* his is the original Ubuntuguide. You are free to copy this guide but not to sell it or any derivative of it. Copyright of the names Ubuntuguide and Ubuntu Guide reside solely with this site. This guide is neither sold nor distributed in any other medium. Beware of copies that are for sale or are similarly named; they are neither endorsed nor sanctioned by this guide. Ubuntuguide is not associated with Canonical Ltd nor with any commercial enterprise. * Ubuntu allows a user to accomplish tasks from either a menu-driven Graphical User Interface (GUI) or from a text-based command-line interface (CLI). In Ubuntu, the command-line-interface terminal is called Terminal, which is started: Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal. Text inside the grey dotted box like this should be put into the command-line Terminal. * Many changes to the operating system can only be done by a User with Administrative privileges. 'sudo' elevates a User's privileges to the Administrator level temporarily (i.e. when installing programs or making changes to the system). Example: sudo bash * 'gksudo' should be used instead of 'sudo' when opening a Graphical Application through the "Run Command" dialog box. Example: gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list * "man" command can be used to find help manual for a command. For example, "man sudo" will display the manual page for the "sudo" command: man sudo * While "apt-get" and "aptitude" are fast ways of installing programs/packages, you can also use the Synaptic Package Manager, a GUI method for installing programs/packages. Most (but not all) programs/packages available with apt-get install will also be available from the Synaptic Package Manager. In this guide, when you see sudo apt-get install package you can search for package in Synaptic and install it that way. * Many instructions use the text editor "nano" (which is universally available in Linux). However, it is often easier to use the text editor "gedit" in Ubuntu instead. * "Applications" means the bottom-left (or upper-left) button, akin to the Start button in Microsoft Windows. * If you are using the 64-bit version, replace any "i386" with "amd64" Other versions How to find out which version of Ubuntu you're using Open the command terminal and type: lsb_release -a How to find out which kernel you are using uname -r Newer Versions of Ubuntu * Ubuntu has a six month release cycle, with releases in April and October. * Maverick Meerkat (10.10), scheduled for release in October 2010. This will not be an LTS version. Older Versions of Ubuntu * Karmic Koala (9.10) (supported until April 2011) * Jaunty Jackalope (9.04) (supported until October 2010) * Intrepid Ibex (8.10) (no longer supported) * Hardy Heron (8.04 LTS) (Long Term Support version with desktop support until April 2011 and server support until April 2013) * Dapper Drake (6.06 LTS) (Long Term Support for server until June 2011; desktop no longer supported) * See this complete list of older and newer versions. Other Resources * Ubuntu Forums has a large community for online solutions and specific help. Ubuntu Resources Gnome Project * Gnome is the default desktop in Ubuntu. Ubuntu Screenshots and Screencasts * What is Ubuntu? * Ubuntu 10.04 3D Desktop and other YouTube videos. New Applications Resources * GetDeb - Features the latest versions of software available from the official repositories as well as software not available in the official repositories. Available in easy-to-install .deb files (see Apt and Package Basics). * Top 100 Open source Applications * Daily Ubuntu Applications * See our full list of add-on applications. Other *buntu guides and help manuals * Kubuntuguide * Lubuntu -- Lubuntu can run with as little as 256 Mb RAM. It is better for older machines with limited resources. * official Ubuntu Server Guide -- a good starting reference for server packages * Ubuntu Doctors Guild -- a collection of tips for using (K)ubuntu Linux in health care environments * SkoleLinux -- a collection of (open-source) educational tools for Debian/Ubuntu Linux Installing Ubuntu Warning: Ubuntu Desktop edition installer no longer allows a custom installation of GRUB, and it now uses GRUB2 (which allows very little customization). DO NOT USE the Lucid Lynx Desktop edition if you use a boot partition, use multiple OS (more than 2), or chainload bootloaders. The Ubuntu installer will overwrite your Master Boot Record and you will later be forced to recreate it manually. This is a serious flaw in both Karmic Koala and Lucid Lynx. Use the Ubuntu Server edition instead (and then later add the ubuntu-desktop). GRUB2 has caused major problems in installation -- be sure to research the issue before upgrading to Lucid Lynx. Hardware requirements Ubuntu Lucid Lynx runs well with as little as 384 Mb RAM. (The installer requires a minimum of 256 Mb RAM, while the alternative installer can run using only 192 Mb RAM.) Netbooks