This guide walks you through the installation process Ubuntu Linux step by step. Installing Ubuntu very simple and done quite quickly. With the release of each new Ubuntu versions developers are trying to simplify the system installation process as much as possible. In this guide, I will walk you through the complete Ubuntu installation process, with each step accompanied by a screenshot and description. As a rule, users have the greatest difficulties only with disk partitioning; everything else is no more difficult than installing some program. We will look at the process of installing Ubuntu on an empty hard drive, as well as installing Ubuntu next to Windows, that is, the case when you already have an operating system installed Windows system and you want to install Ubuntu next to it.
- Burning an iso image to disk - for installation from a CD/DVD.
Writing an iso image to a USB drive (creating a bootable flash drive) - for installing Ubuntu from a flash drive. - — this item only needs to be completed if you already have Windows installed and want to install Ubuntu next to it.
This guide walks you through the installation process of Ubuntu 12.04. Other versions of Ubuntu are installed in exactly the same way.
Updated: Ubuntu 18.04 installs similarly. Feel free to use this guide.
First of all you download Ubuntu distribution, then write it to the desired media (flash drive or disk). If you want to install Ubuntu next to Windows, then you pre-allocate free disk space. Then you restart your computer, configure the BIOS, and boot from the disk (or flash drive). You can boot either into a LiveCD system (a system that works without installation on the computer directly from the disk) or you can start the installation process without loading the LiveCD system. Let's look at the entire installation process step by step.
If you are installing Ubuntu for the first time and do not have sufficient experience, then it is highly advisable to do backup copy important data (copy it to another medium). Naturally, this is true if you are not installing Ubuntu on a clean computer.
Starting the Ubuntu installation
Let's assume you have already inserted a flash drive or disk and turned on the computer. The installer should start downloading. The following window will appear in front of you (let's call it the splash screen).
The not-so-informative keyboard icon at the bottom of the splash screen means that if you press any key on the keyboard, you'll be taken to a menu.
If you do not click anything, then the download will continue and the following window will appear. On the left in the list you can select a language (this language will be used in the LiveCD system) - select Russian. Next you can click the button Try Ubuntu to boot into the LiveCD system and start the installation from there, or immediately press the button Install Ubuntu. I advise you to boot into the LiveCD system, so click the button Try Ubuntu.
If you press an arbitrary key while the splash screen is displayed, then the language selection menu will be displayed. Use the arrows to select Russian and press Enter. 
A menu will appear in which we select the first item Run Ubuntu without installing it on your computer. Thus, we will boot into the LiveCD system, and from there we will launch the installation. If for some reason the LiveCD system does not start, then you can select the second option and begin the installation immediately. 
When you boot into the LiveCD, you need to double-click on the icon on the desktop Install Ubuntu (Install Ubuntu).
Language selection and initial settings
The first thing we will have to do is select the language of the future system (Ubuntu will be installed in the same language). Choose Russian and press the button Continue.
On the next “Preparing to install Ubuntu” window, you are asked to check two boxes: “Download updates during installation” and “Install this third-party software" If you select the “Download updates during installation” option, then during installation all the latest updates will be automatically downloaded from the Internet and installed (as well as localization files). I note that in this case the installation will take longer. If you do not currently have an Internet connection, you can update the system after installation. The second option (check mark) means that you agree that some components will be installed with closed source code(for example MP3 codecs and FLASH). I advise you to check two boxes, then press the button Continue.
Disk partitioning
We have come to the stage that causes the most difficulties for beginners - this is hard marking disk (hard drive). I will try to briefly describe some basic principles of hard drive partitioning.
Each hard drive can be divided into several parts, these parts are called partitions (or partitions). For example, if you use Windows, then you may have only one partition - your C drive, or, for example, the hard drive can be divided into two parts - into two drives C and D (into two partitions).
