Linux...a few questions

[Sewercake]

HI!

I have been pondering the idea of using linux for a while, and I finally took the motive to test it out. I decided to use Ubuntu. I have successfully used the LiveCD, and would like to actually install it on my machine. I am running windows, so I will obviously use a Dual Boot. Now, I'm a little worried. I have looked around the tutorials, and the whole process seems daunting, I am going to install a new HDD for this. But there is just so much stuff. I thought i could just install the HDD then run the installation, but then this whole thing about GRUB came up. So i guess my questions are, Is there a special way to install the HDD, like using GRUB? If not how do you use GRUB? Is there much of a chance that I could seriously hurt my computer?
thanks for the help



-sewercake

 

[PnkFloyd27]

The installation will ask you what hard drive you want to install one, one will be hda1 and the new HDD will be hda2. Choose to install on hda2.

I'm not completely positive on this so do some googling or wait for someone else to respond.

 

[macdude425]

GRUB is nothing to be scared of. The installer will run, you'll pick the new drive (it should pretty obvious which one it is - the old one should have a large NTFS partition on it), it'll install, then, towards the end, it'll ask you if you want to install GRUB. Say yes, let it install, the CD pops out, you restart the machine, and it's all downhill from there.

The installation will ask you what hard drive you want to install one, one will be hda1 and the new HDD will be hda2. Choose to install on hda2.

This is incorrect for two reasons.
1) /dev/hda1 and /dev/hda2 are partitions of the same drive. If you have two different drives, they will be /dev/hda and /dev/hdb (or something similar), respectively.
2) /dev/hda## assumes that you're using an IDE drive. In the case of SCSI or SATA, it should show up as /dev/sda##

 

[jakec]

see if this helps a bit

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing

Jake