The Ultimate Ubuntu Guide

Introduction​

So, you’ve tweaked & tweaked your current OS, but you want to try something new without losing all your data? No worries, there’s Ubuntu- The worlds most popular linux OS! OK, let’s move on.

Section 1: Pre-installation​

Checklist:
Ubuntu ISO
Defragmented HDD (if the other OS is Windows)
Run Chkdsk on the HDD(if Windows)
All Of Your Data is Backed Up
A Blank CD-R
Another PC opened to Google (just in case!)

Step 1: Getting Ubuntu​

Well duh! The first step is to get Ubuntu V. 8.10(Intrepid Ibex). Just head over to ubuntu.com and download the ISO file, it’s free so no worries. OK, you have the ISO, now what do you do with it? You burn it using a program like Imgburn or BurnCDCC (both free) to a blank CD-R. For this example, I’ll use Burn CDCC. First locate your iso. and hit burn. The CD Drive should open and now is the time to put your CD in. Now, just sit back and let it do its magic!

Step 2: Booting the Live CD​

First, we must change the boot priority to boot from the CD drive 1st. To do this we enter BIOS, which can be accessed by hitting one of the function keys. The user Calvin has given this link, so you know all the BIOS keys!. For example, on my Dell it’s F2, but it could be different on your laptop/desktop. Now, after changing the boot priorities save your changes and exit. Your system will now reboot and boot the Ubuntu Live CD. Select ''Start or Install Ubuntu'' from the screen that appears. Congrats! You’ve completed section 1!

Section 2: Live CD
Step 1: Installation​

Enter all the information needed and, when prompted about partitions, manual. Shrink the other partition on your PC by at least 10GBs. Then create a partition of at least 1.5x your RAM size, or if you have 1GB of RAM or more, 256MB should do. Format this partition to linux-swap. Make another partition of the space that is left and format it to ext3, and give it a mount point of "/".

OK, now go ahead and start the installation. Go have another cup of coffee . When finished, your system will reboot and you will see GRUB, a boot loader. It should have at least 3 entries, excluding ''other OS's''. Under that entry, you will see the other OS's installed on this system. I recommend booting the other OS installed on the system first, before Ubuntu. This will let that OS scan the HDD and check for errors, which can take some time. After that OS completes, your system will reboot again. This time choose Ubuntu (the first entry!) from GRUB(more on that later). If all went well you should see the Ubuntu logo and name with a progress meter below it.
Congrats! You have now installed Ubuntu!

Section 3 Post-installation
Step 1: Updating the OS​

For this, we need a direct connection to the Internet via Ethernet. Alternatively, you can go with step: 2 first and then this step last. Once you've connected via Ethernet just got to System<Administration<Update Manager. Install all of the updates (and have another coffee break), for some will solve a variety of problems.

Step 2: Installing Drivers​

For some users, most of the drivers will be installed already for you, for others, you have to do a little (minor) searching. First I will cover the wireless driver. If you've already gotten wireless, then skip this next bit.
Option 1: Go to the Restricted Drivers manager & enable the driver from there(doesn't always work). If it doesn't, head over to option 2(below)

Option 2: In a terminal (Applications<Accessories<Terminal)

Type:

Code:

iwconfig

This will give you the name of your wireless card.
I have the Broadcom 4311 (Dell 1390), so my driver is the package b43-fwcutter.

Now, the best thing to do is to go to Google and type:
<Insert wireless card here> linux driver
Or simply ask here on NBR!
There are hundreds of tutorials around the net and will probably be one for your card.
A good place to start is this page at the Ubuntu Wiki: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessCardsSupported
If there isn’t, you’ll have to use ndiswrapper( https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/Ndiswrapper?highlight=(ndiswrapper) )-a program that uses the Windows driver in Linux for your card.

Frequently Asked Questions​

My system is stuck ‘’scanning the mirror’’?
This is OK, it is a common problem in, just let it sit. It has been know to take 1 hour+ on the Ubuntu Forums.

I installed Ubuntu, but I really want to try out KDE, help?
This is simple, you can even keep Gnome! What you have to do is to go into a terminal and type:

Code:

sudo aptitude kubuntu-desktop

After that, reboot your system. When you reach the login screen press “F10”. Go to session, you should see KDE or Gnome. Then simply choose the one you want!
Note: The same thing applies to XFCE, but you should type:

Code:

 sudo aptitudet xubuntu-desktop

What is “GRUB”?
GRUB is Ubuntu’s boot loader, which will replace whatever other boot loader that is on the system when you install Ubuntu; it also boots any other OS on your system.