Ubuntu Linux must be installed on a separate hard section disk. File Linux system has a specific directory structure. The root of the file system is designated as “/” (slash), all user data is stored in the /home directory (if we draw an analogy with Windows, this is something like the My Documents folder), the bootloader is located in the /boot directory, and so on. And you can put /home on a separate hard drive partition, /boot on another, the rest of the "/" file system (aka system partition) to the third. In the simplest case, you need to create just one partition on your hard drive for the root “/”. There is also a special type of hard disk partition that Linux uses - a swap partition. A swap partition is an area on the hard drive that Linux can use when it is short of random access memory or you need to make a dump operating system(the computer goes into sleep mode - hibernation - hibernate).
As I already wrote, in the simplest case you only need to create one section. However, it is better to create at least three partitions. The first is the root partition (with a volume somewhere between 30-50GB), the second is the /home partition (the volume is usually taken to the maximum) and the third is the swap partition (the volume is usually taken equal to the amount of RAM). In this guide, I create exactly three sections.
For reference: 1GB = 1024MB, not 1000MB. For simplicity, during installation, I consider that 1000MB is 1GB, so I indicate the sizes in multiples of 1000. The installer himself adjusts them a little.
There are three types of partitions: primary, logical and extended. An extended partition is simply a combination of several logical partitions.
For MBR partition table There can be only 4 primary partitions for each hard drive (including extended). There can only be one extended section. There can be as many logical ones as you like. Windows is usually already installed on the primary partition, but Linux partitions can be combined into one extended partition. To do this, during installation you just need to specify that the type of each partition will be logical, then Ubuntu will automatically place them in one extended partition.
For GPT partition table(GUID Partition Table) there is no concept of logical and extended partitions. On disks with a GPT table, only primary partitions are created. You can create 128 partitions on one GPT disk.
Hard drives in Linux are referred to as sda, sdb, sdc, etc. Each partition on the disk is named sda1, sda2, etc.
If the disk uses an MBR partition table, then the first four digits are used to designate primary partitions, and the rest are used for logical partitions. For example, you can partition the disk like this:
sda1 - primary partition with Windows
sda2 - extended partition:
- sda5 - logical partition /
- sda6 - logical partition /home
- sda7 - logical swap partition
Each hard drive partition can be formatted with a specific file system. Under Windows, Fat32 or NTFS file systems are usually used. There are several file systems for Linux, but at the time of writing this manual the best is Ext4, so I will format all Linux partitions in Ext4.
Below are two ways to install Ubuntu. The first way is to install Ubuntu on a blank hard drive when you have a completely empty or new hard disk. The second method is to install Ubuntu on a hard drive that already has Windows installed. In the second case, when you start the computer, a menu will appear (GRUB menu), in which you can choose which operating system to launch.
Installation on a new (clean) hard drive
Installing Ubuntu on an empty hard drive is one of the easiest, since you do not risk damaging important data or accidentally formatting existing sections on disk. If you have a new and empty hard drive that does not contain other operating systems, then the following window will appear in front of you. You can select the first item, then the installer will do everything automatically, but we will select the second item and partition the disk ourselves the way we want. So, select the “Other option” item and press the button Continue.
A window will appear with a list of disks and partitions. Since there are no partitions on the new hard drive, the list will simply show your hard drive /dev/sda. First of all, we need to create a partition table. Please note that your partition table may already have been created and you can skip this step. Click the button New partition table.
A warning will appear, click the button Continue.
A new partition table will be created and the disk layout window will look like the one shown in the screenshot below. Please note that you can now see the current disk volume (free space). Now we will create three partitions (root /, home and swap. To create a new partition, click on the inscription " free place" and press the button Add.
As I already wrote, we will create three sections. The first will be the root / partition of 30GB in size, the second home partition of 218GB and the swap partition of 2GB in size. When creating partitions, we will specify that all partitions must be logical. The installer will automatically create an Extended (extended) partition and place our three logical partitions in it.
So, the window for adding a new section has opened in front of us. I specified the partition type as Logical, the size in megabytes is 30000MB. The location of the section was indicated by Home. Ext4 file system and mount point / (root partition). After setting all the settings, press the button OK.
Now the window with a list of disk partitions will contain our root partition. At the same time, the amount of free space will decrease accordingly. Now let's create a home section. Click on an item in the list free place and then the button Add.
