How to dual-boot Windows 8.1 and Kubuntu 14.4 on Lenovo G510
Most new laptops come with Windows installed. It's the cheapest way to buy a computer; the economies of scale effectively give you Windows free. It's now cheaper to buy a laptop than a desktop with a screen and the performance of a good laptop is good for anything except serious gaming.
However, I use Linux by preference, so when my new laptop arrived the first thing to do was to get Kubuntu onto it. The machine is a Lenovo G510 with a core i7 processor and 1TB of hard disk, and Lenovo is noted for its support for Linux. The following instructions may need modification to work with other computer models but on the Lenovo it's a breeze. Given that the G510 is highly price-competitive it's an obvious choice for anyone wanting a Linux laptop.
Much as I prefer Linux there are times when it's handy to have Windows on a computer, so I decided to go for dual boot. Here are the steps I took. All of the steps are simple and at no time do you need to use a console window.
Partitioning Windows
Since I spend most of my time in Linux I don't need a huge Windows partition. There are some files – music and pictures, for example – that it's handy to be able to use in either OS, but apart from that my Windows partition can be quite small. Use the Windows partition manager to shrink the main Windows volume down. Mine started out at about 890GB and I found – after some tinkering with disk defragmenters – that I could reduce it to 200GB. It's always best to do this as soon as possible after getting your computer, before Windows has time to grab the space. If you've had your machine a while you should consider a factory reset. Of course if you only want a small Linux partition this is likely to be less of a problem.
The space released will be used by Linux. It's worth noting that (on the Lenovo at least) doing a factory reset leaves any Linux partitions untouched, so you can restore either OS without affecting the other.
Making a bootable Kubuntu USB stick
On modern PCs you have to create a special bootable device, the simplest of which is a USB key of 4GB or more. There are a number of Windows utilities able to make a bootable stick from the Kubuntu ISO image; I used Universal USB Installer.
To start the boot process you need to restart the computer and get it to boot from the USB stick. I believe this process varies from computer to computer but on the Lenovo it's really simple:
1. Move your mouse to the top right of the screen and the “charms” toolbar will appear.
2. Select Settings (the bottom button).
3. Click Power.
4. Insert your USB stick, hold the Shift key down and click Restart.
5. Select “Use a device”.
6. Select “EFI USB device”.
If all is well your PC will boot using the USB stick and you can start the Kubuntu installation process.
Other makes/models of computer may require you to disable Secure Boot or perform other magic incantations, but Lenovo have made it really simple and I thoroughly recommend the G510 series to any Linux user needing a new laptop.
Partitioning Linux
The installer for Kubuntu is about as simple as it could possibly be; the only thing that requires any thought is the disk partitioner. You need at least two partitions – one for swap and the other for your root directory – but I recommend four, as follows:
1. A Swap partition equal to your memory size; in my case 8GB.
2. A root partition. 10GB is adequate but I use 20GB.
3. A /home partition. I use 20GB for this too.
4. All remaining space goes to a /data partition.
The rationale for this is that from time to time you need to update or reinstall Linux. If you structure things as above you can reinstall without affecting your /home partition and you'll get an updated system up and running far quicker. Keeping /data separate is just a personal preference; you could just as well combine it with /home, but I find it helps me keep track of when a badly-behaved program starts to create huge numbers of hidden files, always in the /home directory. I monitor the partition usage from time to time using df and always spot when this is happening as the free space in /home starts to disappear.
To set all this up use the Manual option in the partitioning screen. Make sure you leave the Windows partitions well alone and only add partitions in the unused space.
Continue with the installation. At the end Kubuntu installs a Grub boot menu so you can choose which OS to run; the default is to boot Kubuntu after 10 seconds.
The result
There's not much more to say. Both operating systems behave flawlessly and the Kubuntu device support appears to be complete, including both wifi and the webcam. Top marks to both Lenovo and Kubuntu.
Most new laptops come with Windows installed. It's the cheapest way to buy a computer; the economies of scale effectively give you Windows free. It's now cheaper to buy a laptop than a desktop with a screen and the performance of a good laptop is good for anything except serious gaming.
However, I use Linux by preference, so when my new laptop arrived the first thing to do was to get Kubuntu onto it. The machine is a Lenovo G510 with a core i7 processor and 1TB of hard disk, and Lenovo is noted for its support for Linux. The following instructions may need modification to work with other computer models but on the Lenovo it's a breeze. Given that the G510 is highly price-competitive it's an obvious choice for anyone wanting a Linux laptop.
Much as I prefer Linux there are times when it's handy to have Windows on a computer, so I decided to go for dual boot. Here are the steps I took. All of the steps are simple and at no time do you need to use a console window.
Partitioning Windows
Since I spend most of my time in Linux I don't need a huge Windows partition. There are some files – music and pictures, for example – that it's handy to be able to use in either OS, but apart from that my Windows partition can be quite small. Use the Windows partition manager to shrink the main Windows volume down. Mine started out at about 890GB and I found – after some tinkering with disk defragmenters – that I could reduce it to 200GB. It's always best to do this as soon as possible after getting your computer, before Windows has time to grab the space. If you've had your machine a while you should consider a factory reset. Of course if you only want a small Linux partition this is likely to be less of a problem.
The space released will be used by Linux. It's worth noting that (on the Lenovo at least) doing a factory reset leaves any Linux partitions untouched, so you can restore either OS without affecting the other.
Making a bootable Kubuntu USB stick
On modern PCs you have to create a special bootable device, the simplest of which is a USB key of 4GB or more. There are a number of Windows utilities able to make a bootable stick from the Kubuntu ISO image; I used Universal USB Installer.
To start the boot process you need to restart the computer and get it to boot from the USB stick. I believe this process varies from computer to computer but on the Lenovo it's really simple:
1. Move your mouse to the top right of the screen and the “charms” toolbar will appear.
2. Select Settings (the bottom button).
3. Click Power.
4. Insert your USB stick, hold the Shift key down and click Restart.
5. Select “Use a device”.
6. Select “EFI USB device”.
If all is well your PC will boot using the USB stick and you can start the Kubuntu installation process.
Other makes/models of computer may require you to disable Secure Boot or perform other magic incantations, but Lenovo have made it really simple and I thoroughly recommend the G510 series to any Linux user needing a new laptop.
Partitioning Linux
The installer for Kubuntu is about as simple as it could possibly be; the only thing that requires any thought is the disk partitioner. You need at least two partitions – one for swap and the other for your root directory – but I recommend four, as follows:
1. A Swap partition equal to your memory size; in my case 8GB.
2. A root partition. 10GB is adequate but I use 20GB.
3. A /home partition. I use 20GB for this too.
4. All remaining space goes to a /data partition.
The rationale for this is that from time to time you need to update or reinstall Linux. If you structure things as above you can reinstall without affecting your /home partition and you'll get an updated system up and running far quicker. Keeping /data separate is just a personal preference; you could just as well combine it with /home, but I find it helps me keep track of when a badly-behaved program starts to create huge numbers of hidden files, always in the /home directory. I monitor the partition usage from time to time using df and always spot when this is happening as the free space in /home starts to disappear.
To set all this up use the Manual option in the partitioning screen. Make sure you leave the Windows partitions well alone and only add partitions in the unused space.
Continue with the installation. At the end Kubuntu installs a Grub boot menu so you can choose which OS to run; the default is to boot Kubuntu after 10 seconds.
The result
There's not much more to say. Both operating systems behave flawlessly and the Kubuntu device support appears to be complete, including both wifi and the webcam. Top marks to both Lenovo and Kubuntu.
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