In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Ubuntu Desktop on your laptop or PC.
System Requirements:
- 2 GHz dual-core processor or better.
- 4 GB system memory.
- 25 GB of free hard drive space.
- Either a USB port or a DVD drive for the installer media.
- Internet access is helpful.
IMPORTANT
If you are installing Ubuntu on a PC/Laptop that is being used, or was previously used, it is recommended to take a backup of your data prior to installation.
1. Download Ubuntu Image
For the purposes of this tutorial we will be using Ubuntu Desktop 24.04.1 LTS. Any other versions may differ slightly during the installation process.
Download the Ubuntu Image which can be found here. Make sure that you remember the location of the download as it will be needed in the next step.
2. Create a Bootable USB flash drive
To install Ubuntu Desktop, you need to write your downloaded ISO to a USB stick to create the installation media.
For this tutorial, we’ll use balenaEtcher, as it runs on Linux, Windows and Mac OS. Choose the version that corresponds to your current operating system, download and install the tool. Once installed, run the application.
- In the Select Image section, select the ISO you downloaded from the previous step.
- In the Select Target section, select the USB flash drive.
- Select Flash! and wait for it to complete.
3. Boot from USB flash drive
Insert the USB flash drive into the PC/laptop you want to install Ubuntu and boot or restart the device. It should recognize the installation media automatically. If not, look for a brief message when your system starts which usually informs you of which key to press to bring up the boot menu. (Common options are F12, Esc, F10, and F8).
Once the PC/laptop has booted to the flash drive you will be presented with the following screen:
Hit Enter on “Try of Install Ubuntu” to proceed.
Afterwards you will be prompted to select your language.
The Next window will you to enable different accessibility options, if needed.
Select the proper keyboard layout.
Next you will be presented with a window to allow a network connection. This will allow the installer to download and install updates and 3rd party drivers (i.e NVIDIA Graphics) during the installation process. This is not required a this time but will save time on the back-end.
Finally, you will be presented with 2 different options. First will be to Install Ubuntu, and the other option will be to Try Ubuntu. For the purposes of this tutorial we will proceed with the Install Ubuntu option.
If you click Try Ubuntu, you can preview Ubuntu without making any changes to your PC. You can return to the installer menu at any time by clicking the Install Ubuntu shortcut on the desktop.
4. Installation Setup
After selecting Install Ubuntu, a new window will come up that will allow you to select what type of installation to perform:
- Interactive Installation: For users who want to be guided step-by-step through the installation process.
- Automated Installation: For advanced users who have an autoinstsall.yaml for consistent and repeatable system setup.
We will be using the Interactive Installation process for this tutorial.
Select Next, and you will be prompted to select the applications you would like installed by default. There are 2 options:
- Default Selection: Just the essentials, web browser and basic utilities.
- Extended Selection: An offline-friendly selection of office tools, utilities, and web browser.
We will be using the Default Selection to get started with. You can always install other applications as needed from the App Center once the installation has completed.
In the following window you will be prompted to install 3rd party software that may improve support and performance. It is recommended to select both of these options.
5. Disk Setup
Now that we have all of the operating system and software components configured we need to prepare the disk/partition for the install. You will be presented with two options:
- Erase disk and install Ubuntu: Start from scratch on your selected disk.
- Manual Installation: For advanced users seeking customized disk setups.
If you are planning to install Ubuntu as the only operating system then the first option, Erase disk and install Ubuntu would be appropriate. If you are trying to install Ubuntu alongside another operating system then the Manual Installation would allow you to partition space from an existing drive specifically for the Ubuntu installation.
We will proceed with the first option to Erase the disk and install Ubuntu.
The next window you are presented with will allow you to create your user account and hostname of the computer.
- Your Name: Your name or anything else you want
- Your Computer’s Name: This will be how your computer is seen on the network
- Your Username: The username you will use to login to the operating system
- Password: The password you will be using to login to the operating system
- Confirm Password: Type the same password entered above
- Require my password to login: Not required, but recommended for security purposes
- Use Active Directory: If you need to use it, select this option, but we will not be using for this tutorial
6. Location Settings
Select your location and timezone from the map screen and click Continue
7. Ready to Install
After clicking next you will be taken to a summary screen that will cover some of the important settings that were previously configured. If any options need to be changed you can navigate using the Back button. If everything looks good, click Install. Ubuntu will begin the installation process.
8. Complete the Install
During the installation there will be a window that plays a slideshow from Ubuntu.
Alternatively you can see a detailed output of the installation process by clicking the icon in the bottom right corner of the window
Once the installation has completed, you will be prompted to restart your machine. Click Restart Now
When you restart, you will be prompted to remove your USB flash drive from the device. Once you’ve done this, press ENTER.
After the reboot is completed you will be brought to a login screen. Use the credentials you created during the setup. And that’s all there is too it. You have now successfully installed Ubuntu Desktop!
Bonus
After the installation it is best practice to ensure that your system is up-to-date. This can be done one of two ways:
- Using the Software Updater Application. This can be accessed from the Application Menu
- From a terminal window
To use the Software Updater:
- Open the Application Menu.
- Type in Software Updater.
- This will check for updates automatically.
- If any are needed, select Install Now.
- If needed, you will be prompted to reboot, otherwise you are done!
To use the Terminal Window:
- To open a terminal window press CTRL+ALT+T
- Type in sudo apt update
- You will be prompted to enter in your password
- This will check for any system updates and will aggregate a list of them for you.
- To apply updates type: sudo apt upgrade -y
- If needed, you will be prompted to reboot, otherwise you are done!