I've heard about Compiz, what is it and how do I use it?
Compiz-Fusion is a program that provides desktop effects similar (but better) then Vista's Aero. If you have the appropriate GPU drivers installed, you will run it fine, as it is very lightweight. If you don't want to change it around yourselves, you can find my Compiz settings are attached. You can change it by installing compiz-settings-manager. You can install my settings under Preferences. Note: You have to make sure ''all files'' is selected to use this profile. Also, it has been suggested that I warn you-your system is not guaranteed to work with Compiz.


I've also heard of a program called Wine, what is it and how do I use it?
Wine is a compatibility layer for running Windows apps under linux. You can install Wine from the package manager.


Youtube Won't Work.

Code:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree
sudo update-flashplugin

What is a repository?
A software repository (sometimes abbreviated as a repo) is a storage location from which software packages may be retrieved and installed on a computer. Many software publishers and other organizations maintain servers on the Internet for this purpose, either free of charge or for a subscription fee.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_repository

I can't play my media files?
Use this Terminal command:

Code:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg libxine1-ffmpeg libdvdread3

or you can install all of the Gstreamer packages in Add/Remove programs.
Fore Encrypted DVDs:

Code:

sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

And For FFmpeg encoders:

Code:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

The final product should look like this:

Good Links​

Linux Switcher's Guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=263869
Best Free Software for Linux: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=264831
Linux is not Windows: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
Ubuntu Forums: http://ubuntuforums.org/
Sound Problems: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SoundTroubleshooting?action=show&redirect=DebuggingSoundProblems
Wine: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wine
Get Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
Glossary: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Glossary
Printers: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsPrinters
Switching From Windows: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows
Repositories: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories
Linux Alternatives to Windows Software: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157939
The Stickys: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=125164
ScreenCasts: http://screencasts.ubuntu.com/

 

Wow, pretty gnarly Thomas. Just for convenience sake, why not give us the link to BurnCDCC

 

I was about to

 

Added to the guide.

 

Well, this is the first update to the guide, I added a tweaking guide.

 

Nice guide.

 

Thanks Calvin.

 

Gj really good guide
straight and to the point

 

Thanks, it will be updated a couple times in the next two days.

 

Nice guide . Might be worth giving a basic idea of what hardware will be needed for the "better than Aero" UI - I know the answers(and if I didn't, I could find out quickly enough). But is it worth installing if the user only has basic GPU hardware?

Also, it may be prudent to detail the hard-drive partitioning scheme a little more. If they were to trim their Windows partition by 25gb, then they could(and in reality should) allocate a bona-fide separate /home partition. Logic being everyone mucks** things up at some point, but if the /home partition is safe, then they'll lose absolutely nothing from having to reinstall.

Much of the big stuff takes care of itself these days, but something gave me grief when installing - touchpad sensitivity. No matter how much fiddling I did in the control panel, I couldn't slid the pointer over more than a half screen before running out of real-estate on the pad. But adding the following made a world of difference, and I believe it also allowed me to use horizontal and vertical scrolling on the pad...

Code:

        Option          "SHMConfig"             "on"
        Option          "MinSpeed"              "1.0"
        Option          "MaxSpeed"              "1.3"
        Option          "AccelFactor"           "0.3"

I'm sure there are other things which could be given more detail, but right now I'm struggling to think of how my install went from the perspective of a newbie.

 

Thanks, I'll add your fix for the touchpad problem later

 

*update*
Added screenshots.

 

Hi, just thought I'd add that this installation tutorial was useful when I installed Ubuntu for the first time the other day. Also this partitioning tutorial was extremely useful as it gives a graphical representation of partitioning in Windows, Ubuntu and dual-boot.

 

Thanks, I`ll see if they have anything usefull to add.

 

*Update*
Added links section, added some links to the other parts.

 

You're off to a good start Thomas....thanks

 

Thanks, Hard to believe I had like ten sources

 

I need help, I am dual booting Vista and Ubuntu on my laptop, and for some reason when I don't use one of them for a while the time gets out of sync.

