How to install Ubuntu on your Windows

computer
Updated: 11/30/2020 by Computer Hope

If you want to run Linux on your Windows computer in

a dual-boot configuration, consider installing Ubuntu. It's a
solid, user-friendly Linux distribution that goes out of its way
to co-exist happily with Windows on your computer.

In this guide, we'll be installing Ubuntu 16.04 alongside Windows

10. These instructions should also work with Windows
7 and Windows 8.

Note
One of the first steps will be to create the bootable installation
media. To do this, you need either a USB flash drive or a DVD-R
drive and blank DVD-R disk.
Tip
If want to install Ubuntu as your only operating system, replacing
Windows completely, see: How to install Ubuntu.

Download Ubuntu
Begin by downloading the Ubuntu installer image. It's called an
"image" because it's a snapshot of everything that needs to go on
an entire disk, all in one ISO file. To get it, go to the official
download site and download Ubuntu Desktop. The size of the file
will be about 1.5 gigabytes.

Create the installation media

In these steps, we'll write the Ubuntu .ISO image to a USB flash
drive (or a DVD-R if you prefer).

1. You'll need special software to create the bootable

installation media. We recommend using Rufus Portable, a
free utility for Windows. Go to the Rufus site and download
the installer. As of this writing, the current version is 2.12p.

2. Insert your flash drive into a USB port on your computer, or

insert a blank DVD-R disk into your DVD-R drive.

3. Run the Rufus .EXE file when it's finished downloading.

There is no installer, the program runs. When you receive
a UAC prompt, click Yes to continue.

4. In the Rufus window, click the Select Image button

(pictured) to choose an image file. Open the .ISO file that
you downloaded.
5. Make sure your USB flash drive (or DVD-R drive) is selected
in the Device drop-down box.

6. Click Start.
7. At this point, Rufus may need to download updated
SysLinux files. If prompted, click Yes to download the
updates.

8. The Ubuntu installer is an ISOHybrid image, so you will be

given the choice of ISO or DD image writing mode. ISO
image mode is the safer option because it does not
overwrite the partition table on your flash drive. Choose ISO
image mode and click OK.
 9. To begin writing the image to your flash drive, click OK.

10. Keep an eye on the green progress bar, because there

is no special message when the job is done. Look for the
progress bar to complete, and the status message to say
READY. When it does, you can exit by clicking Close.

Your flash drive or DVD-R should now be a bootable Ubuntu disk. If

you boot your computer while the disk is inserted, the installer runs.
Let's do that now.

Boot from the installation media

1. Reboot your computer with the USB flash drive (or DVD-R)
inserted in your computer. The Ubuntu installer should start
instead of Windows. If it doesn't, change your
computer's boot device sequence in your BIOS setup so
your USB (or DVD-R) is ordered above your hard drive.
When the installer boots successfully, you will see the
Ubuntu loading screen.

 How to enter the BIOS or CMOS setup.

2. At the welcome screen, choose Install Ubuntu.

3. On the next screen, you can choose whether you want

updated software packages to be downloaded while you
install Ubuntu. What option you choose is up to you (you
can always do it later). Either way, this might be a good
time to make sure your installer connects to the Internet.
Use the network icon in the systray in the top-right of the
window to adjust or configure your networking settings. If
you use Wi-Fi, you can use this interface to connect and
authenticate to your wireless network.
4. Choose an installation type. If you want to install Ubuntu as
a dual-boot option with Windows, select Install Ubuntu
alongside Windows. Click Continue.

5. Next, choose where Ubuntu should be installed. The installer

will recommend a configuration that allocates a reasonable
amount of space to Ubuntu while giving priority to the size
of your Windows partition. As you can see in this example,
we are installing on a very small drive, but there's still room
for Ubuntu alongside the base Windows 10 installation. To
 accept the settings and begin the installation, click Install
Now.

6. You will be prompted twice to confirm, and this is your last

chance to change your mind. Click Continue at both
prompts to begin.

7. Next, set your time zone by clicking the map or typing the
name of a city into the text box. Click Continue.
8. Specify your language and what type of keyboard you use,
then click Continue.

9. Type your full name (or whatever you want), your

computer's name, and your desired username. This user
account is the name you'll use to log in to Ubuntu. Choose a
password and confirm it. Click Continue.
10. Wait for Ubuntu to install.

11. When the installation is complete, remove the USB flash

drive (or DVD-R), so your computer boots from the hard
drive. Click Restart now.

12. When your computer boots, you will be greeted

by GRUB, your new multiboot loader. This software is what
allows you to choose between Ubuntu and Windows when
you boot your computer. If you do nothing, it loads Ubuntu.
You can use the up and down arrows to select Advanced
options for Ubuntu (which includes recovery options if you
have a system problem), or various recovery and diagnostic
tools. You can also choose to boot into Windows 10. Right
now let's boot into Ubuntu.
 13. You'll be presented with a login prompt. Enter the
username and password that you specified in step 21.

Congratulations! You're a Linux user. You'll find that the user

interface has similarities to both Microsoft Windows and macOS. It
is very intuitive to use, but discussing all its features is beyond the
scope of this guide.
However, it's important that you know how to get out of Ubuntu and
back into Windows 10. Let's do that now.

Rebooting into Windows

In the upper-right corner of Unity, you'll see an icon that looks like a
gear. The gear icon is the Ubuntu Menu button, also known as the
BFB ("Big freakin' button.") Click the BFB and select Shutdown...

Click the Shutdown button to confirm, and your computer reboots.

In the GRUB menu, use the down arrow to select Windows.

Windows boots and runs normally. When you reboot the computer
again, you can select either Ubuntu or Windows depending on which
operating system you want to run.

A note about hard disk partitions

Each operating system has its own partition on your hard disk.
Windows files can be accessed from within Ubuntu, but unless you
explicitly share them, the two operating systems stays completely
separate.

Common Questions
Can I change my boot menu so that Windows is the default?

Yes, but it requires familiarity with the Linux command line. To

change your GRUB boot order, edit the file /etc/default/grub as
superuser, and modify the line containing the
variable GRUB_DEFAULT=0. This number refers to the items in
the GRUB menu, and the numbers start at zero. For instance, to set
the default GRUB menu choice to the fifth entry,
use GRUB_DEFAULT=4. You can also use the
value GRUB_DEFAULT=saved to set the GRUB default to the last
choice you made when booting. After saving the changes
to /etc/default/grub, run the command update-grub as
superuser for your changes to take effect.

Can I remove Ubuntu from my computer, but keep Windows?

Yes. You can remove the Ubuntu installation by deleting the Ubuntu
partition using a partition editor such as Microsoft's Disk
Management tool. The disk space can then be reclaimed by
Windows by extending the Windows partition. After removing
Ubuntu, GRUB needs to be removed separately. You need to boot
from a Windows recovery drive, choose Repair this computer, and
run the command bootrec /mbr from the Administrator command
line. If you don't have a Windows recovery drive, you can also boot
from the Ubuntu Live disk you created, and use the program boot-
repair.