In the window for creating a new partition, again select the partition type Logical. I allocate maximum space for the size of the home partition, therefore, since I decided to leave 2GB for swap, then we define the size of the home partition as the current free space minus 2GB. In my case it is 218GB. We indicate the location Start, file system Ext4, and the mount point /home.
The home section will be added to the list of partitions. All that remains is to create a swap partition. Select an item from the list free place and press the button Add.
In the partition creation window, specify the type again Logical, size 2000MB (all remaining free space), location Start. In point Use as choose: swap partition. There is no need to specify the mount point. 
As a result, we ended up with three partitions on the hard drive. Now we just have to select the device on which the bootloader will be installed (in the “Device for installing the system bootloader” list at the bottom of the window), in our case we select /dev/sda (the bootloader will be installed on our hard drive). In fact, the partitions have not yet been created or formatted; we have only compiled a list of actions for the installer. Please note that the checkmarks in the column Formatting should be opposite the root and home partitions. For the last time, check to see if you have entered everything correctly and click the button Install now.
Installation next to Windows
Quite often, users install Ubuntu side by side (in parallel) with Windows. In this case, when you boot your computer, you will be able to choose which system to start. We will assume that you have already allocated enough space on your hard drive to install Ubuntu. If you have not already done this, then follow the instructions described in the article “Preparing a disk in Windows before installing Ubuntu”.
In my case, I have Windows installed on my laptop, which is located on a 42GB partition and I have allocated 105GB of free space for Ubuntu, plus there is hidden section 1.5GB capacity, where files for Windows recovery(since the laptop was purchased with a pre-installed system).
So, the installer will automatically detect that you already have Windows installed and offer you several options for installing Ubuntu. Namely: automatic installation next to Windows, complete Windows replacement on Ubuntu and manual installation(manual partitioning of the disk to suit your needs). 
If you select the second option, then all data on the disk will be deleted and as a result one Ubuntu will be installed.
If you select the first item, then Ubuntu itself will automatically install itself in the free space that you allocated to it (for me it is a 105GB partition). In this case, the disk will be divided into only two partitions: root / and swap. This is what my disk looked like after this installation: 
I advise you to use manual disk partitioning, so select the third item labeled “ Another variant"and press the button Continue.
A window will open showing the structure of your hard drive (or drives, if you have several). It clearly shows disk partitions, their sizes, file systems and occupied space. In the screenshot below you can just see the ~1.5GB partition (recovery partition for Windows), about 40GB is used for Windows and more than 100GB of free space that we left for installing Ubuntu. Click on the line " free place" and press the button Add.
The window for creating a new partition will open. First of all, we will create a root partition “/”. Selecting the partition type Logical, I installed the volume ~18GB, location " Start", Ext4 file system and mount point "/". 
After adding the root partition, the disk structure will look like this. Click on the line again free place"and press the button Add.
Now we will create a home partition. I allocated all the available space for it minus 2 gigabytes, which will go to the swap partition. The settings are as follows: partition type “Logical”, size ~93GB, location “start”, file system Ext4 and mount point /home. 
After adding the /home partition, we get the following disk structure. We have just 2GB left for the swap partition. Click on the line " free place" and then the button Add.
All we have to do is create a swap partition. Select the partition type Logical, set the size equal to the remaining 2GB, location Start and in the “Use as” field set the item “ swap partition", you do not need to select a mount point (the field will be locked). 
As a result, we get the following hard disk structure. And the last thing we should check is the bottom option “Device for installing the system boot loader”. In the drop-down list you must indicate your hard drive (I have /dev/sda, on which we did all the partitioning), the GRUB system boot loader will be installed on it. 
Additional settings
The system installation process will begin. At the same time, you will be asked to perform some custom settings. On the first screen you must select the city (country) you are in: 
Next, select the keyboard layout and press the button Continue. I have selected from two lists Russian.
Next, you must create a primary user.
In field " your name» enter your full name.
In field " Computer name» specify the name of the computer, for example - my-home-pc.
In field " Enter your username»Indicate your username (in small Latin letters). It is advisable to choose a username that is not very long and simple, and this is what your home directory will be called later (in my case it is /home/yuriy).
