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The Official Ubuntu Book, 2e: Installing Ubuntu

  • Apr 28, 2008
If you are reading this, it is fairly safe to assume that you have made the decision to give Ubuntu a try. What a wise choice. Ubuntu is a cutting-edge Linux distribution with a dedication to freedom, ease of use, and flexibility. This flexibility manifests not only in how Ubuntu creates a powerful and extensible operating system for your computer but also in how you evaluate and install it. This chapter shows how to use the desktop CD or the traditional alternate install CD approach to get Ubuntu on your computer.
This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Official Ubuntu Book, The, 2nd EditionOfficial Ubuntu Book, The, 2nd Edition

Learn More Buy

This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Official Ubuntu Book, The, 2nd EditionOfficial Ubuntu Book, The, 2nd Edition

Learn More Buy

Choosing Your Ubuntu Version

Getting Ubuntu

Installing from the Desktop CD

Installing from the Alternate Install CD

Postinstallation

Summary

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, it is fairly safe to assume that you have made the decision to give Ubuntu a try. What a wise choice. Ubuntu is a cutting-edge Linux distribution with a dedication to freedom, ease of use, and flexibility. This flexibility manifests not only in how Ubuntu creates a powerful and extensible operating system for your computer but also in how you evaluate and install it.

Trying Ubuntu is simple. The Ubuntu desktop CD is a special live CD. You can use this disc to run Ubuntu from the CD itself, without it ever coming into contact with your hard disk. This is ideal if you are already using Windows; you can try Ubuntu by running it from the CD, and you don't have to worry about it overwriting your Windows hard disk.

Choosing Your Ubuntu Version

The developers behind Ubuntu have worked to make the software as easy and flexible to install as possible. They understand that people will be installing Ubuntu on different types of computers (desktops, servers, laptops, and so on) and using different types of computers (PCs, 64-bit computers, Macs, and so on). To cater to everyone, there are two Ubuntu CDs that can be used. The DVD with this book is equivalent to the desktop CD with additional packages included.

  • Desktop: The desktop CD is the one recommended for desktops and laptops. With this CD, you can boot Ubuntu from the CD and, if you like it, install it. Note that this is the default option on the DVD or CD.
  • Alternate install: The alternate install CD is recommended for use in any scenario where the desktop version is unusable (e.g., not enough RAM) or inflexible (e.g., automated deployments or special partitioning requirements). With this CD you boot into an installer and then run Ubuntu when the installation is complete.

Ubuntu 7.04 officially supports two main computer types, or architectures:

  • i386: This supports all Intel or compatible processors except those that require AMD64. This includes the new Apple hardware.
  • AMD64: If you are using a processor based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g., Athlon64, Opteron, or EM64T Xeon), you should choose this version.

Regardless of your architecture, you can choose between the desktop and alternate CDs depending on your requirements. For example, for your Intel Core Duo laptop, you could use the i386 desktop CD, while for your Xeon server, you would choose the i386 alternate CD.

Tip: What about PowerPC?

For the 7.04 release, Ubuntu has made Power PC an unofficial architecture. It is still available as a community-supported project, though, so don't throw that hardware away yet!

Other Ubuntu Distributions

In addition to the official Ubuntu release, some additional distributions, including the following, are based on Ubuntu but are slightly different.

  • Kubuntu: Kubuntu is Ubuntu, but instead of using the GNOME desktop, Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop. See http://kubuntu.org for more information.
  • Edubuntu: The Edubuntu distribution is a version of Ubuntu that has been customized for educational use. This includes, among other things, a range of educational software that looks and feels customized for kids. This distribution is particularly useful for those of you who want to run Ubuntu in a school or college environment or on a young child's computer. See http://edubuntu.org for more.
  • Xubuntu: The Xubuntu distribution replaces the GNOME desktop environment with the Xfce 4 environment. Xubuntu is particularly useful for those of you who want to run Ubuntu on older hardware. See http://xubuntu.org for more.

With a range of different distributions and options available, Ubuntu is flexible enough to be used in virtually all situations.

Is It Still Ubuntu?

Some of you may be reading about Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and Xubuntu and wondering how different they are from the regular Ubuntu release. These distributions differ mainly in which applications and desktop interface are included. As such, they differ quite a bit, but the underlying OS and software install system is the same.

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