I have been using Windows since Win 3.11 and have only been on Linux/Ubuntu for about three hours. I know things are done differently on Linux and I do not expect it to be as intuitive and user-friendly as Windows, so I am prepared for a few bumps on the road.
The first thing I do when moving to a new Windows version is to install a disk imaging software, because I always manage to screw something up when familiarizing myself with a new OS and then it is nice to be able to reinstall the system in a matter of minutes rather than hours. That is also the reason why I am always very particular about keeping OS and my documents and data separated on two different partitions.
I have installed Ubuntu 64bit on a dedicated HDD with an 8GB SWAP partition, a 20GB / partition and the rest allocated to a partition I named /D-Drive for documents, data and disk images. After installation, I installed an application called Partition Image from the Software Center and then I hit a brick wall!
The problem is that I cannot access my D-Drive, because for some reason that belongs to root and I cannot run Partition Image, because for some reason it also belongs to root (I did not download it as root). In Windows 7, I would just right-click and 'Run as Administrator' or give my user account administrator privileges, but I have not been able to figure out how to do either in Ubuntu.
How do I get around this annoying root issue and take ownership of my PC? Can I give my user account root rights or can I take over the root account as my primary login?
Please remember that I do not know anything about Linux yet, so I need a step-by-step description.