Ubuntu Linux For Dummies (2007)

In This Chapter

· Evaluating how much space you need for Ubuntu

· Backing up your Windows computer

· Removing unnecessary files

· Organizing the files you want to keep

· Creating a partition for Ubuntu to live on

As shown in Chapter 2, Ubuntu works very nicely from a CD-ROM or DVD as a live (meaning that you don't have to install it) operating system. But if you want to make Ubuntu a permanent part of your computing life, you'll find the installation process to be very easy. Installation is one of Ubuntu's many strengths.

The Ubuntu installation process is the easiest of all Linux distributions.

This chapter describes how to prepare your computer to install Ubuntu alongside Windows. When you're finished, you'll have a dual-boot computer — meaning that you can boot into either Ubuntu or Windows. Because most current useful computers have Microsoft Windows XP installed, I describe how to make Windows behave and play nice with its soon-to-arrive little brother. Don't worry, they won't fight.

If you don't want to keep your current Windows — or Linux — installation and files, you don't have to worry about making nice with it. You can skip to Chapter 4 and install Ubuntu over the existing operating system. Windows, you are the weakest link. Goodbye.

Preparing to Make Room for Ubuntu

A dual-boot system with Ubuntu and Windows requires enough hard drive space for both Windows and Ubuntu. I recommend a hard drive with

· A bare minimum of 3GB of unused capacity to install Ubuntu on. This amount of unused space will let you install Ubuntu and have almost 1GB of unused space to work with when running Ubuntu. This type of Ubuntu installation will mostly be good as a platform for learning and experimenting with Ubuntu. However, the small amount of storage space will prevent you from using the Ubuntu installation as a typical workstation on which you store information such as word processing files, music files, and so on.

· Preferably 10GB of unused capacity on which to install Ubuntu and create a practical workstation you can use as an everyday computer.

You can determine the amount of free space on your Windows computer by double-clicking the My Computer icon and right-clicking the Local Disk (C:) icon. In the My Computer window that opens, select the Properties option. The Local Disk (C:) Properties window opens, showing the used and unused space on your disk.

The Ubuntu file system repartitioning utility works with either of these common Windows PC hard drive formats:

· NTFS: If your PC came from the factory with Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT, the hard drive probably is formatted with Microsoft's NT File System (NTFS).

NT stands for New Technology (which it was, when Windows NT was introduced in 1993). NTFS is much more secure and reliable than FAT.

· FAT: If you have an older PC that came with Windows Me, Windows 98, or an earlier, non-NT Windows version, your computer's hard drive might be formatted with Microsoft's old file allocation table (FAT).

FAT isn't generally used on new computers, except occasionally to host Windows recovery system files.

If you don't want to keep Microsoft Windows on your computer, skip reading this chapter and go directly to Chapter 4, which provides an option for completely overwriting your Windows installation.

Chapter 3. Preparing to Install Ubuntu

In This Chapter

· Evaluating how much space you need for Ubuntu

· Backing up your Windows computer

· Removing unnecessary files

· Organizing the files you want to keep

· Creating a partition for Ubuntu to live on

As shown in Chapter 2, Ubuntu works very nicely from a CD-ROM or DVD as a live (meaning that you don't have to install it) operating system. But if you want to make Ubuntu a permanent part of your computing life, you'll find the installation process to be very easy. Installation is one of Ubuntu's many strengths.

The Ubuntu installation process is the easiest of all Linux distributions.

This chapter describes how to prepare your computer to install Ubuntu alongside Windows. When you're finished, you'll have a dual-boot computer — meaning that you can boot into either Ubuntu or Windows. Because most current useful computers have Microsoft Windows XP installed, I describe how to make Windows behave and play nice with its soon-to-arrive little brother. Don't worry, they won't fight.

If you don't want to keep your current Windows — or Linux — installation and files, you don't have to worry about making nice with it. You can skip to Chapter 4 and install Ubuntu over the existing operating system. Windows, you are the weakest link. Goodbye.

Preparing to Make Room for Ubuntu

A dual-boot system with Ubuntu and Windows requires enough hard drive space for both Windows and Ubuntu. I recommend a hard drive with

· A bare minimum of 3GB of unused capacity to install Ubuntu on. This amount of unused space will let you install Ubuntu and have almost 1GB of unused space to work with when running Ubuntu. This type of Ubuntu installation will mostly be good as a platform for learning and experimenting with Ubuntu. However, the small amount of storage space will prevent you from using the Ubuntu installation as a typical workstation on which you store information such as word processing files, music files, and so on.

