A computer with at least 512 MB of memory, 10GB hard disk space and a CPU of at least 700MHz
An Ubuntu Desktop CD-ROM (version 8.04 is used in this guide) www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu
Backups of your current important files (errors rarely happen but its better to be safe that sorry)

You can install Ubuntu on to your computer without affecting Windows and you can just select Windows or Ubuntu when your computer is turned on. You may completely erase Windows and install only Ubuntu but most users would like to keep their existing Windows setup and documents.

When you install Ubuntu it recognizes the Windows installation and gives you the option to erase everything and start from scratch with Ubuntu or install alongside Windows so that you can select which one from a menu when you computer is started as said above.

Ubuntu has drivers for nearly all hardware on the market today and depending on how late the release that you have is, it will have more and more drivers as each release gets the latest drivers added. Graphics drivers for ATI and nVidia cards will not be installed as they are non-open-source drivers and Ubuntu uses open-source only software. However, Ubuntu has a utility that will prompt you when you first start the operating system that installs the latest supported graphics driver for your hardware.

Most people get confused with what the word \u201cLinux\u201d actually means. Linux is an operating system kernel which is the core part that controls all the hardware-software interfacing and all the other behind the scenes stuff that we never tend to worry about. LINUX IS NOT AN OPERATING SYSTEM!!! Most people think that if there is a problem with Ubuntu they say Linux has problems, but that is 100% incorrect, it is Ubuntu that has the problem. Linux is just simply the core of the OS and it cannot have visible bugs. It is also wrong calling Linux an operating system as it is merely a small piece of software with a basic but important job. So instead of saying that you are going to install or try Linux, you should say that you are going to try Ubuntu or try a Linux- based operating system.

First things first, I expect that you are reading this guide on Windows right now, if you are then print out this guide as you will not be able to read it during the installation of Ubuntu as this requires that you shut down Windows. So make sure you have a printed copy of this guide in front of you or read this on another computer. All set, OK.

First you must put the Ubuntu disc into your CD-ROM drive. You must save all your work and shut down your computer. (You remembered those backups didn\u2019t you?) On some systems it is the default to boot from inserted CDs, otherwise you must enter your computer\u2019s BIOS and change the boot order to have CD-ROM drive before Hard Drive, refer to your computer manual if you don\u2019t know how to do this. Once this is all ready, start your computer with the Ubuntu disc in the drive. When the menu appears, just select \u201cTry Ubuntu without affecting your computer\u201d. The Ubuntu Live-CD will now load. A Live-CD is when you run a fully working operating system from the disc without affecting your computer.

You should now be at a fully running Ubuntu desktop and you may have a play with it before installing. When you are ready, double click on the Install icon located on the desktop. You should now be in the Ubuntu installer and at the language selection screen, select your language and click next. The next screen will let you select your time zone, do this and click next. Make sure that there are no portable devices such as

Portable HDDs, iPods and USB Flash Drives plugged in as this will confuse the partitioning utility. The keyboard layout selection screen should now be visible, select your keyboard layout (usually USA) and click next. The partitioning screen is next and you need to be careful on what you select here.

This step is all about the partitioning part of the install and you must be extremely careful on what you select here to avoid losing any data. If you want to clear all data from your hard drive and start with Ubuntu from scratch, select Guided \u2013 use entire disk. If you want to install Ubuntu alongside Windows as explained on the previous page, select Guided \u2013

and know about partitioning then you may select Manual and customize the partitioning yourself. If you choose manual then make sure you make at least one swap partition of at least 512MB and one root partition mounted at/ and at least 8GB. Click next when ready.

You should now be on the user info screen and there you must fill out your user information and set a password. The part where you must set a computer name confuses some people. The computer name is just the name that people see your computer as on a network and so you may call this something like Bobs-Laptop. Click next to go to the screen where you review the setting that you have chosen and then click Install to start the installation process.

The system should now be installing and you may continue using the Live-CD desktop while it\u2019s installing. When it is completed it will ask you if you want to continue using the Live-CD or restart the computer and start using your newly installed Ubuntu. Click Restart Computer and away you go. When the menu appears when your computer is starting, you will have ten seconds to

select the operating system to start. There will be more than one entry in the list especially after updates so just choose the top Ubuntu entry and usually the bottom entry is Windows. There are instructions on the internet on how to customize the menu.