How to install Linux Mint Alongside Windows 7

Linux Mint is at present the most popular version of Linux and brags of an impressive user interface and a great range of software and it can be installed and used for free. The Linux Mint 17 and Windows 7 operating systems can be installed side by side. For the increasing popularity and to make a successful career in the IT industry, knowledge of Linux is a must and can be obtained through Linux Training Bangalore.

Steps to Install Linux Mint 17 Along with Windows 7:

• Backup Windows 7:The First step is to backup Windows 7 before partitioning of the hard drive or the installation of the "GRUB" bootloader which enables your system to dual boot between Microsoft Windows and Linux Mint.
• Create Recovery Disk:The next step is to create a recovery disk which is used when you don't have access to Windows 7 at all. It offers a way to boot and allows you to recover from your system image.
• Create System Image:The next step is to create a system image which will take a full copy of your Windows partition.
• Backup files and folders: Back up your important documents to a USB, DVD or external hard drive in case the system image has not been correctly created.
• System Requirements: In order to run the Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop, the computer requires the x86 processor (32-bit) or x64 processor (64-bit),512 megabytes RAM (1 gigabyte recommended),10 gigabytes disk space and DVD or USB support.
• Shrink the Windows partition: The next step is to reduce the windows partition to make room for the Linux Mint and this can be done with the help of the "Disk Management" tool.
• Obtain the Linux Mint: This can be obtained by either downloading Linux Mint or burning to a USB drive or DVD or by buying a USB drive or Linux DVD.
• Download Linux Mint: First of all you can choose the 34 or 64 bit version of the Linux Mint. The Cinnamon desktop should be chosen as it is the ideal choice for the Linux Mint, which provides the style, gestures and the wheezy effects required. Then install multimedia support. The Linux Mint can be downloaded from a download mirror or from a torrent. It would be a good idea to opt for the mirror closest to your geographical location if you have no knowledge of how to use torrents.
• Burn the Linux Mint image to a DVD: A disc burning application such as Nero Express is needed for the process.

•  Format the USB drive: The UNetbootin is a free application that allows you to create bootable USB Linux drives.

• Burn Linux Mint to the USB drive: This is done by using theUNetbootin application which employs two ways to burn an image, either by selecting a distribution from the list or an image from your computer.

• Buy a DVD or USB drive: It is bought, so that you are guaranteed to get a media that works. The Linux Mint in Live Mode can be used.

• Boot from a DVD or USB drive: The next step is to boot from a DVD or USB drive.

• Installation of the Linux Mint:  The first thing to do is selecting the installation language. First the installation should be done and the updates should be applied later. Three choices are available for installing Linux mint, which are install Linux Mint alongside Windows, erase disk and install Linux Mint and something else. The something else option should be selected as it allows you to divide the disk in such a way that you can choose the space for your personal data and operating system.

• Create the Root Partition:   Initially a box marked as new partition size in megabytes appears and in this 20000 should be written as only 20 gigabyte space is needed for the operating system.
• Create the Home Partition: The home or data partition will use the rest of the disk space barring the amount to be used for swap partition.
• Create the swap partition: The "Swap area" is used by Linux Mint for hibernation purposes. If you don't care about hibernation then you can make this partition a lot smaller.
• Installation of the Bootloader- The bootloader determines the boot order of the operating systems. This is followed by choosing the keyboard layout and creating a default user and a name for your computer.The installation process takes less than 10 minutes.
• Testing it out:Before booting into Linux Mint for the first time it is worth checking whether the Windows partition is still working properly.

Thus to successfully install Linux Mint along with Windows 7 and to boost your career  as an IT professional, knowledge of Linux as an operating system is required and a Linux Training Bangalore is the right thing to opt for.

Source : articlesbase.com