· Preferably 10GB of unused capacity on which to install Ubuntu and create a practical workstation you can use as an everyday computer.

You can determine the amount of free space on your Windows computer by double-clicking the My Computer icon and right-clicking the Local Disk (C:) icon. In the My Computer window that opens, select the Properties option. The Local Disk (C:) Properties window opens, showing the used and unused space on your disk.

The Ubuntu file system repartitioning utility works with either of these common Windows PC hard drive formats:

· NTFS: If your PC came from the factory with Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT, the hard drive probably is formatted with Microsoft's NT File System (NTFS).

NT stands for New Technology (which it was, when Windows NT was introduced in 1993). NTFS is much more secure and reliable than FAT.

· FAT: If you have an older PC that came with Windows Me, Windows 98, or an earlier, non-NT Windows version, your computer's hard drive might be formatted with Microsoft's old file allocation table (FAT).

FAT isn't generally used on new computers, except occasionally to host Windows recovery system files.

If you don't want to keep Microsoft Windows on your computer, skip reading this chapter and go directly to Chapter 4, which provides an option for completely overwriting your Windows installation.

Backing Up Your Data

"Life is unfair," goes the "They Might be Giants" tune. How true. Well, fair or unfair, you have to be ready for unexpected events — like accidentally losing your files and folders from your Windows computer. Backing up your Windows computer prepares you for life's vagaries.

In this section, I describe how to back up Windows XP and Windows Vista computers. Both Windows XP and Windows Vista provide backup utilities that, for our purposes, differ in one major respect. Windows XP can't directly back up to a CD or DVD writer, but Windows Vista can. You can indirectly back up to a writable CD or DVD from Windows XP, however, and I show you how.

Creating your backup plan

Before you decide where to save your files, you need to decide what files to save. Microsoft's backup utility gives you the option of either

· Saving everything on the hard drive — from the Windows startup screen to your most recent files.

· Saving just your personal files and configuration settings.

This option doesn't save files that comprise the Windows operating system. You can usually restore the Windows operating system and applications from its original installation media.

When backing up your computer, you might not need to save everything. It might be fine to just

· Back up your personal files.

· Skip backing up software that you can reinstall directly from the original discs, such as the following:

o Applications (such as Word and Photoshop)

o The Windows operating system

If you have your original Microsoft Windows disc(s) and your application media, you can probably save just your personal files and settings (such as your Internet Explorer bookmarks). If you ever need to reinstall all the files for your Windows computer, you can

1. Rebuild the operating system from the original disc(s).

2. Reinstall your applications from the original disc(s).

3. Restore the personal files that you backed up.

Microsoft will replace lost Windows installation disc(s) if you can prove you have a valid license. Proof can be in such forms as a sales receipt, the license itself, or even packaging material that contains the correct markings. Microsoft's replacement policy is on the Web at

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[ln];326246

Considering storage devices

The following list describes all the possible backup devices you might be able to use:

· External hard drive: This is the best option, in my opinion. External hard drives connect to your computer via USB or FireWire cables. These devices are reasonably inexpensive and easy to use. Just plug one in and you're ready to go. Between backups, you can easily store an external hard drive in a safe place.

You can purchase hard drives attached to a USB connector. These devices look like overfed USB flash drives. Instead of containing an electronic flash chip, these devices use a microdrive hard disk.

· Second partition on your primary hard drive: Many Windows computers come with one physical hard drive divided into two partitions. (Partitions look like individual hard drives to the computer and can be thought of as virtual hard drives.) The second partition uses a small fraction of the total hard drive space and is used to recover your operating system in case your Windows operating system is accidentally erased or corrupted. In case of such a disaster, you can restore your computer to its original state (how it was configured at the time of purchase) using the software stored on the second partition. Your primary partition is named the C: drive and the second partition, if you have one, is labeled the D: drive.

Both Windows Vista and Windows XP let you make backups to the second partition. You should only back up to the second partition if using it as a temporary holding area to make a permanent backup to a writable CD or DVD; I use this method when backing up Windows XP to a CD or DVD because Windows XP doesn't let you back up directly to those devices.

