Layman Linux

Ubuntu is a good distro to start your linux journey. It is also the most user friendly distro & also the highly recommended one on forums for anyone who is new to the world of Linux. In this guide, I will explain how to install Ubuntu on your machine. I will be installing Ubuntu 9.04 via the Live CD. The steps underlined here in this guide remain similar even if you need to install a different version of Ubuntu.

Pre-Requisites:

1) Ubuntu 9.04 Live CD. Click here to read how to make one.
2) CD-ROM Drive.
3) Atleast 256MB of RAM.
4) Atleast 4GB of Free Space on Hard-Disk.
5) Atleast 20-30 minutes to spare.

Starting with the Installation:

1) Insert the Ubuntu Live CD in your computer’s CD-ROM drive & boot your computer via CD-ROM drive. To make your computer boot via CD-ROM drive, go to BIOS & make CD-ROM drive the first boot device under Boot Sequence. You can access your computer’s BIOS by pressing a key while the computer is booting. Mostly you need to press F2, F8 or DEL, depends on your BIOS type.

2) Once the LIVE CD boots, select English (or language of your choice) & then select the first option to boot via LIVE CD without touching your hard-disk. This will boot you into a Live Ubuntu environment.

3) Once you get to the Ubuntu desktop simply double click on the ‘Install’ icon to begin the Ubuntu Installer.

4) You will now be asked to select the language which you wish to use. English is selected by default. Simply click on Forward or select the language of your choice & then proceed.

5) The next screen asks you to select your Time zone. Click forward once you are done selecting.

6) Once you set your Time Zone the above screen will prompt you to select your preferred Keyboard Layout. Select one or leave it to default & click forward.

7) Once you click on forward, Ubuntu will start the disk partitioner & prompt you to point it to the location where you want to install it. Selecting entire disk will wipe off all data on your HDD & install Ubuntu. Selecting use continuous free space is advised if you have fred up a partition prior to starting up the installer. Manual partitioning is not recommended to novice users & its best avoided if you don’t know what you are doing. Click forward when you are satisfied with the partitioning. I advise to double check since one wrong move & you may lose your precious data.

8 ) After you are done with the partitioning, the above screen will greet you. Enter your desired Username, Password, Computer Name in the blank fields on the screen. The option ‘Require a password to Login’ is recommended from security point of view. If you don’t want to enter your password every time to login select ‘Login automatically’. Click Forward once you are done.

9) You will most likely not get the above screen if you do not have any other linux distro already installed on your hard-disk. In such case you will see the next screen which gives you a summary of your installation settings. This is the final prompt before the installer begins to install Ubuntu. If you need to review any settings click back & do it now itself. Once done you can click on the forward button.

10) Now the installer will begin with copying the required files needed to setup Ubuntu on your hard-disk. If everything goes fine, you will get the above screen indicating Successful Installation & prompting you to reboot to start using your new system. Reboot the system by clicking on the red power icon on top right corner on your computer screen. Once the computer reboots make sure you remove the CD from the drive & let the computer boot via hard-disk. Once it boots up, you will be greeted with the wonderful Ubuntu desktop.

Congratulations. You have now successfully installed Ubuntu 9.04 on your computer.

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