How do I install Linux on a dell notebook/laptop that is currently running Windows XP?
You seem to be savy enough to install Ubuntu if you are using gparted to set up partitions! The two hidden partitions probably are hidden partitions that Dell has for their utilities – there is one on my Dell, not two. IF you created two empty partitions with Gparted, you should have 6 partitions (from my reading of what you wrote): C:, D:, two hidden partitions, and two unformatted partitions created under Gparted. Use gparted to see how linux identifies the partitions you created – hdx, hdy, or sdx, sdy (x & y being numbers). gparted should show them either as formatted or unformatted, depending on what you did.) I would create 3 partitions available, not 2 – sorry. Assuming space is not an issue, I would set up a “swap” partition – 2 times your RAM, a root partition “/” of around 5 gigs, and a “/home” partition of around 5 gigs as well. (/home makes updates and things easier – your settings and data are stored there.) You do need a minimum of 2 partitions (swap and / – swap is max 2