can run Ubuntu Lucid Lynx. The install takes between 3-4 Gb hard drive space, and 8 - 10 Gb will be needed to run comfortably. If you have an older computer with less memory than this, consider Lubuntu (if between 256 Mb and 512 Mb RAM) or PuppyLinux or DSL (if less than 256 Mb RAM). Fresh Installation * Download the latest ISO image from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. See this guide for burning the ISO image to a CD ("LiveCD"). Use the LiveCD for installation. * An alternate method involves installing the server version first and then installing the Ubuntu desktop. Dual-Booting Windows and Ubuntu Rarely, a user may experience problems dual-booting Ubuntu and Windows. In general, a Windows OS should be installed first, because its bootloader is very particular. A Windows installation usually occupies the entire hard drive, so the partition needs to be shrunk, creating free space for the Ubuntu partition. (You should clean up unnecessary files and defragment the drive before resizing.) See changing the Windows partition size. After shrinking the Windows partition, you should reboot once into Windows prior to installing Ubuntu or further manipulating the partitions. This allows the Windows system to automatically rescan the newly-resized partition (using chkdsk) and write changes to its own bootup files. (If you forget to do this, you may later have to repair the Windows partition bootup files manually using the Windows Recovery Console.) If done this way, there is no problem installing Ubuntu as the second operating system and it is done automatically from the Ubuntu LiveCD. Allow the Ubuntu LiveCD to install to "largest available free space." A Windows partition should be at least 20 Gb (recommended 30 Gb for Vista/Windows 7), and a Ubuntu partition at least 10 Gb (recommended 20 Gb). Obviously, if you have plenty of disk space, make the partition for whichever will be your favoured operating system larger. For a recommended partitioning scheme, see this section. Alternatives include: * Wubi (Windows-based Ubuntu Installer), an officially supported dual-boot installer that allows Ubuntu to be run mounted in a virtual-disk within the Windows environment (which can cause a slight degradation in performance). Because the installation requires an intact functioning Windows system, it is recommended to install Ubuntu in this manner for short-term evaluation purposes only. A permanent Ubuntu installation should be installed in its own partition, with its own filesystem, and should not rely on Windows. * EasyBCD, a free Windows-based program that allows you to dual-boot Windows Vista and Ubuntu (as well as other operating systems) by configuring the Vista bootloader. Installing multiple OS on a single computer Warning: The Ubuntu Desktop edition LiveCD installer no longer allows a custom installation of GRUB, and it now uses GRUB2 (which is difficult to customize). DO NOT USE the Lucid Lynx Desktop edition LiveCD as an installer if you use a boot partition, use more than 2 operating systems, or chainload bootloaders. The Ubuntu installer will overwrite your Master Boot Record and you will later be forced to recreate it. This is a serious flaw in both Karmic Koala and Lucid Lynx Desktop edition installers. Use the Ubuntu Server edition instead (and then later add the ubuntu-desktop). If you want to install more than 2 operating systems on a single computer, check out these tips. Use Startup Manager to change Grub settings Grub is the bootup utility that controls which OS to load by default and other bootup settings. You can change Grub settings from the Startup Manager: System -> Administration -> Startup Manager If Startup Manager is not installed, install it: sudo apt-get install startupmanager Note: You can also edit the Grub settings manually from the command-line interface. Dual-Booting Mac OS X and Ubuntu * Also see these tips for installing multiple OS. Mac OS X has a similar structure to Linux (it is BSD Unix based). Dual-booting Mac OS X and Ubuntu detailed instructions can be found here. Installing Mac OS X after Ubuntu * If you decide to dual boot with OS X, choose ext2 as your partition type during the Ubuntu installation. (For this the Super Grub Disk CD is a useful utility. You can download the Super Grub .iso image file at forjamari.linex.org and burn the image to a CD-ROM.) * Once you have installed Ubuntu, edit the Grub start-up list: sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst and add the following lines: title Mac OS X root (hd0,0) makeactive chainloader +1 Reboot your Mac and go to the terminal in Max OS X (if you have any issues booting, boot from your Mac OS X DVD). Press F8 and enter -s. Enter: fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 flag 2 <--note that flag 2 is my Mac partition number two quit y reboot * If are still unsure whether it is working correctly, use the Super Grub Disk CD and make grub active.