Below you must enter your password and password confirmation. Please note that you will then enter this password when logging into the system, as well as during any administrative system settings (for example, when updating or installing programs).
Press the button Continue.
You may then be asked to select a picture for your user (avatar). Since my laptop has a built-in web camera, the installer suggested that I take a photo of myself (button “ Take a photo»). 
Next, the installer offers to import accounts from other operating systems. For some reason, it didn’t offer to import data from Windows 7, but usually you can import some user data (for example, bookmarks from Windows), but I’ve never done this. So we just press the button Continue.
Copying files
Now the further installation process will begin and you will be able to view some presentation of the system (slideshow). The installation will take a few minutes. 
Restarting the computer
Finally, when the installation is complete, a message will appear asking you to restart your computer. Since I started the installation from a LiveCD system, I am also prompted Continue acquaintance with LiveCD system. Press the button Reboot. Most likely, you will also be asked to remove the flash drive (if the installation was from USB) or remove the disk (or the CD-ROM will open automatically), otherwise when you reboot, you will start auto-booting from the CD/flash drive again. 
First start
After the computer restarts, the login window will appear in front of you. You must enter the password (which you provided when installing Ubuntu) and press Enter. 
The Ubuntu desktop will boot. At this point, the Ubuntu installation can be considered complete. After installation, as a rule, a window will immediately pop up asking you to additionally install the system localization files, as well as perform a system update (if this was not done during the installation phase). 
Linux feels great on flash drives and external drives. So if you want to try new distribution or just start getting acquainted with Linux, then installing on an external drive is a good option (even easier to work with).
By installing Linux on USB you will get portable system, which can be downloaded on another computer.
Unlike virtual computers, the system on a flash drive has full access to the hardware (built-in Wi-Fi adapter, video card, etc.) - thanks to this you can use the computer's resources to their full potential.
When installing and using Linux on an external drive, not entirely obvious problems may arise - in this instruction I will show you how to solve them.
By the way, precisely with possible problems let's get started.
BIOS and EFI
Then, when starting the virtual machine, connect your flash drive or your USB disk to the real computer, and then connect it to the virtual machine:
So, the first option
choose Manual disk partition:
There may be some sections:
If you don't need them, delete them all, you'll get:
Now select Automatic marking:
Auto - use the entire disk:
Specify drive:
Leave it as is if you don't know how to use it:
If you install with EFI, then similar markup will be created:
Please note that section ESP must be required - without it, EFI simply will not see your disk. This is a small partition in FAT32 where the bootloader is located. At your discretion, you can edit other partitions, for example, I removed the swap file and reduced the disk size:
We agree with the requests of the installer, who can warn about the absence of a swap file. Confirm the selected disk layout:
I repeat once again that this method always leads to a failure for me if the disk is not empty - the installer cannot cope with the partitioning of a non-empty disk.
Therefore there is a second option.
At the very beginning, when we get to the download, select Live Mode instead of the installer. When the system boots into Live mode, connect your flash drive/disk to the real computer, and then connect it to the virtual one, if you have not done so before.
Use the following command to check the disk name:
Sudo fdisk -l
It should be /dev/sda
Let's do a complete cleanup of the /dev/sda flash drive. Just in case: a complete wipe means that ALL DATA from the flash drive will be DELETED! Please note that we do this IN A VIRTUAL MACHINE. Do not do this on a real computer, if you do not understand what name your flash drive has, you will erase the first (most likely system) disk.
Open it with the program gdisk:
Sudo gdisk /dev/sda
To switch to expert mode, enter
Then to remove GPT enter
Agree twice to completely clear the drive.
Reboot the virtual computer:
At the next boot, select the option to install the system - then proceed as usual.
How to install Linux on a flash drive or USB drive
Using the method described above, you can also install Linux on USB directly on a physical computer, without using VirtualBox. At the same time, be careful not to accidentally confuse the flash drive with some kind of internal drive and erase the information on it.
