[ale] Fought Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 14.10 (resolved)

[DJ-Pfulio]

As great as gparted is, don't use it for NTFS partitions loaded with the Windows
OS. Use Windows tools for that.

Using gparted on non-OS/data NTFS partitions is fine. It is just the partition
where Windows is actually installed that matters - IME.

With Windows, always be prepared with a "recovery disk", since changes to the
underlying file system tends to freak it out.

Fortunately, GPT makes much of the old crap we had to go through to make room
for "logical partitions" easier.  OTOH, we get secure boot as a new issue.


On 04/10/2015 09:15 AM, Charles Shapiro wrote:
> Best form of payback.  Now someone else with similar troubles will get a clear
> explanation of what happened and what do do.
> 
> 
> Not that I'm _advocating_ installing Winders..
> 
> -- CHS
> 
> 
> On Thu, Apr 9, 2015 at 3:34 PM, Tom Freeman <tfreeman at intel.digichem.net
> <mailto:tfreeman at intel.digichem.net>> wrote:
> 
>     For what it is worth, this is by way of "Thank you" to the list. If you are
>     not actually interested, delete and feel good about this online community.
> 
>     Short story - as per something mentioned months ago on this list, when dual
>     installing Windows and a Linux, Windows first with ___lots___ of disk, let
>     Windows resize things, and then Linux. Great pain seems to follow any other
>     procedure.
> 
>     The school I'm currently at is (aren't they all?) mired in Windows. As part
>     time, not a problem for me, but some of the handouts for the students "could
>     be better". In any event, I find myself on occasion having to "support"
>     students with Windows issues, along with the ever popular seventy bazillion
>     different calculators. Since I haven't used Windows since the days of 3.17
>     (??), and Word even longer (Word 1 on an 8088 - sheesh!), if I'm to function
>     quickly I need to get some practice. Hence, back in January purchased 8.1
>     and MSOffice to instal on my laptop, already running a completely screwed
>     Windows 7 and Ubuntu. Getting Windows 7 repaired using the manufacturer's
>     disk so that video hardware acceleration worked did not seem possible unless
>     I shelled out $$$$, and I wouldn't learn anything in the process.
> 
>     Took my installation supplies, and dropped 8.1 onto the machine simply
>     accepting the defaults. This worked for a while (3 weeks?), and the system
>     started throwing Windows errors, complaining about being out of disk space.
>     Tried a reinstall with no success, so I needed to wait a bit so I had time
>     to blow away everything. Tried installing Windows on a prepartitioned
>     system, giving it 250 GB of disk space, Ubuntu on the other 250 GB
>     partition. Windows complained (and I managed to lose my credentials for the
>     MS login - that is another irritation). Tried another reinstall giving
>     Windows the whole disk, then using Ubuntu to shrink the partition. Windows
>     worked for a day or two - then developed the habit of freezing I/O _before_
>     I could get logged in, requiring a power cycle.
> 
>     I'm not sure what triggered the memory, but I think somebody here indicated
>     that Windows 8.1 does not like anybody else resizing its partition, and to
>     size the partition with Windows. Since the system seemed to whine about disk
>     space at 250 GB, I installed 1T disk. Told Windows to use 500 GB, which it
>     split into two partitions for reasons known only to Microsoft. Ubuntu sits
>     on the other 500 GB, and I've had a useable Windows partition for four days
>     now. Now to attempt to not foul it up again!!
> 
>     All of which is to thank somebody whose offhand comment I can not find for
>     somehow giving me a clue when it was needed!
> 
>     Thank you to one and all for help over the years, and the use of your
>     bandwidth for this! It was and is appreciated.
>     _________________________________________________