Step By Step Installation of Ubuntu from a USB Stick on Windows 10. Step 1: First of all download the open source Linux Ubuntu ISO from the Ubuntu official website. The different flavors of Ubuntu available are Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu GNOME, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio and Xubuntu. The wonderful Ubuntu terminal is freely available for Windows 10. As any Linux user knows, it's the command line terminal where the magic happens. It's perfect for file management, development, remote administration and a thousand other tasks. The Ubuntu terminal for Windows has many of the same features you'll find using.
Windows users looking to use Linux for the first time will find it beneficial to try it out in a virtual machine. There is plenty of great virtual machine software available on the market.
The pros for installing Linux in a virtual machine include:
- The ability to try a version of Linux without affecting the Windows host machine
- The virtual Linux operating system will perform the same way as it would when installed to the physical hard drive
- Software installed into the virtual machine remains intact and can be used even after a reboot.
- The virtual machines can be backed up and restored easily so if you mess up it isn't so much of an issue
For this guide, we have chosen Ubuntu as it is one of the most popular and easy to use Linux distributions.
Install Oracle Virtual Box
In order to follow this guide, you will need to download Ubuntu (either 32-bit or 64-bit depending on your machine) and Virtualbox.
If you are using Windows 10 you would be better off following this guide to running Ubuntu within Windows 10.
Install VirtualBox
Navigate to the downloads folder on your computer and double-click the VirtualBox installer.
- The first screen is a welcome screen. Click Next to move on.
- You will be asked which components you wish to install. We recommend leaving the default options selected.
- Click Next to go to the Custom Setup screen.
- Choose which folder you want VirtualBox to appear in using the Windows menu structure.
- Click Next.
- At this point, you can choose whether to create a desktop shortcut or not.
- Click Next and you are taken to the Network Warning screen.
- You are now ready to install Oracle VirtualBox. Click Install to start the installation.
- During the installation, you may be asked for permission to install the application and your antivirus and firewall software may request permission to install VirtualBox. Be sure to allow those permissions.
Start VirtualBox
Leave the Start Oracle VM VirtualBox after Installation option checked to run Oracle Virtualbox when the installation is complete.
If you left all the default options checked during installation you will also be able to run VirtualBox by clicking the desktop icon.
Oracle VirtualBox works on all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows XP upwards including Windows 8.
Create a Virtual Machine
Oracle VirtualBox has a lot of options and it is worth exploring all of these and reading the help guide but for the sake of this tutorial click the New icon on the toolbar.
The first thing you need to do is define the type of virtual machine you wish to create.
- Enter a descriptive name into the Name box.
- Select Linux as the Type.
- Choose Ubuntu as the Version.
- Click Next to continue.
Make sure you choose the correct version. You must choose 32-bit if your host computer is a 32-bit machine. If you are using a 64-bit machine you can choose either 32-bit or 64-bit but obviously, 64-bit is recommended.
Allocate Memory to the Virtual Machine
The next screen asks you to set how much memory you wish to give over to the virtual machine.
You should not go below the minimum specified and you should also make sure you leave enough memory for the host operating system (Windows) to keep running.
512 megabytes will run sluggishly and if you have enough memory we recommend increasing the bar to 2048 megabytes.
Create a Virtual Hard Drive
The next three steps are all about allocating disk space to the virtual machine.
If you want to run Ubuntu as a live image then you do not need to create a hard drive at all but for installing Ubuntu you will need to.
- Select Create a virtual hard drive now.
- Click Create.
- You will be asked to select the type of hard drive to create. The default VDI file type is the one native to VirtualBox, so select VDI.
- Click Next.
When deciding on the way the hard drive is created you can choose to opt for a fixed size hard drive or a dynamically sized hard drive.
At this point, no partitioning occurs on your actual hard drive. All that happens is that a file is created on your computer which acts as the hard drive.
A fixed size disk creates the hard drive to be the maximum size you define straight away whereas a dynamically sized disk adds space to the file as it is required up to the maximum size that you specify.
A fixed size disk performs better because as you install software within the virtual machine it doesn't have to increase the file size on the fly. If you have enough disk space then we recommend this option.
- Select your desired hard drive type.
- Click Next.
- After specifying the hard drive type and the way the disk is allocated you are asked to specify how much disk space you are going to give over to the Ubuntu Virtual Machine. Do not go below the minimum set and create enough disk space to make it worthwhile. We recommend at least 15 gigabytes.
