Beginner’s Guide: How To Install Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS
Two surprising things happened this year in my personal tech life. Dell’s XPS 13 laptop became my daily driver, finally pulling me away from Apple’s MacBook Pro. Then I ditched Windows 10 in favor of Ubuntu. Now I’ve gone down the Linux rabbit hole and become fascinated with the wealth of open source (and commercial!) software available, the speed and elegance of system updates and the surprising turn of events when it comes to gaming on Linux. I’ve also seen a rising interest in Linux inside my community, so I wanted to craft a guide to help you install Ubuntu on your PC of choice.
After you’ve done this, check out my guide to updating your graphics driver and playing Windows-only games on Steam for Linux!
Ubuntu «Circle of Friends» Logo
This installation guide is targeted purely at beginners. I’m a relative beginner myself, so in between the steps we’ll explore why you’re doing what you’re doing rather than just listing instructions. If you’re a Linux pro and spot an error or want to suggest an improvement, please reach out to me on Twitter (@KillYourFM) and I’ll update this guide accordingly.
Ok, you’re here because you’re curious, so let’s chat about why you’d want to consider installing Ubuntu or any other flavor of Linux.
Why You Might Love Using Desktop Linux
Team Encrypt / Linux in a Nutshell 6th Ed.
The most popular operating system in the world is actually built on Linux. Hi Android users! Of course, that’s your phone and not your desktop PC. In that space, Linux has many, many variations called «distributions.» While that can result in an overwhelming amount of choice, it also ushers in freedom of choice which simply isn’t possible using MacOS or Windows. There are flavors of Linux built for students, for musicians and creative professionals, for, um, anime fans? You can even roll your own distribution from scratch and literally make it your own.
Furthermore, Linux is ridiculously customizable. It’s free to download and install (although developers welcome donations). You can throw just about any Linux distribution on a USB stick and test drive it without installing it to your computer. It’s also far more attractive than it used to be, rivaling if not exceeding the user interfaces of Windows 10 or MacOS.
You may simply love Linux because it’s an alternative to Windows 10 at a time when Microsoft is guiding their operating system toward being more of a service they have aggressive control over, and not something that resembles a «personal» operating system for your personal computer.
Why You Might Love Using Ubuntu
The Activities overview screen on Ubuntu Linux
I previously outlined 5 reasons why you should switch from Windows to Linux, but those are largely subjective opinions. Give it a read and decide for yourself. I’ll quickly summarize them here:
- Ubuntu gets out of your way. It doesn’t nag you; it just works
- The average user will never need to touch a command line (Terminal) window
- Installing software is shockingly easy, and there’s a ton of it. Faster, more secure and more elegant than Windows
- System updates are fast, happen in the background, and you aren’t forced to reboot
- In my experience the Linux community is incredibly helpful. You don’t be left out in the cold if you have issues
Long story short: Ubuntu pulled me from the shackles of Windows 10, and I haven’t looked back.
PART 1: GET PREPARED
Yep, you can carry around a bootable, persistent, modern OS on this.
Before we install Ubuntu, let’s get everything prepped. I’m going to assume you’re reading this guide from Windows. It’s also assumed that you’re using a 64-bit version of Windows; highly likely if you’re using Windows 7, 8 or 10. (You can do Part 1 on a Mac, but I have less experience with Linux installs on Apple hardware so we’ll stick to traditional PCs)
You’ll need at least a 4GB USB stick and an internet connection.
Step 1: Evaluate Your Storage Space
Let’s not go into this blind. Put some thought into whether you want to completely wipe out Windows, or dual-boot with both Windows and Ubuntu. The installation you’re about to do will give you full control to completely erase your hard drive, or be very specific about partitions and where to put Ubuntu. If you have an extra SSD or hard drive installed and want to dedicate that to Ubuntu, things will be more straightforward. (Don’t worry, you’ll get to choose Windows or Ubuntu when your system boots up.)
If you’re running on a single drive with Windows and are almost out of space, you may want to consider adding that extra drive! Ubuntu doesn’t take nearly as much space as Windows, but assuming you enjoy the experience and want to use it regularly, you’ll appreciate thinking about this ahead of time.
Windows 10 disk management tool. In my example I’ve devoted a spare drive to Ubuntu. It’s not . [+] formatted or partitioned yet.
