Dual Boot Ubuntu+Win7 on Sony VPCF13E1E/H

[pit38f]

Hi from France.

I am a new follower of the GNU GPL world, and as such a bit ignorant in Linux, and not an expert in computers.

I wish to limit Windows 7 to some very rare areas where I don't have a solution with Ubuntu Linux.

As a first approach I want to implement a dual boot on my brand new laptop (64 bits, I5 2,53 GHz - 8 Gb RAM, 500 Gb HD).

My question : with the standard way for installing Linux, the GRUB loader will be installed at the beginning of the disk.

If Sony has put there some information for example to check the serial nbr of the machine vs the one of Windows and/or vs the BIOS, I could have some trouble with Windows 7 and would prefer to know before so as to have the GRUB be installed in the root partition of Linux.

Does anyone know how to be sure nothing critical is written before the start of the first partition ? (= the  Recovery one that begins only at cluster 2048).

Or have you successfully implemented Linux and Win 7 in such a laptop ?

Thx.

Pit

[cyrus_sr19 · Accepted solution]

Hi.

First of all make Recovery Disks. They can help you if something goes wrong.

There are many howto's about Win7 and Ubuntu dual boot  at the web. I think you can just use one of them. But before start installation test your laptop  with Ubuntus' Live-CD. Because some VAIO's F-series have problems with it.