· Second internal hard drive: You can install a second hard drive inside your computer next to your primary disk and use it like an external one. Internal disks are less expensive than external ones because they don't require the case and power supply.

Internal backup hard drives have a couple of drawbacks:

o They aren't as easy to connect as an external device. You have to open your computer, install the drive, hook it up to a control cable and power supply, and then button the computer back up.

o If your computer is stolen or destroyed, your backup is stolen or destroyed, too.

· USB flash drive: These devices are inexpensive and very easy to use. Simply plug your USB flash drive into your computer. Windows recognizes the device, and you can start using it.

Lower-priced USB flash drives might not have enough storage space to fully back up your computer. Current technology provides very inexpensive one-half to one gigabyte (GB) of space. (You can purchase flash drives with up to 4GB USB for approximately $100.) Technology marches forward, and you'll soon be able to purchase 8GB and higher devices.

· Writable CD/DVD: These are the most commonly available external storage media in use today. Writable CD/DVDs are nearly ideal for backup purposes because they're common, cheap, and easy to store.

Both CDs and DVDs have limits on how much they can store. CDs have a limit of about 740MB, and DVDs can store up to 4.7GB of data; newer, dual/double-layered DVDs can store up to 8.5GB of data.

Figure 3-1 shows an internal hard drive on the left, a USB flash drive in the middle, and an external and a USB hard drive on the right.

Figure 3-1: Left to right: an internal hard drive, USB flash drive, and USB hard drive.

Flash has the advantage over media such as writable CD-ROMs for saving information because you can easily rewrite to it, and it's very portable. But it isn't good at acting as your computer's main memory.

· Tape devices: Tape devices are expensive and not widely used for consumer-level data backups. Tapes are great for making backups if you have a tape drive. Otherwise, I recommend using the preceding methods.

· Networked file shares: You can back up to a file server over a private network. If the server provides you with a network file share, you can use that share in place of local media. A network file share looks like a locally attached disk drive but is actually located on another computer and accessible via a network.

Unfortunately, you can't back up directly to a writable CD-ROM or DVD with Windows XP. You can, however, use the utility to back up your files to the D: drive if you have one. The files are saved to a single file that you can then burn to a CD.

Backing up Windows XP with a wizard

No need to conjure up Harry Potter to save your Windows files. In this chapter, I describe how to use the Microsoft Windows Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to back up your computer. This utility is designed to help you transfer data between old and new computers, but you can also use it to back up your data. It provides the following options to back up:

· User account personal data: Your word processing, spreadsheet, music, video, and any other files you've created.

· User accounts settings: The preferences and configurations you've saved. For instance, e-mail account settings.

· The entire computer: All the files on your computer, including personal data, account settings, applications, and the files that comprise the Microsoft Windows operating system.

It's possible — although unlikely — to unintentionally destroy your valuable files and settings while installing Ubuntu, so this chapter shows you how to back up user account personal data and settings.

You can find out how much free space you have for installing Ubuntu on your Windows hard drive (the C: drive) by completing these simple steps:

1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.

The My Computer window opens. (Alternatively, you can click the Start menu and select the My Computer option.)

2. Right-click the C: drive and select Properties.

The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog opens, showing the amount of used and unused disk space.

Windows XP can write backups directly to internal and external hard drives, floppy disks, network file shares, and USB flash drives. Windows XP can't write backups directly to CDs and DVDS, but the sidebar "Backing up your backup to CD" shows how to save a backup from your C: drive to a recordable disc.

Start preparing your Windows hard drive for Ubuntu by making sure the proper backup media is installed and ready to use.

1. Select (and if necessary, obtain) your backup media as described in the "Considering storage devices" section.

2. Connect your backup device to your computer.

If you're using an external device, follow these steps:

1. Plug the USB or FireWire connector into your computer.

2. Power on the device — external hard drive — if necessary.

Installing an internal device (such as a second internal disk drive) can be a difficult task. Check the manufacturer's manual for specific instructions. In general, installing an internal hard drive follows these steps:

1. Insert the drive into a disk bay.

2. Fix the device to the disk bay with screws.

3. Connect the drive to the computer motherboard with an IDE cable.

4. Plug a power cable into the drive.

When you have your backup media in place, you can start backing up. Here's how you can do that:

1. Reboot, if necessary, into Microsoft Windows.

2. Log in to your computer as a user with administrator privileges.

The Owner user account has administrator capability by default.

