Linux downloads typically come as ISO images that will burn directly to a CD. You can also install them on a USB stick and boot them from there. But how do you get them to actually boot?

Most PCs are configured to boot from a removable disk first, a CD if no removable disk is found, then a hard disk drive if neither of the others are present, but you can't guarantee that! If your machine goes straight to hard disk, you'll need to change your BIOS settings, which can be accessed by pressing F2, F12, Delete, or ESC at boot. (The appropriate key differs with different BIOS makers.)

Note that you may need to change two settings in some BIOSes. Adding a USB stick to my American Megatrends BIOSed machines requires checking the Boot Device Priority and setting the Hard Disk Drives so that the first drive is the USB, not the hard disk.

And that's about as technical as it gets. With the boot disk booting, you're on your way. The rest is really straightforward.

(If you still have boot problems -- especially with older CD-ROM hardware -- check this link out.)

Installation: A graphical walk-through

I'm guessing you can figure out what to click here ...





You have two additional options here: if you're connected to the net and have a reasonably fast broadband connection, tick Download updates while installing, but note that the installation process may take quite a bit longer. (You'll be presented with automatic updates once you're up and running, so adding them now isn't essential -- especially as you're probably keen to Ubuntu going!)

The second option to Install third party software should be ticked. I'm not sure what hardware's on your machine, but you probably want it all to work!





Unless you're an advanced user or really know what you're doing with hard disk partitions, choose Install Ubuntu alongside your existing operating system(s).





If you're connected to the net, Ubuntu will take a stab at where you are. If it gets it wrong, just click the appropriate time zone.





Local (New Zealand) keyboard layouts are typically English (US) / English (US), but Linux can accommodate everyone.





Now for the tricky stuff: who are you? I'll leave you to figure that out.

There are two other options to consider: Log in automatically is fine if you're the only user of the machine. Personally, I prefer the default: Require my password to log in. It's just more secure.





It depends on your hardware, but a typical Linux installation (excluding automatic updates) will take 10-20 minutes. In the meantime, browse some slides of what you new OS can do, or just go and make a coffee.





That's it. Ready for a reboot.





At boot time, you'll now get a menu allowing you to choose which operating system to start. By default it's set to Ubuntu, and if you do nothing for 10 seconds Ubuntu will start automatically. But of course, this is Linux. All this is configurable -- and I'll show you how in coming blogs.





In the meantime, check out Ubuntu and the new Unity desktop.

Next time, we'll have a quick look at what's there (and what's missing). And how to add the missing stuff!