Technical Reviews and Geek Toys

My Compaq laptop incorporates 'Quick Launch' keys above the keyboard to adjust the volume, turn the wireless radio on/off, etc.. When I removed XP and installed Kubuntu on my laptop all of these keys reliably worked except the one that turns the wireless radio on/off. I didn't really mess with it because when I booted up the radio came on and stayed on and it worked. A couple of days ago I got a 'wild hair' and decided to see if there was a bios update for the laptop and sure enough there was. I downloaded the version that created a bootable USB key and installed the update without a problem. However when I booted up the machine the wireless radio didn't stay on and of course the 'button' doesn't work...... major frustration. So I backed up my home directory and ran the recovery DVDs to reinstall XP. I am currently downloading the last of the Microsoft updates.

Follow up:

Whenever I have installed Kubuntu in the past I have always wiped the existing OS. This time I am going to install Kubuntu leaving XP intact so I will be able to switch to XP if I have to.

I have a couple of different options. I can install Kubuntu inside of Windows XP. This doesn't require a dedicated partition and I will be able to boot into either XP or Kubuntu. The down side to this method is that Hibernation is not enabled and disk performance is slightly reduced. The other option is to boot on the Kubuntu Installation CD. When it gets to the Disk Partition screen it will recognize the Windows install and give the option to create a separate partition for the Kubuntu install. Well, this is sort of an experiment anyway, so I'll try the installation from inside of XP. If I decide it doesn't work I will be able to uninstall Kubuntu and my XP partition will be intact.

The first step is to load the Kubuntu 8.10 CD. The autoloader recognized the CD and displayed the first installation screen. I selected the 'Install Inside of Windows' button and was then presented with the second installation screen. It recognized my username from my Windows login so all I had to do was enter my password. Since I will be using Kubuntu more than XP I probably should have increased the installation size ( The largest option is 30GB ). Clicking the Install button presented the installation window and a short time later I was prompted to Reboot.

On reboot I was presented with a screen asking if I wanted to boot into Windows XP or Kubuntu. Using the arrow keys, I selected Kubuntu and was presented with a window saying it was creating the ext3 file system and installing the system. When it finished it rebooted and again I was presented with the choice to boot into XP or Kubuntu. And there I am, looking at Kubuntu KDE 4.1.

Hmmmm... A major disadvantage of this type of install (compared to running XP on a virtual server inside of Kubuntu) is I can't see the Windows partition. Booting back into XP and looking at C:\ I see a folder labeled Ubuntu. Inside is an icon to uninstall Kubuntu. There is also a disks folder with a shared folder. Now I'm going to have to reboot into Kubuntu to see if I can see the shared folder in there. Can't.... Ok, lets Google 'c:\ubuntu\disks\shared'... two hits. Here is something worth checking out... How To Access Your Windows Hard Drive From Ubuntu. Boot back into Kubuntu and follow the instructions... and WA-LAA... there are the Windows files.

Ok, for giggles and grins, lets see if I can uninstall Kubuntu. I just noticed Ubuntu Jaunty Alpha 6 was released yesterday. (I'm in the process of downloading the image...) In XP again, Ubuntu is not listed in Add or Remove Programs. I didn't think it would be as it is not a Windows program. So I'll navigate to c:\ubuntu and double-click the Uninstall-Kubuntu icon. Presented with the Wubi Unstall window, I selected Uninstall. About 15 seconds later it was finished. Rebooting XP and the dual boot option is no longer there (hey you never know...).

To make Kubuntu the default os in the Dual Boot option, Boot up XP, open up the Control Panel and select the System Properties. Switch to the Advanced Tab and click on the System Startup and Recovery button. Select Kubuntu in the Default Operating System drop down menu.

By the way, the Quick Launch button that turns my wireless radio on/off worked in Kubuntu.