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[Tom <question77323@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Question #77323 on Ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/77323

Tom proposed the following answer:
Hi again :)

A bit more detail this time.  If you're reading this in the library or
at some public machine then just skim it - my first post should get you
access at home.

Most distros, not just Ubuntu, have a LiveCd session as the default when
booting up from their installer Cd although not many have such a fancy
menu screen, mostly it's just a splash-screen and a blinking cursor.
Also most distros quickly pick-up your internet connection but it
usually takes about 3 button clicks.  With Ubuntu's LiveCd session it
should pick-up your internet connection straight-away without any fuss
so just click on the firefox icon on the top taskbar and you should be
able to surf into this thread :)

Note that while it looks like a normal desktop all the "Documents",
"Music" and such-like folders are all built from the Cd so anything
saved into them will be forgotten when you reboot or take the cd out.
The LiveCd session is handy for some quick surfing and checking emails,
or for showing off Ubuntu to other people on their own machine, or for
checking that Ubuntu will work on a machine (worth doing with any distro
before installing it).

Ok, anyway - from the LiveCd session go up to the top taskbar and click
on

Applications - Accessories - Terminal

and into the terminal/command window/console type

sudo fdisk -l

and copy&paste the answer into this thread so we can see what is really
going on with your drive at the moment and see if there's anything
already there we can work with or whether we really will need to start
from scratch.  Either way is good.  Note that if you're unsure of advice
given about the command-line you can check by typing the command on its
own with a " -h" or " --help" after it to get a quick cheat-sheet about
how to use the command.  Try

sudo -h

fdisk -h

Note that while fdisk does have some very damaging potential i am
carefully avoiding harm and just using it to scout out what's going on
;)  Usually a good first step.

The Master Boot Record on your hard-drive has been told to look for
"NtLdr".  NT is the basic Windows OS used at the heart of Win2k, Xp and
some others.  Ldr refers to "LoaDeR".  So, "ntldr" is short for "windows
boot-loader".  The linux one's are called grub and Lilo - and are very
much more sophisticated than ntldr.  Grub is the most recent but both
are far better at dual-booting between Windows & Ubuntu than ntldr,
we'll help you with all that a little later.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

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