Also remember the names of the disks after you disconnect the installation flash drive. For example, in this photo, the installation flash drive (sdb) comes first, followed by the external USB drive on which I want to install (sdc):
If you continue the installation, you will then have to rename the disk in the bootloader. I did it simpler, turned off the computer and swapped the flash drive and disk in the USB sockets, it turned out like this:
Now even after disconnecting installation flash drive, the USB disk with the system will still have the name sdb and you won’t have to configure anything additional.
Booting Linux from USB from VirtualBox (BIOS)
By the way, this method turned out to be very useful for me: some systems, for example Parrot, do not boot on the physical computer after installation. The problem is solved by booting from this disk via VirtualBox and updating the system. After this, the system is able to boot on a physical computer. Some Kali Linux users also complain about similar problems (the Live system works great, but after installation the system does not boot). Apparently, the issue is some kind of incompatibility with hardware, which is corrected in new versions of the kernel.
Boot Linux from USB from VirtualBox (EFI)
VirtualBox has its own peculiarities with EFI. First, you need to start downloading from external drive as described in this article.
That is, it will be output UEFI Interactive Shell, there will also be a message “ Press ESC in 1 second to skip startup.nsh or any other key to continue».
The reason for the error is that the VirtualBox EFI bootloader does not see the files .efi to continue loading the OS.
There are two options to solve this problem:
1) explicitly indicate to the loader the necessary files
2) change the name of the required files to default ones - which the bootloader will definitely find.
1. Specify the .efi file to the bootloader:
In the invitation
dial:
Now run the command
to see the contents of the folder EFI:
We see a folder there parrot, now let's see what's inside this folder:
Dir EFI\parrot
So, we see the file there grubx64.efi. It turns out that the file that the system cannot find is located on the path \EFI\parrot\grubx64.efi
Open the file for editing:
Edit startup.nsh
And enter the line there (you may have another one, for example, \EFI\Manjaro\grubx64.efi or some other options):
\EFI\parrot\grubx64.efi
To save:
Ctrl-s
To exit the editor:
Ctrl-q
To reboot:
After this, the system will boot normally:
2. Change file names to fault-tolerant ones
As we just saw, the file to download is located in the path /EFI/parrot/grubx64.efi, the failsafe name that the system looks for by default is /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI
You can open this drive and simply rename the folder and file to /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI- the system will boot and this will not affect anything else.
Installing multiple Linux distributions on one USB
Nothing prevents you from installing a second one on a USB drive Linux distribution, as well as the third, fourth, fifth and so on.
The process is always approximately the same - a new partition is created from (part of) free space and a new distribution is installed on it.
Linux boot loader detects neighboring systems well
and when the computer starts, it offers a choice of booting from one of them.
There may be different nuances with “friendly” distributions. For example, Ubuntu pretends to be Windows and doesn't want to install on USB. Everything can be solved by connecting the disk in a special way as described in this article.
This same Ubuntu does not allow you to manually set the disk size and takes up all the free space...
By using GParted Ubuntu cured of greed:
In general, if you want to take a “step left, step right,” then “friendliness” immediately turns into a headache.
Why Linux won't boot from USB
In addition to the options already listed, when problems may arise, also check whether the options are disabled in your EFI settings Security Boot And Fast Boot.
Iron
- try not to use USB hubs - they cause a lot of problems
- During installation, do not move the flash drives or drive wires.
- Flash drives can turn off due to overheating - remember this
You might find this useful:
I bought myself two of these SATA-USB adapters. First :
Supports USB 3.0, I inserted a 2.5 inch into it SSD drive from an old laptop - it works really fast! About the size of a palm or the size of a modern day mobile phone. The case is transparent, the drive can be installed without a screwdriver or screws - however, I have doubts whether it can be pulled out later without damaging the contacts... I bought it from this seller. 6 bucks, Carl!
And I bought this one at a local store (600 rubles), it only supports USB 2, noticeably slower than the previous one, and it comes with a nice case. I inserted it into HDD drive(also from an old laptop):
We assume a situation where Windows is installed on the user's computer. And immediate advice: keep this system, at least for the first time. Linux and, above all, Ubuntu presented in this article, are of course user-oriented, but in some cases they are strikingly different from Windows.
