By: Whitson Gordon & Kevin Purdy
So you've decided to give Linux a shot, and
you've found a distribution that suits you. But how do you actually get it
installed? Here, we'll show you how to create a live CD or USB drive,
boot into Linux, and install it on your system.Whether
you've played around with live CDs and drive partitioning
before or this is your first time, this guide will get you up and running with Linux in just a little bit of
time. It isn't the most straightforward process, but if you're reading this,
you're probably experienced enough with a computer to pull
this off—it just takes a bit of legwork.
Note: If you're installing Linux on a Windows
computer, the process shouldn't be too difficult
(though you may want to brush up with our previous
installation guide while you're here). If
you're installing on a Mac or Hackintosh, however, you'll need to perform a few
extra steps,
so definitely check out our triple booting guide for Macs
and Hackintoshes, even
if you aren't
triple booting.
Burning a Live CD or USB Stick
There are a few different methods for installing
Linux on your computer, but generally, the
most popular way is by downloading and burning a live CD (which has its own uses besides
just installing Linux). I'll
show you how to do both here. The live CD method is probably
easier, so go that route unless you're on a netbook,
or otherwise can't burn a CD.
The Live CD Method
You'll have to get your live CD from the net, so head to your distribution's home page (like Ubuntu's)and look for a downloads section. Most will make it pretty easy to find. In addition, many sites will even host BitTorrent downloads of their distribution too, which will be a little faster—so if you see a link for "alternative downloads",
check that out. Otherwise you can probably download it directly from the site.
You'll
probably have a few different choices when you download. For example, some distributions have netbook-optimized versions, while
others (like Ubuntu) will offer different versions based on the desktop environment they come with. And, most will have 32- and 64-bit versions available as well (if you don't know
which one's right for you, we've written a handy guide to help you out).
Generally, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which one you want. When in doubt, just go with the 32-bit desktop version (sometimes labeled
"i386").
Once
your .ISO file is done downloading, open up your favorite burning program and
burn that sucker to a blank CD. It's pretty easy to do on Windows 7. Once
it's done burning, restart your computer. Wait for the "press any key to
boot from CD" prompt, and then press a key. Once the CD boots up, it'll give you the option to try out Linux or install it.
Go ahead and click install. If you want to try it out, though, go for it—you'll be able get
a pretty good feel for what the desktop is like. When you're ready to install, you can usually
launch the installer right from the desktop.
The Live USB Method
The Live USB method requires previously mentioned Unetbootin for
Windows. All you need to do is download it, start it up, and you can manage everything from right inside the program. Pick your distribution from its list (remember to pick the right
version, as described above), pick the drive
letter that corresponds to your thumb driveat the bottom, and hit OK. If Unetbootin doesn't list
your distribution, you can still download an ISO as described in the live CD
method and point Unetbootin to that file instead.
Booting
from your USB drive will take a few extra steps over the live CD method. While your computer is probably set to check your CD drive
for bootable discs, it probably isn't set to check your USB ports. So, with your newly created live USB stick plugged in,
restart your computer and enter your BIOS setup (usually by hitting a key like Delete when
you first start up—your computer's splash screen will let you know when you first turn on your
computer). Head over to the "Boot" section of your BIOS and find the section for
changing your PC's boot order. You'll want to move your USB hard drive to the top of the list.
Save your settings and exit the BIOS. When your computer reboots, it should take you to the
Unetbootin menu, from which you can boot into your Linux live session (as described in the live
CD method).
The Installation Process
The installation process will be slightly different
for every distro, but in general setup should guide you through the necessary
steps pretty easily. Assuming you're installing Linux alongside another OS like Windows, though, there are a few things you'll want
to pay attention to.
Partitioning Your Drive
When
the installer asks you where you want to install Linux, you'll have to
partition your drive. We've gone through how to do this
a few times before, and
it's usually pretty simple to add new partitions from the free space on your drive.
Ubuntu's installation should partition the drive for you automatically, and unless you have any special needs (like if you're on a Mac), you can breeze right through the installation with no problems. If not, you may be given a more advanced partitioning
tool, and you'll have to create the partitions yourself. If this is
the case, you'll actually want to create two new partitions. One is for the operating system itself, which I'd format as Ext4. Give it at least 10 GB of space, and set the mount point as /.
You'll want to
create the second partition for what's called swap space.
This essentially helps your computer manage memory more effectively and keeps
it running fast. If you have a small amount of ram
(one or two GB), you'll want your swap partition to be twice as large as the
amount of RAM you have. If you have 3 GB or more, you can
probably just make a swap partition that's the
same size as the amount of RAM you have.
GRUB and Other Bootloaders
Linux
is going to install a new
bootloader
for you called GRUB. It's going to replace your normal bootloader and give you the option to choose between Windows and Linux at startup. In general, you shouldn't have to do anything here—most distros will install GRUB by default,
and
it should work correctly out of the box. Just note that Mac users will want to install GRUB on the Linux partition
itself,
and Windows users will need to be careful since if you reinstall Windows, you'll lose GRUB and have to reinstall it yourself.
Of course, if you prefer something a little prettier, you can mess around with previously
mentioned Burg, but we'd recommend doing that after you get your Linux installation up and running.
That's it! To boot into your newly installed
Linux partition, you just need to restart your computer. When you do, it'll take you to the GRUB
menu, which will let you choose whether to
boot into Linux or Windows. From there, you can play around with your new Linux
installation. It'll probably come with quite a
few apps installed, some you'll recognize and some you won't, and you can poke
around in the settings and see what's available to you. If you're lucky, most
of your hardware will work. If you're unlucky, you'll have a few quirks with your hardware, and if you're really unlucky, your
Wi-Fi won't work out of the box and you'll
have to work just to get connected to the internet. Luckily, we'll be talking
all about getting your hardware working in next chapter.
