Escape Windows
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Ubuntu 17.04 has been released, and there’s never been a better time to ditch Windows and embrace Linux. In this brief – but comprehensive – guide, we’re going to show you everything you need to know to safely install Ubuntu (and other distros) alongside Windows, enabling you to continue using both operating systems side-byside on the same computer.
Of course, you may want to go the whole hog and replace Windows entirely, or you have an older PC you’d like to install Ubuntu on as a standalone OS (it’s less demanding than Windows, so a great way to breathe new life into a faithful old servant you’re not ready to get rid of). In either case,
“It’s a great way to breathe new life into a faithful old servant you’re not ready to get rid of.”
we’ll show you how to safely wipe Windows from the drive and install Ubuntu in its place.
Switching to a new operating system isn’t as daunting as it might sound, but it always pays to take precautions. If you plan to install Ubuntu alongside your existing operating system, but don’t have a full system backup of Windows in place, go to Settings > Update & security > Backup in Windows 10 and click ‘Go to Backup and Restore’ (Windows 7). Select ‘Create a system image’ and then follow the prompts to back up to a secondary drive or network location (the DVD option isn’t practical due to the ridiculous number of DVDs that you’ll need).
With your system image in place, also create a system repair disc from the same screen – this creates a bootable DVD you’ll be able to use to restore your system image if something goes wrong with the Ubuntu installation process. Once rolled back, you’ll then be able to start the installation process again without losing any data. The only other thing you’ll need is another blank DVD or 2GB (or larger) flash drive, which you’ll put the Ubuntu install media on. Once you’ve got that, continue reading to discover how to set up a simple dual-boot Ubuntu/ Windows system.
Before we leap into the installation process proper, do you have enough drive space for Ubuntu to reside on? It can run in as little as 5GB of drive space, but that leaves no room for applications or a reasonably sized swap file, so your first question is to find out how much free space you’ve got on your Windows drive.
Someone who’s planning to ease themselves into the world of Ubuntu can happily start with a 24GB partition and then increase it later if necessary. However, if you’re looking to switch permanently then you’ll want to allocate much more space, especially if you’re going to be playing games on your new Linux box.
This question is likely to be a bigger issue for those with a fast SSD drive, which tend to be smaller in capacity. If you’re installing Ubuntu on a desktop, and you have the capacity inside your case (a spare drive bay, along with a SATA socket and power cable), then think about purchasing a dedicated drive to run it from instead. Your main consideration will be to ensure Ubuntu is installed on the correct drive during the install process. We show you how to do this below.
Bootable media
If you’ve not already done so, download the Ubuntu installation media from: www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop. It’ll download as a 1.5GB ISO file, which you can burn to DVD by right-clicking the file in Windows and choosing ‘Burn disc image’. If you have a spare 2GB (or larger) flash drive, we’d recommend using that instead – the install process is much quicker. Alternatively, save yourself a hefty download session and pick up a copy of LXF225, which featured Ubuntu 17.04 on the cover disc.
You can’t “burn” a disc image directly to USB; instead you’ll need a third-party tool to create the bootable USB drive, and we’ve found that the simplest one to use is Etcher ( https://etcher.io). Once downloaded and installed, launch the tool and click Select image to choose your Ubuntu ISO file. It should automatically select your flash drive (click Change if it doesn’t), so click Flash! and then let it work its magic.
Install Ubuntu
These days, most modern PCs have replaced the BIOS with something called the UEFI. It’s more sophisticated and powerful, and while it was originally designed for the benefit of Windows, Ubuntu quickly adapted itself to work with features such as SecureBoot.
However, one feature that it doesn’t support is called FastBoot (also known as FastStartup or QuickBoot), so you’ll need to restart your PC and look for the option to enter the configuration utility. Usually you’ll have to press either F2 or Del. Navigate the UEFI configuration utility looking for a FastBoot option – typically under the Boot or Windows menu – disabling it if necessary.
Now reboot again with your Ubuntu installation media inserted and if it’s not automatically detected (in other words, Windows loads as normal), then reboot again, but look for an option – such as F11 or F12 – to enter the boot menu. Look for your DVD drive or USB flash drive and select it. If it appears twice in the list then choose the UEFI option.
When the main screen appears, choose the option to Install Ubuntu. If prompted, connect to your Wi-Fi network, then tick both boxes – to download updates and install third-party software – and click Continue. After a pause the Installation type menu appears, which is the most technical part of the installation.
If you intend to install Ubuntu on its own, then the ‘Erase disk and install Ubuntu’ option is the one to choose, but be sure to check out the box first. If you want to dualboot Ubuntu alongside Windows then you should see an option to ‘Install Ubuntu
alongside Windows 10’. If it’s there, leave it selected and click Continue.
If the option isn’t there, then Ubuntu is unable to detect your Windows 10 installation for some reason. But this is no cause for concern – it just means a bit more work is involved. The step-by-step guide ( opposite) reveals how to manually partition and install Ubuntu alongside Windows.
If the option to install alongside Windows does appear, the next screen should reveal a graphical representation of your hard drive, with Ubuntu positioned on the right – or the end – of the drive. By default, 25GB is allocated to it if space permits, but you can change this by clicking and dragging the divider between both partitions to either increase or reduce the size.
One important point: if you have a second hard drive installed in your PC, it’s probable that Ubuntu will select this to install itself on. Look at the select drive dropdown menu for confirmation (it’ll list its label – sda, sdb and so on – plus its capacity in GB. Your Windows drive will be ‘sda’).
This could be a deal-breaker – it may be a slower hard drive, for example, or there’s less free space on it. Obviously, if you’ve fitted a second drive specifically for installing Ubuntu on to, you’ll be happy to see this chosen. You can try clicking the drop-down menu to select another drive at this point, but in most cases sda won’t be available. If this is the case, simply click Back, then follow the step-by-step guide to set things up manually.
Complete installation
If you’re happy with the choice of drive, and have resized the partition to your chosen size, click Install Now > Continue. Review the changes and click Continue again. The rest of the installation is straightforward: first pick your location, then set your language and keyboard layout. Next, enter your name – Ubuntu will generate a computer name (for network identification) and username from this, both of which you can amend if necessary. You’ll also be prompted to set a password – don’t skip this – and can choose to log straight into the desktop or be prompted for it each time you boot Ubuntu. Click Continue and let Ubuntu finish the job.
At the end of the process, click Restart Now, remove or unplug your boot media when prompted and hit [Enter]. If all goes to plan, you should see the GRUB boot menu appear, with Ubuntu selected as the default choice, but Windows 10 also visible. This enables you to switch between operating systems as required – if you run into boot problems, check out the final troubleshooting box.
“You’re able to manually partition and install Ubuntu alongside Windows…”