First you need to know that you and your equipment can handle the system. This is where Ubuntu's first big advantage comes in: you can try it with complete peace of mind. new system without causing any harm installed Windows. Linux on a USB drive Users can download the system for free from the manufacturer's website (ubuntu.com/download/desktop).
Attention! Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. If you have 4 GB of RAM or more, take the 64-bit version. One way or another, this version is more modern because it can even handle modern UEFI firmware, which will be an advantage if you need to install Ubuntu in parallel with your existing Windows.
The file from Ubuntu will be downloaded to your computer in ISO format, after which you can burn it to a USB drive using free program, For example, Universal USB Installer(goo.gl/dXQ9yw). The size of the flash drive must be at least 2 GB. Configure the Universal USB Installer as follows: for “Step 1” select “Ubuntu”, for “Step 2” go to the “Browse” button ISO file with Ubuntu that you want to burn to a USB drive, select it and click on “Open”.
For “Step 3” you need to select a USB drive from the drop-down menu. Clicking “Create” starts the recording process. Please note that this action will permanently delete all data previously saved on the flash drive. Therefore, at this moment you will see a warning that you need to close by clicking on the “Yes” button. After about 3-5 minutes, the USB drive is ready for use.
Starting the system in Live CD mode
Ubuntu runs from a USB stick or our premium DVD without affecting Windows. To boot from a flash drive, you need to change the startup order of your computer. This is done in the BIOS/UEFI menu, usually called up by the “Del”, “F2” or “F12” keys; in special cases, the correct key will be prompted by startup messages; some laptops have a special button above the keyboard for this.
In the BIOS/UEFI, look for menu items such as “Boot” or “Startup” and place external media in front of the built-in SSD or hard drive. When exiting the BIOS/UEFI, the changes should be confirmed, and then reboot the computer with the connected flash drive or DVD installed.
If everything worked out for you, Ubuntu should start instead of Windows. When choosing from boot menu“Try Ubuntu without installing” option will start the system in Live CD mode. Please note that this will make the system much slower than a normal installation.
First of all, this concerns slow USB connections 2.0. Using a USB 3.0 connector would solve this problem.
Hardware Compliance Check
The benefit of using a USB stick or DVD is that you'll know right away whether your hardware can handle Ubuntu. Whether the screen resolution is supported, whether the Bluetooth keyboard is recognized and whether it connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi.
If such testing is not important to you for now, you can run Ubuntu in a virtual machine to evaluate the system first. For this purpose, we recommend VirtualBox (virtualbox.org) on Windows because it is very easy to set up. In the program, click on “Create”, in the “Name” line enter “Ubuntu 16.04” and accept all the Wizard’s suggestions with a few clicks on “Next”.
After Ubuntu appears on the main VirtualBox screen, click on the “Media” section, and in it, click on the empty line under “Controller: IDE”. Click on the small disk icon with right side, and then through “Select image optical disk» Locate the Ubuntu ISO file.
Using the "Launch" button you can download virtual machine and begin setting up and testing the system.
Alternatives to the Ubuntu system
> Linux Mint
along with Ubuntu, it is one of the most popular distribution kits among beginners. Technically, Mint uses Ubuntu, or rather Debian, as its base, and offers different desktop interfaces in Cinnamon and MATE versions. For two years now, Mint has been focusing on stability.
> openSUSE- another popular distribution aimed at stability and comfort. Easy to use configuration tools in the YAST software package ( Yet Another Setup Tool) is a distinctive feature of the system. hours in pavilion 8, where demonstration implantation will take place.
> Debian- the technical basis of many distributions, including Ubuntu and Mint, with over 20 years of experience. This system is intended primarily for experienced users. The main idea is to use free software, which often means reduced comfort.
Photo: manufacturing company
IN Lately The Linux operating system is becoming increasingly popular. Distributions based on it are completely free, and the capabilities of each of them are practically not inferior to the more popular and commercial Windows and Mac OS. Since in Russia and other Russian-speaking countries it is customary to use Linux more in a professional environment, some ordinary users For home computers, this fact can be intimidating, which is why they are simply afraid to try using Linux, at least for some time.
You can install Linux using a flash drive.
