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Why dont I have this option?

enter image description here

here are my disk

sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 640.1 GB, 640135028736 bytes
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x5b53cc54

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda2          409600  1153767021   576678711    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3      1216962560  1250050047    16543744    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda4      1250050048  1250261679      105816    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)

Disk /dev/sdb: 4005 MB, 4005527552 bytes
32 heads, 63 sectors/track, 3880 cylinders, total 7823296 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x20d8782d

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *          63     7822079     3911008+   c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)
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check your partitiontable for errors –  thom Nov 6 '13 at 0:20
See my answer to askubuntu.com/questions/370667/…. –  Rod Smith Nov 6 '13 at 17:39
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6 Answers

The ubiquity installer offers to Install inside Windows when it cannot install alongside. i.e. when you already have 4 primary partitions used. This means that splitting the Windows partition is not possible.

If you select this option, it copies wubi.exe to the Windows Startup folder, so that when you next boot Windows it will automatically run Wubi.

Since you don't want to install with Wubi, you'll need instead to remove one of the primary partitions, and try installing again.

Here is an example of what ubiquity shows (although in this case the user has Windows XP, not Windows 7): enter image description here

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Indeed, it seems to be I have 4 primary partions. That is the answer to my problem. –  Stein Mar 24 '13 at 22:03
I guess you will have to use WUBI after all :) –  Ahmadgeo Mar 24 '13 at 22:08
@Ahmadgeo you don't have to use Wubi. You just need to remove one of the partitions. This is actually very common to have OEM-installed computers shipped with 4 partitions used. –  bcbc Mar 24 '13 at 22:10
@bcbc; The problem with OEM partitions is that they are either small in size, or are Recovery partitions so I -personally don't like to mess with :) –  Ahmadgeo Mar 24 '13 at 22:19
@Ahmadgeo right. I don't like it either. But if you want Ubuntu (and not with Wubi or a VM) then there's no choice. –  bcbc Mar 24 '13 at 22:39
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There are several possibles causes:

  1. Your system already have 4 primary partitions:

    The solution is removing one.

  2. Windows wasn't shutdown correctly. You must make sure Windows shutdown, no hibernation, no suspend, but a clean shutdown.

  3. Your NTFS partition is dirty. You must check all your NTFS partitions for errors using:

    chkdsk /f c:

    For each partition, d:, e:, etc. Make sure you do this from Windows, not Linux.

  4. If you are using Windows 8, disable fast boot. If you don't is like you are hibernating the system.

  5. If Ubuntu installer reports an empty disk, it's more likely that you have leftover GPT data that needs to be removed.
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I have two partitions. 50 and 200 gb. 50 gb partition is the system disc. I already tried to take small piece (20 gb) of 50 gb and format it in fat32, doesn't work. Also, I tried same thing with allocation space, doesn't work. Windows 7 is not recongnized. chkdsk /f c: live@live:~$ chkdsk /f c: chkdsk: command not found live@live:~$ –  celavju Nov 6 '13 at 15:32
@celavju that command is from windows... –  Braiam Nov 6 '13 at 17:10
Sorry for my ignorance... :( –  celavju Nov 7 '13 at 14:59
@celavju no need. Just boot up windows, open the command line and type those commands. –  Braiam Nov 7 '13 at 15:01
Another possibility is Intel Smart Respose. Also see askubuntu.com/questions/164980/… –  user68186 Nov 7 '13 at 15:38
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In your windows system run a chkdsk on your disks for faults and relaunch Ubuntu installation.

And while you are in your windows system check your disks under Disk Manager (right click on Computer>Manage>Disk Manager) if it says that your disk is dynamic you wont be able to rezise them so the option of installing side by side cannot be handled by Ubuntu (is a Windows thing).

If you have a dynamic disk you have 2 options, format all and reinstall or use Microsft's own solution for converting dynamic disks back to basic. (note: ignore the title and body of that KB, go straight to the workaround). No warranties there!

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The best thing is to backup your data and re-install Windows. When you are in the reformat drive screen you can choose to create new partitions. Always create at least 2/3 of the drive to be dedicated to the following:


So you can create the following..

[Windows NTFS][-----------FAT32---for---storage----][Linux EXT4]
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Try WUBI installer and run it from inside Windows.

For details, you may find these usefull



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That won't install it alongside Windows. –  Thomas W. Mar 24 '13 at 21:22
@TheLordofTime: Stein specifically said that he tried to "install it inside Windows" and that is why I suggested the use of WUBI installer to do so instead of booting from the USB. –  Ahmadgeo Mar 24 '13 at 21:33
I executed the wubi.exe file and started the installation. At the end of the installation there was an error AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'get_info' and the installation terminated. –  Stein Mar 24 '13 at 21:42
@Ahmadgeo read Stein's response to my comment on the question, his comment suggests he is iwanting the "alongside" option. –  Thomas W. Mar 24 '13 at 21:43
@Stein, have you placed the ISO on the same folder with WUBI installer and executed it, or are you mounting the ISO as a virtual CD drive and running WUBI from it ? –  Ahmadgeo Mar 24 '13 at 21:46
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If you are using Windows 8, disable Secure UEFI boot. Also, it's a bit difficult. The new system doesn't allow installation alongside Win8 easily. Make sure boot mode is Legacy.

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If Secure Boot were a problem, the Ubuntu installer wouldn't boot up at all. Secure Boot does not cause a disk to appear to be empty once Linux is booted -- it causes Linux (or even GRUB) to not appear at all unless a Secure Boot tool like shim or PreLoader is installed. Booting the installer in Legacy mode will just cause problems on an EFI system, because then you'll have a mixed-mode (BIOS/EFI) installation, which is harder to handle than a system in which both OSes are installed in the same mode (BIOS or EFI). –  Rod Smith Nov 6 '13 at 17:43
Ok, I feel dumb! Just few minutes ago I deleted everything and install Windows again. Now a have two partitions, system secure (100 mb) and C (rest of hard disc)... same thing happen. Nothing is recongnized! Please Rod Smith, explain, what should I do? –  celavju Nov 7 '13 at 14:58
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