How to easily install Ubuntu

I recommend the following graphical tutorial to everyone who has never installed Linux before :

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall

All you need to do is connect all peripherals (printer, webcamera, scanner, etc.), switch them on and follow the tutorial. There is one thing about it you should know before you actually use it - the tutorial is really very good but the Select a Disk part of it is tailored for people who want to add Ubuntu as the 2nd operating system on their PCs. I do not recommend using Ubuntu as your 2nd system unless you need to use some professional software which has no build for Linux (for example the accounting programs in some countries).

If you want to have a computer for the usual daily use I would strongly recommend Ubuntu as the only operating system on your PC. It is free, extremely stable, there are NO VIRUSES for it and software management is a breeze. I have installed it on almost all of my relatives' PCs and all of them have been more than satisfied ever since.

For the users who want to have Ubuntu as the only operating system on their PCs the partitioning recommended by the above tutorial is by far not optimal (the afore mentioned "Select a Disk" step) .

I personally partition my Disks in the following way :

• /swap - used by the system when heavily operating. A must-have for all PC systems
• / - the ROOT partition where all the software is usually installed
• /home - the most important partition which holds all user information
  
  

This is the most convenient partitioning I know which enables me to upgrade or reinstall to a new version of the system in 15 minutes. How to partition your disk in this way during your first Ubuntu installation on a new or on an already used disk follows. Beware that if you are doing this on an already used disk you will loose all the data on it therefore I strongly recommend you back up all your precious information (burn it on DVDs or copy it on another disk). I cannot be held liable if you decide to go ahead without backing up your data.

How-to correctly partition a disk during an Ubuntu installation

• Do not forget to back up your data if you are doing this on an used disk with valuable information !
  
  
• If you have USB-connected storage media like USB flash-disks, memory cards for mobiles or cameras, etc. connected to your PC - please detach them because they may confuse you during the preparation of your hard disk.
  
  
• Step 4 of 7 of the installation is named Prepare Disk Space which usually starts with a window like the following on which you need to choose Manual and click Forward :

• On the next window you will see your disk (and the floppy if you have one) and the way it is currently partitioned.

In case your disk is brand new you can directly go to the point Creating the basic partitions. If your disk has been previously used - continue with the point Preparing an used disk.

• Preparing an used disk. In case your disk has been used before you will need to remove all partitions. On the picture below the Physical Disks are /dev/fd0 (floppy) and /dev/sda (disk 'a' - circled with a green line). The details below disk 'a' are the Free Space on it and the partitions we need to Delete. The partitions of a disk carry the same name as the Physical Disk itself with a number added to the letter. In my case there is only 1 such partition which is selected (/dev/sda3 - colored in ochre). Just click on a Partition and then click on Delete Partition to remove it.

The partition will be removed and some Free Space will appear. You need to remove all the disk's partitions in that way resulting with entrances for the Physical Disks and 1 entrance for the Free Space (the space we have just freed for new usage) as on the below picture.



Be aware that this operation removes all data from the disk but it does not harm the Physical Disk itself so you cannot make a mistake here if you have not forgotten to back up your valuable info from the disk. Continue with the creation of the new partitions.

• Creating the basic partitions. Once you have removed all unneeded partitions you have created the Free Space which will now be utilized.
  
  1. Click on Free Space and then click on New Partition. The first partition you need to create is SWAP - please choose it in the drop-down Use As menu. Just above it there is a box where you can choose the size. On modern systems I tend to default to 3.000 MBs of swap (beware the Partitioner works with MegaBytes where 1000 MBs = 1 GB ).
  
  
  
  
  2. The next partition you need to create is the ROOT partition marked with just a slash / . All the software will be installed on it. Again click on Free Space and then on New Partition. In the drop-down Use As menu choose the ext4 filesystem. In the box above it enter the volume - my recommendation for modern PC systems is to have at least 10.000 MBs of root space. If you are planning to install huge games, 3D animation apps or sth huge normal users do not need, I recommend you add more space here. Before we close this small window we need to choose the Mount Point - the empty box at the bottom. Here we need to tell Ubuntu how to use this partition (this step is not needed for SWAP). Please enter the same as seen on the picture - just a slash / with no letters or spaces before or after it !!! Click on OK.
  
  
  3. The last partition you need to create is your /home partition where you will store all your information (data, pictures, music, etc.). Click on Free Space again and then click on New Partition. In the drop-down Use As menu choose the ext4 filesystem. This time do not enter any size value in the box above - thus the Partitioner will assign all the remaining disk space to this partition. In the Mount Point box enter /home as seen on the picture below (beware no empty spaces before or after it) and click OK.
  
  
  

• In the Partitioner window you should now have entries similar to the ones on the picture below. You can continue with the next step of the installation.
  
  
  
  

* If you are enjoying Ubuntu please consider donating a small amount to the project :

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/donations