup before you proceed!

2. Defrag your Windows disk drive

Before you can set up a dual boot windows installation you need to defragment your Windows hard drive. This is a necessity thanks to the ancient Microsoft file system inside every Windows version which is 1980's DOS. If you do not defrag the disk drive then you will not have any real free space to install a 2nd operating system such as Robolinux. The fact is that all Windows versions carelessly spray your data into a sloppy mess all over your disk drive continuously. This is one of the many reasons why Windows runs so slowly. You also have to defrag your Windows hard disk regularly in order to get halfway reasonable read write speeds. So this is something you should be used to doing. When you have finished defragging your Windows drive then you can start the Robolinux installer.

Note: All Linux versions use a very modern file system that writes your data quickly and efficiently into compressed contiguous blocks which do not require time consuming defrag monkey business. This is one of the many reasons why Linux runs so much faster than Windows.

3. Insert your Robolinux DVD disk into your PC

Note: This assumes you have already downloaded the Robolinux 32 or 64 bit iso file and burned it to a DVD.

Click here if you need instructions on how to burn an iso image file onto a DVD

Your PC or laptop will load this Robolinux installer Welcome screen

The default selection is to run it live off of the DVD without installing Robolinux. so click your
arrow button down to "Install" to start the installer directly. Then you will see this screen below.

Select your language screen

Be sure you are plugged into the internet and not on wifi. Then click the forward button.
No need to check any boxes.

To set up a dual boot Windows system click on the "Install alongside other operating systems" button at the top and then click on the Forward button on the bottom right.

This screen shows a proposed setup where Windows uses half of your disk drive and Robolinux uses the other half. If you want to change the size just drag the divider left or right until you have set the sizes to your satisfaction. Then click on the Install Now button on the bottom right.

If this screen comes up below, it means you may not have enough disk space or Windows requires manual resizing due to any number of reasons. Don't panic, the few extra clicks to manually resize your windows hard drive are not complicated and we will take you step by step through the process below this error screen.

Note: If you do not see this error screen then go straight down to the screen below that says "Where are you" and proceed with your installation.

Click on "Specify partitions manually (advanced)

Now you will see this screen below, it has your windows ntfs partition (That's where all your Windows programs and data are located) highlighted, simply click on the "Change" button. Note: It most likely also has other Windows restore partitions, please ignore them completely.

If you can type numbers and click your mouse, you can do this in a few seconds without any problems as long as you do NOT click on the format button or set the size smaller than what your Windows partition is using now.

Step 1:

You need to change the number in the top right field called "New partition size in megabytes" to a number in the thousands which is the size you want your Windows partition to be changed to. 1000 MB = 1 GB (Gigabyte).

Example:

Let's say the screen above says 250 GB "Size" (That's the total) and then the "used" space says 180 GB. That means you have 70 GB free space left if you set your Windows partition to 180 GB. But that does not give you more disk space to grow if you need to. So you have to decide how much more space you want to add to 180 GB. Let's say you want 20 GB more for future Windows disk space usage. Okay then you enter 200000 (two hundred thousand) = 200 GB. Now What you have is 50 GB free for your modern Robolinux partition.

Tip:

when you left click your mouse at the end of the number you can press the backspace key to delete numbers and then type new numbers to change the number. Remember 1000 = 1 GB (Gigabyte).

Step 2:

On the "Use as:" field, click the down arrow button on the right and go to "ntfs" and select it.

Warning! Do NOT click on the "Format the partition" button.

Step 3:

On the "Mount point:" field, click the down arrow button on the right and select /windows. Now click on the OK button on the bottom right, to finish setting up your new windows partition size.

Now you will see this screen. Click Continue to start the resize process. The time it takes depends on how large your hard disk is.

Next you will see this screen which now has free space to install Robolinux. Click "Add".

Here you are setting up a swap partition for Robolinux.

Step 1:

Click "Primary" to select it.

Step 2:

Enter 1000 which is a standard swap size that works fine.

Step 3:

In the "Location for the new partition" field select "Beginning".

Step 4:

click on the "Use as:" field down arrow and select "swap area".

Step 5:

Click on ok.

On the free space bar click on "Add" so you can tell the partitioner you want to install another partition which will be the Robolinux operating system.

Now you are setting up the Robolinux partition

Step 1:

Click the "Primary" button to select it.

Step 2:

In the "New partition size in megabytes" field enter the size. Remember 1 thousand = 1 GB. or you can just take the default which = how much free space is left on the disk drive.

Step 3:

In the "Location for the new partition" field select "Beginning".

Step 4:

In the "Use as:" field click the down arrow and find and select "Ext4 Journaling file system"

Step 5:

In the "Mount point:" field click the down arrow and select "/". Then click on the Ok button.

Now you will see this install screen. Simply click on "Install Now".

Set your geographic location and timezone. You can drag the latitude bar or type in your city.

Select your keyboard or if you are not sure click on figure out keyboard layout.

Type in your full name, a name for your pc, then your username & password.

Robolinux is now configuring all your hardware drivers really fast. Only one more minute to go!.

Robolinux is now fully installed and updated.

Click Restart now
When you reboot you will see a boot menu for 5 seconds which has Linux at the top and Windows at the bottom. If you do nothing then Linux will load. But if you want to load your Windows operating system, then you just arrow down to Windows and press enter on your keyboard.

Note:

If you do not see your Windows boot option at the bottom of the boot menu loader, then the Windows boot option failed to load into the Linux bootloader. Very few dual boot Windows systems have this issue.

Do not panic! just click here to see how to instantly fix this from a system menu option in Robolinux with just a few clicks

Click here to go back to the Robolinux FAQ webpage