In fact, today quite a lot of Linux builds have been created, which in terms of ease of use can even surpass the same Windows or Mac OS. In this article we will describe in great detail what you need to use Linux on your home computer, and also provide step by step guide How to create a bootable Linux flash drive and install the system.
Flash drive
Most distributions have installation image ranging in size from 1 to 2 gigabytes. In some cases it can reach 4 gigabytes or more. Therefore, to fully install Linux on your computer, you will need a flash drive with a size of 4 gigabytes or larger, since the recorded image must fit on the disk. Most media today fully meet these requirements.
Linux image
Some distributions are designed for professionals, while others can be used even by inexperienced users. These include Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian, Manjaro, openSUSE, Zorin, Fedora and elementaryOS. Go to the distribution website and download the installation image. This can be done either directly from the server or through the BitTorrent protocol, through which downloading to high speed. How to burn any Linux distribution onto a flash drive, read on.
Utility for creating a bootable USB flash drive
To create bootable media, need to use special utility. For Windows best choice there will be Rufus, and for Linux - Unetbootin. We will tell you further how to make a bootable USB flash drive using them.
System requirements
For normal Linux works on your computer it must meet certain requirements. Depending on the distribution used and the selected graphical shell, they will be as follows:
- RAM: 1–2 GB.
- Processor: two cores, frequency of at least 1.3–1.6 gigahertz.
- Video card: any modern one.
- Free disk space: at least 4–5 GB.
Linux Installation Procedure
What to pay attention to
Internet connection
It is best when you use a router to connect to the Internet, which assigns network addresses automatically in DHCP mode. If you use a direct connection, without a router, it is best when the operator provides a dynamic IP address. Otherwise, problems may arise.
Selecting additional components to download
When installing some distributions, especially those based on Ubuntu, you can select additional components to download and install. This includes updates to the Linux distribution released at the time of installation, as well as proprietary codecs for playing certain file formats, such as MP3 or flash, as well as drivers for built-in devices on a computer or laptop. Of course, they can be downloaded after installation, but it is best if they are downloaded at this stage, since the system will be immediately ready for use.
Selecting an installation option
Depending on whether you have experience installing other operating systems or not, the utility offers two options for installing the OS and partitioning the file system: automatic and manual. In the first case, you need to place the cursor next to the item that offers to erase the entire contents of the disk and install Linux. When installing everything manually, check the “Other options” or “Manual installation” checkbox.
Hard drive partitioning
Automatic. When selecting automatic marking hard drive The installation utility will do everything for you. You will only need to agree with the proposed changes. If you are installing a system from scratch or plan to use Linux as the only operating system on your computer, but do not want to go deep into various settings, you can safely choose automatic partitioning.
Manual. When installing Linux as a second system, or if you just want to partition HDD, having specified the size of each partition, you will have to create a partition table by clicking on the corresponding button in the menu. Unlike Windows, in Linux there is no concept of drive C or drive D, since the file system is designed on a different principle. Here there is the root of the file system (root), to which all other partitions and directories are connected or, in other words, mounted. There should be 4 of them in total, and each of them should have a specific file system format. Let's list them:
- / - root partition - ext4 file system, size from 10 to 50 GB, the operating system is installed into it.
- /boot - is intended for Grub bootloader files, must have an ext2 file system, and its size is approximately 100 MB.
- swap - used for memory swap, file system - swap, size must be equal to the amount of RAM.
- /home - a user partition that will occupy all the free space remaining after occupying the remaining partitions; file system - ext4.
Add all these dimensions, manually specifying the size of each one. Please note that 1 gigabyte contains 1024 megabytes. Don't forget to check if you have marked everything correctly, otherwise you will have to install everything again.
- Select the default keyboard layout. The next step, which will be offered to you by the installation utility, is to select the main language and keyboard layout. You shouldn't have any difficulties here.
- Time zone change. Next, on the world map, select your location and time zone. Choose the city closest to yours.
- User credentials. Enter your username, which will be displayed in the login window, followed by your login, computer name and login password. If you do not want to enter it every time you turn on the computer, check the appropriate box.
