[orca-list] Setting up a dual boot with Ubuntu & XP

[Henrik Nilsen Omma]

Hi Ann,

(taking this to the ubuntu-access list)

You have two options here: a) use the installer on the Live CD and b) 
use the Wubi installer for Windows. There are of course a number of 
gotchas with each approach :-/

a) The trick here is getting the Ubuntu installer to run from the Live 
CD with speech output. This page describes how: 
http://www.ubuntu.com/node/691 Make sure to select the resize partition 
option. Several people on this list will have experience with this. The 
partitioner itself is very reliable provided you have made the right 
choice for partition method. Once installed the system will start with 
the Grub bootloader that lets you choose Ubuntu or Windows. If you do 
nothing it will boot Ubuntu after 10 seconds. To get to Windows you must 
press the down arrow 5-6 times to get to the end of the list and press 
Enter. (hm, we should try to get some beeps in grub)

b) Install from Windows: We are working on a new install method that 
lets people install a copy of ubuntu as a set of files in their Windows 
drive, without any partitioning (so the risks are minimal here). Simply 
download the small installer from here: 
http://www.cutlersoftware.com/ubuntusetup/wubi/en-US/index.html and 
launch it in Windows. It will in turn download the CD image (about 30 
min with broadband), ask you a few questions and install. I've not 
tested the Windows-based installer with Windows assistive tools, so I 
don't know it is itself accessible. I would very much like feedback on 
that. When it reboots it will present the _Windows bootloader_ which has 
Windows as first choice and Ubuntu as second (no audio feedback here 
either unfortunately). Down arrow and Enter to start Ubuntu install. It 
then completes the install automatically and reboots again (another 30 
minutes). You get the same boot option in the bootloader.


I'm especially interested in feedback on option (b) from anyone who has 
Windows around. We are still working on that setup and I'm sure access 
can be improved in various ways.

Henrik

ANN wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> Yes!!! I actually got the live CD to boot with Orca running. The problem 
> was that when my CD drive first spins up, it only spins for about 2 
> seconds. My Compaq machine has three very loud fans on it, so I was 
> totally missing that spin up time.
>
> Anyhow, after playing with the live CD for the past couple  of days, I 
> would really like to install the operating system as a whole. However, I 
> only have one internal drive, and one USB2.0 external drive And, my 
> external drive already has data on it, since I have been using it as a 
> back-up drive from my Windows XP.
>
> Can I easily install Ubuntu on this external drive, or is it safe to 
> partition my Windows drive, and place the Ubuntu on it? Using the Ubuntu 
> installer from the live CD, how would I go about making sure I set up a 
> dual boot system, and be able to boot in to either XP or Ubuntu? I am 
> also not opposed to just buying a new internal drive for this purpose.
>
> Since I am totally blind, and don't have sighted help right at hand, I 
> am very nervous about trying this, as I do not want to hose my windows 
> installation. Any advice, or  well written documents, would be appreciated.
>
>