3. Choose StartAll ProgramsAccessoriesSystem ToolsFiles and Settings Transfer Wizard.

The transfer wizard dialog opens.

4. Click Next.

The transfer wizard asks you which computer you're on, as you see in Figure 3-1 .

Figure 3-1: Tell the wizard what computer you're on.

· New Computer: Choose this option if you're copying files to a new computer.

· Old Computer: Choose this option if you're copying files from the old computer.

Use the Old Computer option — radio button — to save your files and settings before installing Ubuntu.

· Select Old Computer and click Next.

After you make your choice and click Next, the Windows Security Alert dialog opens (if you've installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 and are running its firewall). Figure 3-1 shows the dialog.

Figure 3-1: Respond to the Windows firewall.

· Click the Unblock button.

· Keep Blocking: Select this option if you're using a local backup device (such as a hard drive or a USB flash device).

· Unblock: Select this option if you're using a network-based backup device (such as a Windows file share).

· Ask Me Later: Leave the current firewall settings in place and make the decision about whether to unblock or keep blocking until later.

· Select the appropriate transfer method and click Next.

The wizard dialog asks you to select the transfer medium from the following options.

· Direct Cable: You can use a serial cable or USB (or ancient RS232) to connect one computer to another. You can back up your first computer to the second when they're connected.

· Home or Small Office Network: Back up your computer to a network file share. This option frees you from having to obtain and attach physical devices such as USB flash drives and external or internal hard drives.

· Other/Floppy Drive or Other Removable Media: Select this option when using USB or FireWire hard drives or flash drives; also use this option for internal hard drives, tapes, or floppy disks. I use the Other option in this example.

Use the Other option if you want to resave the backup to a writable CD or DVD when this backup process is finished. You must use this method if you want to use a CD or DVD as you back up media because Windows XP's backup utility can't use those devices directly.

The Select a Transfer Method dialog opens.

· Select the appropriate transfer option for your backup media and click Next.

Figure 3-1 shows the Floppy Drive or Other Removable Media selection.

Figure 3-1: Selecting the Floppy Drive or Other Removable Media transfer method.

· Other: Select this option if saving to a folder on your Windows C: drive, a floppy disk, or removable storage media such as a USB flash drive.

After you specify the storage media, you're offered several backup options, as shown in Figure 3-1 .

Figure 3-1: What do you want to transfer?

· Select the Both Files and Settings radio button.

· Settings Only: Only save Windows settings like your network configuration.

· Files Only: Only save your personal files.

If you don't care about saving your configurations and settings, you only need to save files.

· Both Files and Settings: Save both your Windows settings and personal files.

If you want to save both personal files and settings, you need to save both your files and your Windows settings.

· Click the Next button.

The Collection in Progress dialog opens (shown in Figure 3-1 ) and shows the progress of the utility as it locates files and settings to back up.

Figure 3-1: The Collection in Progress dialog.

When the utility finishes locating everything, it displays one more dialog, asking whether you'd like to continue.

· Click OK in the dialog that opens.

Your files and settings are saved.

· Click Finish when the backup finishes.

Your important files and settings are saved for posterity. You can use the backup wizard's restore function if you ever need to retrieve any or all of your backed up files.

Your files and settings are stored in a file called USMT2IMG.DAT on the storage device. The backup wizard compressed all the files and stored it in this one file.

Backing up Windows Vista

Except for Home Basic, all versions of Windows Vista — Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise — provide a utility designed to automatically back up your computer on a daily or weekly basis. You can use the backup utility to back up your Windows Vista computer to prepare to install Ubuntu.

Windows Vista can write backups directly to internal and external hard drives, floppy disks, network file shares, and CDs and DVDs. Windows XP can't back up directly to flash drives.

The following instructions show how to back up your Windows Vista computer using a writable CD or DVD disc:

1. Click the Start button and choose All ProgramsAccessoriesSystem ToolsBackup Status & Configuration.

The Backup Status & Configuration dialog opens.

2. Click the Set Up Automatic File Backup option.

The User Account Control dialog opens.