- Complete installation. After you enter all the above data, wait a few minutes until the system is installed completely. This usually takes no more than half an hour, even on older computers. To brighten up your wait, you will be shown pictures describing the capabilities of the distribution you are installing.
IMPORTANT. After installation is complete, reboot, remembering to remove the flash drive from the computer and return it BIOS settings to the initial ones, then enter the username and password. This completes the installation of Linux on your computer from a flash drive.
Conclusion
As you can see, installing Linux is not some unusual or very complicated procedure. If you don’t get involved without sufficient experience with specific assemblies designed for professionals, the whole process will take you no more than an hour. In addition, unlike Windows, Linux already has all the most necessary software installed, so you won’t need to waste time searching for and installing it.
Leave your questions in the comments.
Ubuntu occupies an honorable third place in the world of operating systems, and, probably, every experienced PC user has ever thought about experiencing new user experiences from using it. Below we will show you how to install Ubuntu on your computer using a USB flash drive.
What you will need:
- USB flash drive with 4 to 9 GB of memory on board. During the installation process, the flash drive will be formatted - make sure that there are no important files on it. Create a backup just in case;
- a computer with an operating system already installed. Microsoft Windows, Mac OS or OS Linux;
- a backup copy of the “native system”, in case there is important data on it.
Case 1. Starting point - Windows 10,8.1, 7, Vista or XP
Installing Linux Live USB Creator
Step 1. Download the program Linux Live USB Creator. It is distributed free of charge and is available from the official website of the developer.
Step 2.
Step 3. Reading useful information and click “Next”.
Step 4. We indicate the path where the program will be located after installation - “Install”. The installation starts.
Step 5. After the loading line has reached its end, click on the “Next” button.
Step 6. Close the installation program by clicking on the “Finish” button.
Downloading an Ubuntu Disk Image (ISO) File
An ISO file is essentially your OS. Distinctive feature operating room Ubuntu systems is its openness. You can download it absolutely free from the official website.
Creating an installation USB flash drive
Step 1. Opening Linux program Live USB Creator.
Step 2. Insert an empty flash drive into the USB connector of the PC.
Step 3.
Step 4. In the “CHOOSE A SOURCE” column, click on the first icon of the disk image and indicate the path to the ISO file.
Step 5. We leave the next two columns unchanged - STEP 3 and STEP 4, respectively.
Step 6. The program will check the amount of available memory on the drive and give you the result.
Step 7 In the “STEP 5” column, left-click on the lightning icon. The program will start creating bootable flash drive. The process can take from a few minutes to 15 depending on the power of the PC.
Once the download is complete, the program will notify you that it has been successfully completed. If you Windows user skip the following sections until “Part 2: Installing the OS.”
Case 2. Starting point - Mac OS
Step 1.
Step 2. Open the terminal. The key combination Ctrl + spacebar will open a search in the “Spotlight” system, type “Terminal” in the input column and click on the corresponding icon.
Step 3. In the window that opens, enter the following text:
The installation flash drive has been created! If you're on a Mac, skip the next part.
Case 3. Starting point - OS Linux
Step 1.
Step 2. Insert the flash drive into the PC.
Step 3. Open the terminal using the key combination Ctrl+Alt+F1-F12 or through the “Dash” application menu.
Step 4. In the window that opens, enter the following text:
Ready! The computer wrote the installation data onto a USB flash drive.
Part 2. Installing the OS
Step 1. Open the BIOS menu. To do this, during system boot, press the key on the keyboard that corresponds to your brand. We list several such keys in the table below.
Step 2.
Step 3. Press Enter - the system reboots and starts
Step 4.
Step 5.
Step 6.
Step 7
Step 8 Select your time zone and click “Continue”.
Step 9
Step 10 We create account Ubuntu and click on the familiar button in the lower left corner of the window.
Step 11 A window with a loading line will appear. Wait until it reaches the end and click on the “Restart Now” button.
The system will switch on, after which all you have to do is log in and start working in the new environment. Congratulations! You have successfully installed Ubuntu on your computer.
Read the detailed step by step instructions in a new article -
Video - Installing Ubuntu from a USB flash drive
