Installing Ubuntu on Laptop

[Peter Goggin]

I have several laptops running windows  7 or XP. I want to convert them 
to run Ubuntu.  I have all the systems backed up to external disks. I 
want to use one as a test bed. I want to install Ubuntu alongside 
Windows 7 so that I can test and compare the fuctionality of the Ubuntu 
equivalent to the windows applications running on it.
I have a Ubuntu distribution disk. I can run  ubuntu in test mode (no 
changes to windows). When I try to install it I cannot see any option 
that lets me install it in parallel with the windows7

I remember from many years ago a program called Grub was used to control 
dual booting. However as I get older I seem to be able to recaqll less 
and less details  (To date me my first computer program was written in 
Mercury autocode and I developed lots of data logging systems using CP/M 
and Z80 micros, nowadays I am much more familiar with large data base 
systems then the nuts and bots of system installations)

Any help, especially simple step by step instructions would be 
gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

Peter Goggin