- Choose where you wish to save the virtual machine.
- Specify the disk size.
- Click Create.
Start the Virtual Machine
The Virtual Machine has now been created and you can start it by pressing the Start button on the toolbar.
The first boot requires you to select a startup disk.
- Click the folder icon.
- Navigate to the downloads folder and select Ubuntu ISO.
- Click Start.
Install Ubuntu Within VirtualBox
Ubuntu will now boot into a live version of the operating system and a welcome message appears.
You will be asked to select your language and you will be able to choose whether to Try Ubuntu or Install Ubuntu.
If you decide to try Ubuntu first you can always run the installer by double-clicking on the Install icon on the Ubuntu desktop.
Choose Your Installation Language
Now we are into the nitty-gritty of installing Ubuntu.
The first step is to choose the installation language.
- Choose a language.
- Click Continue.
- A screen appears showing how prepared you are for installing Ubuntu. If you are using a laptop make sure your computer is either plugged in or has enough battery life. We recommend you connect to a power source especially if you plan on installing updates as you go.
- There are two checkboxes at the bottom of the screen. Choose whether to install updates as you go.
- Then choose whether to install 3rd party software. If you have a fast enough internet connection it is worth updating as you go but if you don't we would recommend installing Ubuntu and updating later. We would also recommend not installing the 3rd party software at this stage. This can be done post installation.
- Click Continue.
Partitioning a Virtual Hard Drive
The Installation Typescreen asks you how you wish to partition the hard drive.
When installing on a real hard drive this step causes people anguish. Do not panic though as this will only touch your virtual hard drive and will not affect Windows in any way whatsoever.
- Select Erase disk and install Ubuntu.
- Click Install Now.
- The installation begins and the files are copied to the virtual hard drive.
Choose Your Locations
Whilst this is going on you will be asked to choose your location. This sets the timezone for Ubuntu and makes sure the all-important clock shows the right value.
- Click the map to choose your location.
- Click Continue.
Choose Your Keyboard Layout
A final couple of steps require you to choose your keyboard layout and create a user.
- Choose the language for your keyboard.
- Choose the type of keyboard.
- Click Continue.
Create a User
- Enter your name.
- Choose a name for your virtual machine.
- Enter a username.
- Add a password and repeat the password.
- Choose whether you want to log in automatically or require a login.
- Choose whether to encrypt the home folder.
- Click Continue.
Completing the Installation
The final stage is to wait for the files to finish copying and the installation to complete.
When the process is complete you will be asked to reboot. This, of course, refers to the virtual machine and not your host Windows machine.
You can reboot in a number of ways such as clicking the icon in the top right corner of Ubuntu and choosing to restart or by using the reset option from the VirtualBox menu.
Install Guest Additions
Install Guest Additions
You will notice that if you choose to view Ubuntu in full-screen mode that it doesn't necessarily scale correctly.
To get the best experience possible you will need to install Guest Additions.
- Just select Devices.
- Then choose Install Guest Additions from the menu while running the virtual machine.
- A terminal window will open and commands will run. When it has completed you will need to restart the virtual machine again.
This tutorial will guide you on how you can perform the installation of Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 18.10, or Ubuntu 18.04 in dual-boot with a Microsoft Operating System on machines that come pre-installed with Windows 10.
This guide assumes that your machine comes pre-installed with Windows 10 OS or an older version of Microsoft Windows, such as Windows 8.1 or 8.
In case your hardware uses UEFI then you should modify the EFI settings and disable Secure Boot feature.
If your computer has no other Operating System already installed and you plan to use a Windows variant alongside Ubuntu, you should first install Microsoft Windows and then proceed with Ubuntu installation.
In this particular case, on Windows installation steps, when formatting the hard disk, you should allocate a free space on the disk with at least 20 GB in size in order use it later as a partition for Ubuntu installation.
Requirements
Download Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 18.10, or Ubuntu 18.04 ISO Image as per your system architecture using following link:
Step 1: Prepare Windows Machine for Dual-Boot
1. The first thing you need to take care is to create a free space on the computer hard disk in case the system is installed on a single partition.
Login to your Windows machine with an administrative account and right click on the Start Menu->Command Prompt (Admin) in order to enter Windows Command Line.
