If you’ve ever attempted to dual-boot BackTrack 5 and Windows by installing the former on partitions that you created manually, you know that the installer will not allow you to install GRUB in the boot partition or any of the partitions used for BackTrack 5.

This tutorial shows how you can set up a Kubuntu 12.10 desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.

So, using the computer I assembled using an ASRock motherboard, and the same hard drive, I made my first attempt to set up a dual-boot system between Windows8 Pro and Linux Mint 13 on a computer with UEFI firmware, and on a single hard disk drive (HDD).

As an introduction for those readers who have just dropped in from a different dimension, Ubuntu is a Linux distribution (an operating system) derived from Debian, and financially supported by Canonical Group Limited, a software technology outfit based in the Isle of Man.

What follows is a step-by-step guide on how I succeeded in dual-booting Windows 8 Pro and Ubuntu 12.10 Desktop on a computer with UEFI firmware on the motherboard, using 64-bit installation images of both operating systems.

Two features that have been standard in the installation programs of other distributions finally got implemented. (One of them, is only partially implemented, but half a loaf is better than none.)

I am, of course, referring to the overlay or Ayatana scrollbar. It is one of those “innovation” that nobody that I know want on their desktops, but which Mark Shuttleworth keeps trying to push. According to the project’s official page on Launchpad.net, the overlay scrollbar: