Installing Ubuntu 8.10 In 12 Easy StepsInstalling Ubuntu 8.10 In 12 Easy Steps

Ubuntu marches on! The April release of the landmark Linux distribution was well worth the effort, but the new 8.10 takes a good thing and makes it even better.

With multiple ways to try out, share, customize and enhance the open source operating system, it would be a shame to roll up your sleeves and dive in without a little guidance.

Here, we've created a twelve-step visual guide to getting Ubuntu up and running with all the most common bases covered. There's more than one way to touch each one of those bases, so this guide mentions some of the common options available for a newly created Ubuntu installation.

1. Before You Get Started

If you're an existing Windows user looking to make the jump to Linux, don't just throw in the CD and hit the buttons. Plan ahead. You might want to use Wubi to install Ubuntu on your existing Windows partition -- it's non-destructive, doesn't require you to change partitions and uses the existing Windows boot loader. Those who want to resize an existing Windows partition can use the native resize utility in Vista -- it's in Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Computer Management\Disk Management .

If you're on XP, you can use the partition-management tool that comes up in the Ubuntu installer, or use GParted from most any live Linux CD. In either case, be careful -- don't mess with a partition unless you've already backed up everything you can't replace, either file-by-file or with a disk imaging utility like DriveImage XML.

The best possible scenario: install to space you've already cleared out, like a newly-created partition, or use an entirely new drive for Ubuntu. Tip: Don't format the partition or drive just yet; that way it'll be easier to single out in the Ubuntu setup menus.

Finally, before you start the installation, remove anything that doesn't absolutely need to be there for the setup -- mainly, extra peripherals such as scanners, printers, and so on. This keeps the number of variables to a minimum during the installation, and you can always add them back in one at a time later on. (I've found this is sound advice for both Windows and Linux installations.) 2. Test Your Media (And Maybe Your System, Too)

When you first boot the Ubuntu installer CD, one of the options you'll get is "Check CD for defects". Run it and the installation CD will be double-checked against itself to make sure it was downloaded and burned correctly. If the disc flunks, stop everything and go get a fresh copy. Lower your CD burner speed to insure accurate results, or borrow a known-good disc from a friend or guru.

3. Start The Installation

Most of Ubuntu's installation options are pretty self-explanatory at this point; for context here, go check out our earlier installation walkthrough for 8.04. The only major decisions you'll need to make are where to put your Ubuntu installation (i.e., which drive/partition), and what (if any) settings to migrate from your existing Windows version. By default Ubuntu will copy in Internet Explorer settings, wallpapers, and the contents of the My Documents / Music / Pictures folders.

If you have a lot of material in these folders -- like me with my 150GB of music! -- you can uncheck these options and copy things in later, by hand. It's also possible to mount your existing Windows partition as a drive in Ubuntu and work with the files right where they already are.

Reboot into Ubuntu and log in. The boot screen will vary depending on whether or not you're using Wubi or the full Ubuntu installer.

4. Check Your Imported Documents And Settings

If you elected to import documents and settings from an existing Windows installation, take the time to make sure everything migrated over okay. Odds are they should be fine, but it doesn't hurt to pause here and see that they've made the transition.

5. Check Your Networks

Networking in 8.10 has been reworked to reflect the fact that connectivity is everywhere. The new network manager includes tools not only for wired and wireless networks, but also mobile broadband, DSL and VPNs. If networking isn't available, there's a chance the network hardware in your system isn't supported or hasn't been properly initialized, and you'll need to do a little troubleshooting.

6. Retrieve Any Available Updates

Ubuntu's software repositories are kept continually up-to-date. It's almost impossible not to install Ubuntu and have updated packages waiting for you once you connect to the network.

If updates are available, you'll see an orange starburst icon in the bar at the top of the display. Click on it and you'll be taken to the Update Manager.

Those running a beta of Intrepid may receive a notice that they'll need to run a "partial upgrade" to install new updates, due to changes in many critical system packages. The partial upgrade process is quite long -- it's comparable to applying a service pack in Windows -- so grab some coffee and maybe read the paper in the meantime. 7. Set Up Hardware Devices And Storage

Now's the time to plug in those scanners, printers, cameras and external drives. It's best if you do this after adding any available updates, since some of those changes may need to be present for hardware devices to be recognized and to work correctly. Also note that some devices, like scanners, don't trigger any visible behavior when plugged in. Try putting the device to use as you plug each one in -- e.g., for scanners, fire up Xsane and see if you can acquire an image from the scanner.

You can also use this time to set up mount points for non-Ubuntu drives, such as Windows NTFS partitions. To do this, simply go to Places | Computer, right-click on the drive in question, select Mount, and check "Remember authorization" to allow the mount to be persistent across sessions.

8. Add Multimedia Codecs

Odds are if you have a music collection on your PC, it'll be in .MP3 or some other non-free-as-in-speech format. The bad news: Ubuntu doesn't play these formats by default, as a way to avoid potential patent-licensing issues. The good news: If you attempt to play such a file, you'll be automatically guided towards which packages to add to Ubuntu to enable playback.

Depending on where you live and what your local laws are like regarding the use of certain codecs, you might be best off simply paying for a commercial codec package, which yields the best results and indemnifies you from any possible legal entanglements.

9. Set Up Indexing And Search

Having all your documents in one place is no good if they're all in one big undifferentiated pile. By default Ubuntu's indexed search system will trawl through all the files in your user directory -- which should include files imported from your earlier Windows installation, if you migrated from one. Keep in mind that not all file types are indexed, but the most commonly used ones should be. By default, Ubuntu 8.10 uses the Tracker search system, but others (like Beagle) are also available if you happen to have a preference.

10. Customize Look & Feel and Fonts

Don't like Ubuntu's stock look? Bend it, shape it, any way you want it. Right-click on the desktop to change the background image, the default fonts for menus and applications, the color choices, and window look-and-feel. Adding your own fonts isn't hard: just copy them to the folder /usr/share/fonts . If you don't have a spare Windows installation you can snag fonts from, Ubuntu does supply a package called "Ubuntu restricted extras", which includes (among other things) the Microsoft Web fonts package that can be freely redistributed.

11. Customize Key Layouts

Many of Ubuntu's most convenient desktop features -- like switching between multiple desktops, or using Expos-style window meta-views -- are available through keyboard shortcuts. If you're not comfortable with the defaults, or you just want to explore what's available and how to get to it, go to System | Preferences | Keyboard Shortcuts to see what's already assigned, and change them if you so choose. Example: Windows users may want to assign the Winkey to the "Show the panel menu" action, so that hitting the Winkey brings up the main Ubuntu menu.

12. Spread The Love

And now that you've finished setting up Ubuntu on your own machine, help someone else make the jump, too. Burn them a CD -- or, better yet, if their machine supports booting from USB, use the utility in System | Administration | Create A USB Startup Disk to build a bootable USB version of Ubuntu on a flash drive. This can be used to run Ubuntu as a live filesystem, or as an installer. Note that you'll need an actual CD image of Ubuntu to build the USB image, and if you use a CD/DVD built from an earlier beta image of 8.10, you might run into this problem. Use the 8.10 production ISO or later.