3. Click the Continue button.

The Back Up Files dialog opens with the On a Hard Disk, CD or DVD radio button selected. The radio button controls a drop-down menu that is set by default to DVD RW Drive (D:).

4. If you want to save to a network file share, select the On a Network radio button.

A network file share looks like a local drive but is really another computer that you can store files to over a network. The Back Up Files dialog allows you to back up to a network file share instead of a CD/DVD writer.

5. Click the Next button.

The Back Up Files dialog displays a list of check boxes and options describing the type of files to be saved; each option is selected by default. To be safe, you should accept the default to save each type of file.

6. Click the Next button.

A notification icon — File Backup Needs Attention — pointing to an icon on the Windows menu bar. (The File Backup Needs Attention icon has an exclamation mark inside a yellow triangle.)

7. Click the File Backup Needs Attention icon.

The Back Up Files dialog opens telling you it's about to back up your files.

8. Click the Save Settings and Start Backup button.

The Back Up Files dialog asks you to insert a writable CD or DVD in your computer.

9. Insert a blank CD or DVD in your computer's writable CD or DVD drive.

A second dialog, named Back Up Files, opens and asks you if you want to format the disc.

10. Click the Format button.

The disc is formatted and the second Back Up Files dialog closes. When the disc is formatted, the backup process begins, and a progress dialog opens, showing the backup progress. When the backup completes, the progress dialog closes, and control returns to the original Back Up Files dialog.

11. Click the Close button.

The Back Up Files dialog closes, and you have your files backed up.

Prepping your Hard Drive

After you back up your computer, you need to get your hard drive ready to install Ubuntu.

The rest of this chapter describes how to organize and format the space for Ubuntu.

Removing unnecessary files

Everyday activities like Web browsing build up temporary files on your computer. The temporary files store information that helps the computer do its job or speed up processes like browsing.

For instance, browsers save the actual Web pages that you visit for possible later use. When you return to a Web page you've visited before, the browser tries to reuse the cached(saved) Web page file rather than reload it via the Internet. This works only if the Web page hasn't changed between the first and subsequent visits; your browser fetches the Web page from the Internet if the page has changed. Reusing a locally stored file saves time because retrieving the information from your computer is faster than retrieving it through the Internet connections.

However, the dynamic nature of Web pages means that cached files soon go out of date, and you can delete them if you'd like. Removing them and other temporary files can free up significant amounts of disk space but don't affect your ability to access any Web page. The process is simple:

1. Choose StartAll ProgramsAccessoriesSystem ToolsDisk Cleanup.

The Disk Cleanup dialog opens, as shown in Figure 3-1 .

Figure 3-1: Get rid of files you don't need.

· Click OK if you want to delete all temporary files from your Windows computer.

Another dialog opens, asking if you want to continue.

· Click OK.

The utility proceeds to remove unnecessary and temporary files.

Organizing your files with Disk Defragmenter

Microsoft Windows provides a defragmenting utility that consolidates files into adjacent spaces on your hard drive. (See the nearby sidebar, "Fragments of knowledge," if you'd like to know more about how defragmenting works.) Defragmenting a drive makes more space available for the stuff you want to store on your computer — such as Ubuntu.

The Windows defragmenting utility is easy to use. Follow these steps to organize the files saved on your hard drive:

1. Choose StartAll ProgramsAccessoriesSystem ToolsDisk Defragmenter.

The Disk Defragmenter dialog, shown in Figure 3-1 , opens. The dialog shows the drives available on your computer.

Figure 3-1: The Disk Defragmenter window.

The C: drive is generally your primary hard drive.

· Click your primary hard drive.

For example, in the Disk Defragmenter window in Figure 3-1 , I clicked HP PAVILION (C:).

· Click the Defragment button near the bottom-left side of the window.

Another window opens, showing the defragmenting progress. Figure 3-1 shows an example dialog at the very beginning of the process.

Figure 3-1: The Disk Defragmenter in action.

The process takes at least a few minutes.

You see the Disk Defragmenter dialog when the process finishes. Figure 3-1 shows the successful conclusion to the process. Compared to Figure 3-1 , a lot of space has been freed; the dialog shows much more white space (free space) after the process finishes.

Figure 3-1: Disk Defragmenter successfully defragments a hard drive.

· Click the Close button (the X in the upper-right corner of the dialog).

