Last month Canonical have released the latest version of the Ubuntu family called Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04). Ubuntu is the most famous Linux system in the planet. Not only that, recently, it started its journey to become the famous operating system in the world by beating Microsoft Windows! But, there are many people around the world who don’t know how to install Ubuntu on their systems. So, today we are going to show them how to safely install Ubuntu in their machines!
First, What do we need to start?
- 1 GHz x86 Processor
- You must have at least 512 MB of RAM to run the alternate install CD (384MB of RAM is required to use the live CD based installer).
- Install requires at least 5 GB of disk space.
- You will also need to have an Ubuntu CD image which you can get from the Ubuntu Download page.
- After you download it burn it to a CD.
Now, Lets See How to Install Ubuntu 10 :
1)As the first step we need to set-up your BIOS settings. This is a bit hard to explain but easy to do. Its hard to explain because different people have different versions of BIOS in their systems. So I’ll explain it briefly :
- Login to your BIOS. To do this you have to press DEL or F1 or F2, this may differ according to your own version. When booting up it will show you what key to press, so keep your eyes open!
- Once you login, go to the section which will allow you to change the boot settings, and set CD-ROM or Removable Media as the first boot device.
- After that press F10 (or any other key specified by the system) to save and exit.
2) Next put your Ubuntu CD into the system and boot it. Then you’ll see a screen as follows :
Ubuntu Install - Welcome
- First select your language from the list shown in the left side of the screen.
- And select “Install Ubuntu 10.04 LTS” as shown in the image above.
3) Next you have to select your time zone. Select your region from the left drop down list and select your zone from the right drop down list. Or you can simply select your country from the map. Unlike the other versions, Ubuntu 10.04 will try to automatically determine your location. For me, it automatically detected that im on Sri Lanka and have set the appropriate location automatically. After your done, click on “Forward”
Ubuntu Install - Time
4) After that you have to select your keyboard layout. For most of us its suggested by Ubuntu, but if thats not your layout…. you can select it from the list.
Ubuntu Install - Keyboard Layout
5) Next thing is the most important task so follow the instructions carefully! In the next page it will ask you what to do with the partitions :
Ubuntu Install - Prepare Disk Space
- In here I have no partitions previously defined, so if thats the case you can continue with the layout that is suggested by ubuntu “Erase and use the entire disk”. But you also can do it manually. For people who already have other operating systems or other partitions, Im recommending to do it manually!
- So in here I have selected “Specify Partitions Manually”. After that click “Forward”
6) Now, if you don’t have any partitions, if the hard disk is brand new, then click on “New Partition Table”. Then they’ll warn you about the risks…. now click “Continue”.
Ubuntu Install - New Partition Table
7) Next we need to create the partitions. Select the free space and click on “Add” :
Ubuntu Install - Add New Partition
Ubuntu Install - Set The New Partition
- Now first you have to select what type of partition you want.
- Then give the amount of space you need to give for it.
- Next, the location for the new partition. leave it in its default settings.
- After that you have to specify the format of the partition.
- Finally you have to give the mount point.
If you don’t have any partitions, If your hard disk is new :
- Create one primary partition with about : 30% of the free space, Partition format Ext4, Mount point “/”. (if you want, you can make a primary partition with the mount point “/boot” (with about 1 GB) first, if you do that do not make the root partition (partition with the mount point “/”) primary, make it logical.)
- Create one logical partition with about 5 GB space (This partition should be double the amount of your memory. If you have 1 GB of memory, make this partition 2 GB. But its not compulsory to do like that) , Partition format : Swap.
- Create one logical partition with the rest of the free space, Partition format Ext4, Mount point “/home”.
If you have an operating system installed :
- First make some free space (if you don’t have any). Select an existing partition and click on “Change” and then reduce the size of that partition.
- After that create one logical partition with about : 30% of the free space, Partition format Ext4, Mount point “/”.
- Create one logical partition with about 5 GB space (This partition should be double the amount of your memory. If you have 1 GB of memory, make this partition 2 GB. But its not compulsory to do like that) , Partition format : Swap.
- Create one logical partition with the rest of the free space, Partition format Ext4, Mount point “/home”.
Note : Its not compulsory to crate two partitions with mount points “/” and “/home”. You can make only the root (“/”) partition.
8) After you finish setting up the partitions click “Forward”
Ubuntu Install - Finished Partitioning
9) Next you have to give your details :
Ubuntu Install - Your Details
- Give your Name, User name, A strong password, A computer name and the login method.
- You may have noticed that Ubuntu 10 will warn you if your password is weak. So, take their advice and use a strong password!
- If you don’t want Ubuntu to prompt you for user-name and password each time you login, click on “Log in automatically”
- But if you want it to ask, select “Require my password to login”
- If you want to encrypt the home folder select “Require my password to login and decrypt my home folder”.
- After you set everything up, click on forward.
10) Now Ubnutu will show you the settings which you have specified throughout the process. Go through it (If you want). And click on “Install”. After that Ubuntu will start installing…
Ubuntu Install - Ready to Install
11) During the installation it will start to download the language packs. Now this may take some time, so if you think you are wasting your time, you can skip it.
Ubuntu Install - Language Packs
12) When the installation is over, you’ll be asked to restart the machine. Click on “Restart Now”. Finally the system will eject the CD. Take the CD out and press enter.
Ubuntu Install - Restart Now
After the re-start, you should be greeted by the login screen of your new Ubuntu system! Use the login details you provided during the installation and start to feel the power of Ubuntu!
Are you new to Ubuntu? Don’t you have any idea about what to do next? Then you’ll better see this tutorial : OK, I installed Ubuntu! now what?
