Installing Ubuntu from a USB flash drive: detailed instructions

If you like the look and functionality of the Ubuntu OS, and also want to try to download it to your laptop or PC, then you can just download the Desktop Edition from the Ubuntu website. Click the "Download" button in the menu at the top, then download and install the application according to the instructions on the website. Use the drop-down menu to select the version you want to install. It's best to do the installation with the default settings (unless you see a reason not to do so). The file size is about 700 MB.

You can also install Ubuntu from a USB flash drive with 4 GB memory using the USB Universal Installer utility. Run the utility (it works directly in the window from the executable that you downloaded) and make sure that you select the required version of Ubuntu from the list. Then specify the path to the location of the ISO file on the hard disk and finally, select the correct drive on which it needs to be installed.

Make sure that you have backed up the files on the flash drive before erasing them. In addition, back up the files on the computer on which you will install Ubuntu from the USB flash drive, even if you plan to install it as the second operating system.

After all the files are written to the USB drive, you can insert it into an available port on the computer. If the computer does not boot automatically from the flash drive, you need to change the boot order of the devices in the BIOS. You can enter this section by pressing Del, F1 or another key that is displayed on the screen at boot time.

Follow the instructions on the screen when you start installing Ubuntu from the USB flash drive - it will detect the presence of another operating system and offer options for how to install Ubuntu. If you want to get rid of Windows and make Ubuntu the only operating system, we recommend that you select the "other" option and delete the partition from Windows on your hard drive. You will also need a free area, which should be twice the RAM of your computer (so that the installation of Ubuntu from the USB flash drive was full).

Even if you are familiar with the process of partitioning disks for Windows, this may seem a bit confusing in Linux. Instead of references to disks labeled with letters, you will see the inscriptions HDA, CDA, etc. Modern hard drives that connect via SATA or even USB are called SDA, SDC, etc. Each primary partition has a number from 1 to 4, and each logical partition consists of 5 parts. Confirm your confidence in the correctness of the choice of disk and partition before making changes. Markup occurs only when you click on the "Install" button.

The partitions that are required to install Ubuntu from a USB flash drive will be: root, home and swap partition. Root is the partition into which Ubuntu is directly installed (its capacity is not less than 4 GB). You should select ext4 as the file system and define it as the point of modification. A home partition is a section where your files are stored (it should be large enough to accommodate everything that you are going to store). Again, choose ext4 as the file system type. The swap partition should be twice the memory capacity of the computer (so if RAM is 2 GB, you will need to create a 4 GB partition).

During the installation, you will be asked to identify a few details (including your location, language, user name and password). It is desirable that your computer is connected to the network (it will be offered to select a Wi-Fi network if the Ethernet cable is not connected). This ensures that the latest updates are installed.

After the installation of Ubuntu from the USB flash drive is complete, remove the disk and press Enter. Your computer will be rebooted, after which Ubuntu will be launched. Go to the Software Center (the Recycle Bin icon at the bottom of the screen), you can install your favorite applications, including Chrome (Ubuntu Google Chrome version), Skype, Dropbox and others.