· Select FileExit to quit the disk defragmenting utility.

Repartitioning Windows: Scootch Over and Let Ubuntu Sit Here!

Computer hard drives include at least one partition. A partition is a virtual (or logical) drive within a physical hard drive.

Computer operating systems such as Windows or Ubuntu Linux see partitions, not hard drives. For instance, your Windows C: drive is really a partition of the physical hard drive. If you have a D: drive, the D: drive is a second partition on your hard drive.

Adding an additional partition to your Windows hard drive allows you to install Ubuntu alongside Windows.

On a typical PC, the default Windows partition takes up the entire hard drive, even though it probably isn't using all the space. After backing up your Windows files and settings, you can make a place for Ubuntu, too.

You can shrink the Windows partition to make space for a permanent Ubuntu installation.

The rest of this chapter uses live Ubuntu. Chapter 2 shows how to start live Ubuntu from the CD that comes with this book. (If you need to use Chapter 2 now, go ahead. I'll wait here until you start Ubuntu.)

Resizing your Windows partition

You can make room for Ubuntu by shrinking the existing Windows partition. Ubuntu provides an easy-to-use tool called GParted.

The following instructions free up space for a permanent Ubuntu installation on a Windows XP PC. After you boot Ubuntu from the Ubuntu CD-ROM, follow these steps:

1. Click the System menu at the top of the window and select AdministrationGnome Partition Editor.

The GParted window, shown in Figure 3-1 , opens.

Figure 3-1: Scootch Windows over to make room for Ubuntu.

· Select the first NTFS partition shown in the GParted window.

· Click the Resize/Move button.

The Resize dialog opens, showing the amount of free space on the partition. Figure 3-1 shows an example dialog.

Figure 3-1: The Resize window.

· Drag the black arrow immediately to the right of the green border to resize the Windows NTFS partition.

You must decide how to reallocate your hard drive. The trick is to leave enough to meet both your Windows and Ubuntu needs. For instance, if you expect you'll need 10GB more of storage space for your Windows document and media files, leave that much free space on your Windows partition. (Of course, you aren't allowed to make the Windows partition smaller than its current data.)

You can also type in the amount of space in MB you want to free up in the Free Space Following (MB) text box. For instance, 10000 to create a 10GB partition to install Ubuntu onto.

You need at least 3GB to install Ubuntu.

· Click the Resize button.

Figure 3-1 shows the newly sized partition-to-be.

Figure 3-1: Looking at a shrunken partition.

You exit from the Resize window and return to GParted.

· Click the Apply button.

The Apply Operations to Hard Disk dialog opens.

· Click Apply.

The Applying Pending Operations dialog opens and shows the progress of the resize operation.

Control returns to the GParted window when the disk is repartitioned.

The rest of this chapter shows how to format the partition.

Formatting the new partition

The following instructions continue using GParted in Ubuntu to format the empty space you created in this chapter into a new partition. Formatting essentially puts navigation markers on the hard drive that computer operating systems use to store files and folders. You can install Ubuntu onto the new partition when it's formatted. Follow these steps:

1. In the GParted window, click the unallocated item in the list in the lower part of the dialog to select the new, empty space.

The new space is shown as unallocated.

Figure 3-1 shows

Figure 3-1: The NTFS and unused partitions.

· The original NTFS partition:

This is the NTFS partition used by Windows.

Don't select the partition labeled Filesystem NTFS (or FAT on older computers)! This is where Windows works from.

· The unallocated space: This is the unused space that was created in the preceding section.

When viewed on a color monitor, the NTFS partition is shown in color, but the unused space isn't.

· From the toolbar at the top of the GParted window, choose PartitionNew.

The Create New Partition dialog opens, showing your new partition. Figure 3-1 shows an example dialog.

Figure 3-1: Add a partition.

· Click the Add button.

You exit the Create New Partition dialog and return to the GParted window, shown in Figure 3-1 .

Figure 3-1: GParted is ready to format the new partition.

· Click the Apply button.

The Apply Operations to Hard Disk dialog opens.

· Click Apply.

The Applying Pending Operations dialog opens while the partition is created. When the dialog exits, your new partition is created.

The space you stole from Windows is now partitioned and formatted. You can use this space to install Ubuntu Linux. Chapter 4 walks you through the process.