I'm sorry to say this but putting ubuntu on a NEW laptop wasn't such a
good idea. I dual-boot but do so with two disk drives one for each OS
- easier i think. Many people seem to have problems at first as XP
doesn't like being 2nd place to ubuntu.

Find a spare PC [old P3 say that someone is giving away] to test and
experiment on before messing up your XP installation. Linux is not
windows. Lots of things to learn - i spent 6 months [well off and on]
trying things out before i started to use ubuntu as my main OS.

ubuntu.com is an indispensible source of info
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

I installed ubuntu 8.10 using WUBI. It created a dual boot so at least
I can get booted. Wireless not working yet so I have to use Windows to
yahoo.

That is not correct James. Dual booting with Vista is no different to XP
. Either inside by WUBI or in a second partition made first of made by
the install CD.

Back when I first installed Ubuntu as dual boot system, the startup
ubuntu disk would not free space on the hard drive. The grub would
install, but couldn't find the Linux install because it wasn't there.
In vista I had to shrink the disk size to install Ubuntu. The second
problem with 8.04 was it would lock up on install because it didn't
like my Lan adapter, turning the adapter off in bios allowed Ubuntu to
install. After install I tried to turn on the Lan again only to have
the system lock up on boot up, so Lacking a connection because there
was at the time no WiFi HAL for my atheros built in card, my Internet
service was, what can I say.

In the nick of time 8.10 came out so I downloaded it. Now the Lan was
usable so I set up and started using Ubuntu. Many claim older versions
are great, but for me it has to be 8.10 because of the Internet.
Still the atheros card gives me fits so I got a USB dongle that says
Linux compatible, had to get it on the net, non of the boxes in the
puter stores said Linux compatible.

I now have a working system with both WiFi and Lan. If I start the
system plugged into Lan, the WiFi has problems, but a simple re-boot
fixes that. As you can see by the releases I talk about, I am fairly
new to Linux but I no longer dual boot. The change for me came with
the need for a new computer, and I didn't like Vista, so it is
history, and I have learned to love Ubuntu release 8.10 and there is
no turning back.

I installed ubuntu 8.10 using WUBI. It created a dual boot so at least
I can get booted. Wireless not working yet so I have to use Windows to
yahoo.

If you have a press button wireless go into the BIOS and reset the
wireless card.

I tried to install 8.04 on a new laptop and had problems (the main
problem is that it didn't run). However the 8.10 version was pretty
seamless. I have found with the installs that I have performed to
first run as a live CD. Once the live CD is up, you can easily
install Ubuntu. As to dual booting with Vista, the Ubuntu loader
was superb and I was very impressed. I have Vista running but I
haven't been using it much as I am getting more familiar with Linux.

I am brand new to linux. I am try to install unbuntu 8.04 on a new
HP
LT (Vista). I have it partially installed (power on shows dual boot)
but ubuntu will not complete its boot. I get a series of messages
before it finally locks up.

My first question is did the Live CD ever boot or did you install from the
alternate CD? My second question would be, have you ever been able to get Ubuntu
to boot and what might you have been doing that had to do with modprobe?

I am not sure what you mean by power on shows dual boot. It is either dual boot
or it isn't. Dual boot means that you have two bootable operating systems, in
your case it would be Vista and Ubuntu 8.04. There should be a menu that
displays briefly so that you can choose which OS to boot, This menu is called
grub. Is that what you mean by power on?

If you have not had any success with dual booting then you probably don't have
anything to lose with re-installing, but I would try to be sure that the Live CD
boots and all hardware works properly first.

There are many factors that come into play for Ubuntu not to boot and we do not
have enough information to go on in order to resolve your issues.

I installed ubuntu 8.10 using WUBI. It created a dual boot so at least I can get
booted. Wireless not working yet so I have to use Windows to yahoo.

I had some problems getting started with Ubuntu (this week), especially my
laptop wifi. Looks like my problem was actually in the router. However, while I
was researching the problem I ran across a thread on the HP site forum where
many users were having problems with their atheros AR5009 wifi. Try to Google
"ar5009 +wlan" and you'll see


Trouble with Atheros AR5009 WLAN adapter - Wireless, Internet and ...Dec 27,
2008 ... Welcome to the HP Support community! Here you'll find great
solutions,advice and how-to's, friends and discussions on printer,
notebook, ...
h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/message?board.id=Internet&thread.id=314 -

FYI - Several users made HP replace the wlan. Check it out. Mine is working (for
now).