Do any one know how to fix it, because I am new to linux and I don't have a lot of exprience.

 

I've had that happen....check to make sure your clock is set to 'local time' not UTC in Ubuntu.

 

Yup, that should be a fix there.
I remember that happening in Kubuntu KDE 4 8.04 before.

 

*Update*
Updated for accuracy with Hardy Heron, cleaned it up a bit.

 

I have a 32gb partition lying around. Its my E: drive, i was supposed to dual boot it with XP but Vista got me good

How do i install ubuntu on it? The partitioning page/part is a little confusing with so many options. What exact steps do i need to take when i get to the partition setup page? I dont wanna risk destroying my other partitions

 

You have to format the E: drive to ext3(Right Click>Format>ext3)
Then shrink it to free up 256MBs of space. Create a new partition with that freed space, then format it to linux-swap.

 

I want it to use the whole E: drive, its empty anyway. i really dont wanna create another partition or shrink drives. is this possible?

 

You have to shrink the E: Drive by 256MBs to make a swap(pagefile in Windows).

 

im a little slow here, i thought it would just install on my E: drive and everything would manage itself. It says 1.5-2 times the size of my RAM, i have 4gb RAM so shouldnt the swap be bigger?

i think ill just use the live cd for now so i dont destroy my stuff....

 

If you have more than enough RAM you can set your swap to a lower size. The swap is basically the page file in windows, it's used when you run out of RAM to be the artificial "RAM". Since you have 4GB of RAM you can set it to something low if you want or you can set it to 1GB just to be safe.

 

I think ill set it to 4gb or so. The whole partition is gonna be dedicated to Linux anyway. 32gb is more than enough to enjoy linux right? I also wanna make a /home partition. How big should this be?

EDIT: Downloading ubuntu now, i choose 64bit for intel/AMD but the iso file im downloading is named AMD64.iso , will this also work for intel core 2 duos?

Is there more issues on ubuntu 64bit compared to 32bit? Which one should i choose?

 

Depends on what you're doing in Linux, how much space you'll need. About the ISO, it'll work for any 64-bit configuration. I'm not sure about issues with 64-bit Ubuntu.

 

I just checked the benchmarks between 32bit and 64bit. 32bit seems to be better at most of the tests. Can anyone tell me which one i should get?

I plan to use ubuntu as a backup OS if Vista somehow self-destructs. I will also use it for basic and simple tasks

 

Thanks Thomas for this guide. After reading it I decided to try Linux again and the guide really helps.

Repped,

Ricky

 

Thanks a lot, booboo

 

Flipfire, get 32 bit, maybe you can try 64x when you get some experience.

 

I went back to 32 just for compatibility...I couldn't tell much if any speed difference.

 

nice guide

 

Thanks v3loc1ty2.0.

 

I already downloaded x64 overnight and burnt it, i even printed on the CD =/

What are the key differences between the two?

 

x86 has a lot more software support. x64 is only advantageous in practical usage in a select few use cases, which aren't relevant to the average consumer.

 

64 bit has compatability issues, but can be faster.

 

Okay, i guess ill just use the x64 live cd for now while i download the x86 overnight. Ill get familiar with things first, instead of rushing

I assumed the x64 wouldnt be much of a difference to x32

 

Big difference, unlike Windows, theres no 32 bit sub system.

 

Though there are 32 bit toolchains that run in 64bit linux

 

Okay just tried the x64 live CD.. awesomeness! exactly what i was looking for. It even detected my BT and other crap

Downloading the x86 now... Im currently at work so i wont be able to install it till tommorrow. More research!

 

okay successfully installed exactly as i wanted. I put 4gb as swap file, leaving me with around 24gb space left

i just finished setting up compiz.

thanks thomas & calvin

 

No problem flipfire, be sure to ask again if you have any more questions.

 

Is it possible to undervolt with RMclock? using WINE?

or will the RMcore drivers wont get emulated?

 

I doubt it...some others can tell you why....I'm a big RMClock fan, but the design of my machine would not allow me a net heat gain in Windows....I have a desktop cpu in this puppy.

 

would it be possible to install this on an SD card?.... so if i boot up windows, i just boot it normally, if i wana boot ubuntu i go for multiboot menu?....

or is there some performance problems etc..,

thank.s.

 

Doubt it can boot from an SD..

 

SDcard plugged into a USB adapter.. maybe..