I knew UEFI and dual booting would be a pain and will require a lot of workaround, but it turned out to be easier than I thought thanks to UEFI support in Ubuntu 12.10.1.
Here is how I installed Ubuntu on Asus S400CA touch Ultrabudget ultrabook. Ubuntu has truly turned this entry level machine into a powerhouse. It boots and operates at much faster speed compared to Windows 8.
Shrink using windows your Existing Data Partition to make space for Ubuntu
Windows 8 makes several partitions on the hard drive for recovery options. The easiest way to get some free space for ubuntu is to shrink a partition using windows disk manager. I trimmed my Data partition using Windows disk manager and left the free space unallocated for Ubuntu to see.
Make a live USB of Ubuntu 12.10.1 to boot from
You will need at least 12.10.1 version of Ubuntu. I tried 12.04 which would let me run a live session out of USB and install too, but GRUB won’t load.
1. Download Ubuntu 12.10.1 or later version.
2. Download Unetbootin to make a bootable flash using the Ubuntu ISO.
3. Use Unetbootin to make a bootable flash of Ubuntu.
Change your BIOS settings to enable USB booting. To Get to boot Screen, you may have to hard boot windows.
I tried serveral times to shut down windows by selecting power option > shut down but everytime it only would hibernate. I had to hard reset it to get to the boot menu.
1. Shut down windows. Restart. Press and hold F2 key while the machine is booting ( Hold it , if you just press it once or twice it won’t work) . Select Boot option and you are at the BIOS menu. If you don’t see BIOS menu and windows starts to boot, you will have to hard reset your computer. Press and hold the power button while windows is running. Keep holding it till you see all the lights lit up and then go off. This is bad for the hard drives, but I couldn’t find any other way of shutting down windows. Every time I shut it down using settings > power > shutdown, it would just hibernate.
2. Go to Boot Tab and Enable Launch CSM. This gives you an option of booting from USB and other devices.
3. Go to Security tab and Disable Secure Boot Control. This lets you boot even those OS that are not digitallly signed.
4. Restart the Machine. Hold Escape key while the machine is booting. If you see a boot menu, you have done it correctly.
Boot from USB and see if Ubuntu boots up. Install Ubuntu.
Insert your USB drive. Hold escape key while the machine is starting. On boot menu, select USB drive to boot from. Install Ubuntu. It will give you the option of installing Ubuntu alongside Windows. The installation should go smooth now and after installing your machine will present you with an option to boot Windows or Ubuntu.
Touch support is built in, so you can start using your laptop touch screen in Ubuntu immediately. However gesture support is still limited. Wireless drivers are built in but the lan driver will have to be downloaded.
4 Days now and loving this ultra budget ultra book.