Hello and welcome to this “How To” on installing Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition on a laptop with a dual boot configuration. I will use a IBM Lenovo Think Pad T60 (1951AH4) with an internal WiFi network adapter, 60GB HDD, 1GB RAM, and a Intel Core Duo 1.83MHz processor. The assumption is that you have at least 30GB of free disk space on your laptop but you can get away with less. I would recomend no less than 5GB of free disk space on a machine you wish to setup for dual boot.
Ubuntu has become one of my favorite Open Source operating systems. It is free, easy to install, secure and at the time of this writing has over 29,000 free software packages available which can be easily installed and removed using its GUI software package manager. Ubuntu can install and configure itself for dual-boot during the install process or one can choose to dedicate the entire capacity of the hard-disk to the Ubuntu system. We will accept the recommended dual boot configuration during the install process.
I invite everyone to consider Ubuntu installed on a used laptop as a fall-back from their PC or Mac regardless of type you prefer. You will be glad you did.
About The IBM Lenovo T60 Think Pad (T60): I have a number of T60 laptops and they have proved to be a robust vehicle for the Ubuntu Linux operating system. At the time of this writing the T60 can be purchased used, in good condition for around $200 on ebay. Be sure to get one with an internal WiFi card already installed. In my opinion this hardware and operating system scenario is one of the best ways for someone to get started with the Linux operating system.
If you have some other brand of laptop you are advised to check at linux-laptop.net for reports of successful installations of Linux on it. I would further advise that you should install the distribution of Linux on your laptop that has the best reports of successful install posted at linux-laptop.net. However Ubuntu has an easy, intuitive dual boot option built into its installer. Another good resource for checking Ubuntu hardware comparability is UbuntuHCL.org. Or the Ubuntu Laptop Testing Team.
I have found that older laptops that originally ran Window XP are excellent candidates for use with Ubuntu as are newer Apple “MacBooks”.
With the preliminaries out of the way lets begin.
Step 1: Download the Ubuntu installation CD from the Ubuntu download page. Visit that page, select the .iso for your architecture (we will use x86). This will begin the download of a .iso file.
Once the download is complete check the size of the .iso file. If the size of the .iso file is not around 690MB in size it will not work and you will need to use a BitTorrent transfer client to download the file instead. The torrent seed file for Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition can be found here. Once the .iso.torrent seed file has downloaded add it to your BitTorrent transmition client and download the .iso with the BitTorrent client. If you don’t already have a BitTorrent client you can get one here. BitTorrent offers more reliable downloads of large files and is sometimes faster.
Step 2: Once you have obtained a good .iso file you must “burn” the .iso image onto a CD. Simply copying the file to a CD is not sufficient. Instructions on how to burn the .iso image to CD can be found…
Step 3: Insert the CD created from Step 2 into the CDROM of the laptop you wish to install Ubuntu onto then restart the machine.
When the machine boots to the install CD one will be presented with a language chooser that allows them to select the language of choice for the install. One has 30 seconds to choose a install language other than English (the default) or the system will boot into an Ubuntu “Live” mode where you can try Ubuntu on your laptop without any changes to your hard disk. If you let this happen and you are ready to install Ubuntu onto your computer click the “Install Ubuntu” icon on the desktop of the “Live” session and you will begin the installation. If you don’t want to wait 30 seconds choose “English” and press “Enter” on the keyboard.
Next the Ubuntu installer will present five options for one to choose from. One may select any option they they desire here, however, we will choose the second option “Install Ubuntu”. This will start the installation process. After some files are loaded from the install CD you will be presented with a “Welcome” screen where you have a second chance to select the install language and if you have internet access review the “Release Notes”. Click on the “Forward” button. Next you will be asked to select your location with a location chooser screen. Select your location and click the “Forward” button. Next you will be asked about your keyboard layout. Just accept the suggested choice and click the “Forward” button.
Next you will be asked to specify the new disk partition arrangement. Default is dual boot and the partitioner will suggest that you install Ubuntu side-by-side with the computers current OS. Accept the recommended configuration and click the “Forward” button. A warning dialog will pop-up and ask if you are sure you want to accept the new partition scheme because it cannot be undone. Click the “Continue” button. The next step can take some time because of the coalescence required on the disk before a second OS can be installed on it.
After space is made for the new partition that will contain Ubuntu you will be asked “Who are you?”. Enter you name, your login name, password and name you would like the machine to display on the network. Accept the recommended “Require password for login” and click the “Forward” button. You may be asked if you want to “Migrate documents and settings” check the ones that you want and click the “Forward” button.
The “Ready to install” screen will be displayed giving you a chance to review the settings you have selected. Just click the “Install” button. Your disk will be partitioned and the new system installed onto the hard disk. This phase may take some time but it is the home stretch of the install.
When the installation is complete a dialog will pop up and ask you to restart the computer. Click “Restart Now”, you will be asked to remove the CD and press “Enter” so do it. When the computer reboots select the OS you want to use for the pending session and press “Enter”. You will boot to that system.
If you have difficulty you can post questions in the Ubuntu Forums. If you have comments or questions for me you can leave them as comments below until the time for their submission has expired (a few weeks from the time the article is published).
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