2. Once in CLI, type
diskmgmt.msc
on prompt and the Disk Management utility should open. From here, right click on C:
partition and select Shrink Volume in order to resize the partition.Shrink Volume to Resize Windows Partition
3. On Shrink
C:
enter a value on space to shrink in MB (use at least 20000 MB depending on the C: partition size) and hit Shrink to start partition resize as illustrated below (the value of space shrink from below image is lower and only used for demonstration purposes).Once the space has been resized you will see a new unallocated space on the hard drive. Leave it as default and reboot the computer in order to proceed with Ubuntu installation.
Windows Partition for Dual Boot Ubuntu Installation
Step 2: Install Ubuntu with Windows Dual-Boot
4. For the purpose of this article, We will be installing Ubuntu 19.04 alongside with Windows dual boot (you can use any Ubuntu release fro installation). Go the download link from the topic description and grab Ubuntu Desktop 19.04 ISO image.
Burn the image to a DVD or create a bootable USB stick using a utility such as Universal USB Installer (BIOS compatible) or Rufus (UEFI compatible).
Place the USB stick or DVD in the appropriate drive, reboot the machine and instruct the BIOS/UEFI to boot-up from the DVD/USB by pressing a special function key (usually F12, F10 or F2 depending on the vendor specifications).
Once the media boot-up a new grub screen should appear on your monitor. From the menu select Install Ubuntu and hit Enter to continue.
5. After the boot media finishes loading into RAM you will end-up with a completely functional Ubuntu system running in live-mode.
On the Launcher hit on the second icon from top, Install Ubuntu 19.04 LTS, and the installer utility will start. Choose the language you wish to perform the installation and click on Continue button to proceed further.
Select Ubuntu Installation Language
6. Next, choose the first option “Normal Installation” and hit on Continue button again.
7. Now it’s time to select an Installation Type. You can choose to Install Ubuntu alongside Windows Boot Manager, option that will automatically take care of all the partition steps.
Use this option if you don’t require personalized partition scheme. In case you want a custom partition layout, check the Something else option and hit on Continue button to proceed further.
The option Erase disk and install Ubuntu should be avoided on dual-boot because is potentially dangerous and will wipe out your disk.
Select Ubuntu Installation Type
8. On this step we’ll create our custom partition layout for Ubuntu. On this guide will recommend that you create two partitions, one for
root
and the other for home
accounts data and no partition for swap
(use a swap partition only if you have limited RAM resources or you use a fast SSD).To create the first partition, the
root
partition, select the free space (the shrink space from Windows created earlier) and hit on the +
icon below. On partition settings use the following configurations and hit OK to apply changes:- Size = at least 20000 MB
- Type for the new partition = Primary
- Location for the new partition = Beginning
- Use as = EXT4 journaling file system
- Mount point = /
Root Partition Settings
Create the
home
partition using the same steps as above. Use all the available free space left for home partition size. The partition settings should look like this:- Size = all remaining free space
- Type for the new partition = Primary
- Location for the new partition = Beginning
- Use as = EXT4 journaling file system
- Mount point = /home
9. When finished, hit the Install Now button in order to apply changes to disk and start the installation process.
A pop-up window should appear to inform you about swap space. Ignore the alert by pressing on Continue button.
Next a new pop-up window will ask you if you agree with committing changes to disk. Hit Continue to write changes to disk and the installation process will now start.
Confirm Partition Changes
10. On the next screen adjust your machine physical location by selecting a city nearby from the map. When done hit Continue to move ahead.
11. Pick up a username and password for your administrative sudo account, enter a descriptive name for your computer and hit Continue to finalize the installation.
This are all the settings required for customizing Ubuntu installation. From here on the installation process will run automatically until it reaches the end.
Create Ubuntu User Account
12. After the installation process reaches its end hit on Restart Now button in order to complete the installation.
The machine will reboot into the Grub menu, where for ten seconds, you will be presented to choose what OS you wish to use further: Ubuntu 19.04 or Microsoft Windows.
Ubuntu is designated as default OS to boot from. Thus, just press Enter key or wait for those 10 seconds timeout to drain.
Ubuntu Installation Completed
13. After Ubuntu finishes loading, login with the credentials created during the installation process and enjoy it. Ubuntu provides NTFS file system support automatically so you can access the files from Windows partitions just by clicking on the Windows volume.
Ubuntu Login Screen
That’s it! In case you need to switch back to Windows, just reboot the computer and select Windows from the Grub menu.
If you want to install some additional software packages and customize Ubuntu, then read our article Top 20 Things to Do After Ubuntu Installation.