Howto start with Ubuntu and set up dual boot with Windows
Written by Rob
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
There is a lot of guides in a lot of places explaining how to start with Ubuntu and how to get things working. There is no point in re-discovering the wheel but I thought I'll attempt to write about everything I needed to switch from Windows XP to Ubuntu.
When I talk about Ubuntu I mean all flavors of Ubuntu. Sometimes I prefer Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu with KDE instead of Gnome but about that later. A nice thing about Ubuntu is that it comes on a Live CD which means you can boot up from a disc and give it a try without installing anything onto your hard drive.
I will assume that you know Windows well and you have never used Linux before. Where possible I will use links to pages that I used to get me started.
1. How to get Ubuntu?
If your connection is fast enough you can download an .iso image of a disk and burn it onto a CD or you can get it delivered for free (takes about 6 weeks) from Ubuntu website and Kubuntu website.
If you are downloading the .iso file don't forget to burn it by opening the .iso file in CD burning application such as NERO, simply putting the file onto a cd and than burning it will not work.
So you got the CD and you want to try it without installing? First you need to make sure that your PC boots from CD rom. Most PC do that by default but you can change it by pressing Del key or F10/F12 (depending on PC) to access your BIOS and change booting sequence to CD Rom first and HDD second. More about BIOS here...
Now all you need to do is put the CD into the CD rom and reboot/switch off-on your PC. Choose the default option and wait for the operating system to load from the CD. This takes a bit of time because the whole operating system is running from a CD. (if you install Ubuntu onto your Hard Drive it will boot up approximately in the same time as Windows)
Once you got you desktop up and running you can try out all the applications that come pre-installed. If you use network cable to connect to internet Ubuntu will most probably recognize you connection and you will be connected straight away. If you connect through a modem and telephone line you will need to set up your login details but about that later. If you are using wireless you might have a bit of trouble getting it to work (in that case go to wireless section in Ubuntu forums) Good thing about Ubuntu is that it will recognize most of the hardware connected to your PC automatically. You might have a problem with things like certain graphics cards, win modems and wireless cards. All about troubleshooting in next sections.
3. How to install Ubuntu
So you have tried it, liked it and want to install it onto you hard drive?
If you are reading this guide it means that you are very new to Linux in general so I'm going to assume that you are not ready to get rid of Windows all together, therefore, you will have to set up a dual boot - K/Ubuntu and Windows which will allow you to choose which OS you want to boot into.
This video shows you step by step instructions to set up windows / ubuntu dual boot system.
Since things are very different in K/Ubuntu you will run into many challenges that you will need to overcome. There is bound to be something that will not work straight from the box.
Firstly you should read the available documentation which should help you solve all the problems.
- Beginners Guide on Ubuntu Forums - this page has links to everything you need. Most common topics such as restricted formats, setting up network etc. This is a perfect start page for everything you need to know about getting Ubuntu working the way you want.
- Ubuntu Forums - if you haven't found what you were looking for search the Ubuntu forums and if still no luck post your problem on the forum.