Because of the variables here, I can’t give you specific instructions for each one. But to check out your current drive situation, click the Windows key (Start button) and type «disk management.» This will show you the number of drives you have, and how they’re partitioned.
Step 2: Create A Live USB Version Of Ubuntu
UNetBootin is a lightweight piece of software that works on Windows, Linux and MacOS. It not only creates a bootable USB stick for you, but it also downloads dozens of different Linux distributions automatically.
Insert your USB stick of choice (make sure there’s nothing on it you want to keep as UNetBootin will format it).
Then, visit unetbootin.github.io/ and download the Windows version. Save it to a location of your choice, or just select «Run» after the download has finished.
Once it launches, select «Ubuntu» from the left dropdown menu. Then you want to select the version. Choose «Ubuntu 18.04 Live x64». This is the latest «LTS» release. LTS stands for «Long Term Support» meaning that Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, will support it with regular maintenance and security updates for five years after its release. The «Live» part means that you can try it right from the USB stick without installing anything. And «x64» means that it’s built for modern 64-bit operating systems.
Now, just make sure the right USB stick is selected at the bottom and click OK.
Sidebar : Did you know a Live USB stick can be transported across multiple PCs? It means you can take Ubuntu with you and boot right into it with your saved settings (like WiFi passwords or Firefox bookmarks and logins) and files intact. This is called «persistence» and UNetbootin supports this. To enable it, just look for the «space used to preserve files across reboots» field and set an amount in MB. You can use a minimum of 1MB and a maximum of 4GB. I know people who carry around a Live Linux USB just for their online banking! From a security point of view, not a terrible idea. . .
UNetbootin download progress
Sit back and wait while Ubuntu downloads. Then the software will format your USB stick and create a live, bootable USB.
Step 2: Prepare Your PC To Boot From USB
Things may get a little tricky here, but rest assured the answer is out there if you get stuck. You’ve created a bootable USB stick, but you have to your PC to boot from it first. To do that, you may need to go into your system’s BIOS screen, which is accessible only when you first boot your system. (Some PCs may automatically boot to a USB stick if it’s inserted and bootable.)
For the majority of systems, you’ll probably want to hit the «DEL» key right when your PC boots. Sometimes it may be F12, F11, F10 or F2. If in doubt, consult an online manual for your motherboard.
BIOS Screen for my MSI motherboard
Every BIOS screen is different, but I’m using an MSI motherboard so I’m showing that example above. Ordinarily you’ll need to find a category called «Boot» where you’ll see the order your PC looks for devices to boot from. It’s probably set to look at a CD/DVD drive first, and the drive where Windows is installed next. Click on the top or first option and change it to USB. This will probably look something like «UEFI USB Hard Disk» and should have the name of the manufacturer next to it.
While you’re here, I recommend disabling «Secure Boot.» This could save you headaches down the road.
Made it this far? Awesome! Now hit «F10» and select «Save settings and reboot.» (Again the wording may be slightly different on your PC).
Get ready, it’s time install Ubuntu!
PART 2: UBUNTU TEST DRIVE AND INSTALLATION
You have a bootable Live USB, and your PC should boot from it. When you boot up your system again you should see a text menu with the options to try or install Ubuntu. For now, let’s take it for a test drive. It’s optional, but it will get you familiar with the layout and user interface, see if your WiFi adapter is detected and check if things like resolution and graphics cards are working properly.
Don’t worry about messing anything up here. Have a look around, browse the Software Center and get to know the Settings menus. While you’re in Settings you can connect to your Wireless network, connect Bluetooth devices and adjust your display options among many other things. If you set up «persistence» during the UNetbootin portion of this guide, you’ll be able to reboot and have all your settings saved.
Sidebar : Ubuntu ships with graphics drivers for AMD Radeon cards, and will automatically install a basic, open-source driver for your Nvidia GeForce card. For basic graphics acceleration you shouldn’t need to do anything more out of the box. I’ll get into more detail in the next guide which focuses on gaming (including playing some of your favorite Steam for Windows games!)
Step 1: Starting The Installation
Ready to roll? If you’re just booting up, select «Install Ubuntu.» If you’re taking a test drive, click the top-most icon the dock that says «Install» (it may be a shortcut on the desktop as well).
Installing Linux is so much easier than it used to be, so most of this will be straightforward. Just in case, I’ve tried to capture and represent each basic step.