Let's install Ubuntu and Have a Beer
But anyway, back to moving from Windows to Linux...
1. Backup any important files you have. I'd recommend having an extra external drive that you can keep all of it on...so that way, if you end up cycling through different operating systems,
you'll have all of your stuff ready to go if you want to move it all back into its respective folders.
2. Pick your Linux poison (or pleasure, sorry)...for this example, we'll be using Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Debian-based distribution that is both loved (because of its easy-to-use/new user-friendly nature) and
hated (because of corporate Snapple-dapple-something-or-another software use and the amount of perceived handholding that it does during installation process). I've drifted through numerous Linux
distributions over the past 17 years or so and I find it refreshing to do a good old Ubuntu install and have things just work right after install and a few updates/restarts.
3. Since we're going with Ubuntu, let's head to their page and download the .iso file:
4. Now...we're going to need some software that will place this image onto an extra USB drive that you have. It's not as simple as just dragging and dropping the file...we need to make it a bootable kinda
thing. Let's download Balena Etcher to help us out:
5. Ok, we've got our Ubuntu image...and we've got Balena Etcher (go ahead and run the install file that you just downloaded for Balena). Open up Balena Etcher. The file we'll use is that Ubuntu image...and
the target will be whatever USB drive you want to put it on. Remember, this shouldn't be the same USB drive that you have your files on...just saying. Once it writes it to the USB drive, as shown in the
video, it's ready to use.
6. With that USB plugged into one of your computer's USB ports, we are going to restart the system...but before doing so, hop onto the interwebs and find out which key on your keyboard can be used during
startup to boot you into the magical realm of UEFI, formerly referred to as a BIOS (look those up if need-be). For my computer, it's the F2 key...so when I reboot my machine, and it turns back on, I
immediately begin repeatedly tapping that F2 key. Once you figure that out, you may have something like my screen in the video. Play around in the settings within this menu to get comfortable if you
like, but what we want to do is change your machine's boot order, so that it boots from your install media (the USB media we just created with Balena) rather than booting you into Windows or whatever
else operating system you have (presuming Windows since you used Balena...or did you?)
7. If you've got the boot order arranged, so that the USB is first in line, save those settings and exit!
Upon restart, you should be greeted with a menu allowing you to try or install Ubuntu. Since it's a
live environment, you can even play around with it a bit before deciding to install. Why not play around with it just to see how well it supports your hardware already? If it's bad, remove that install
media and/or restart - and you'll go right back to whatever system you had before...no harm, no foul. If all appears to be working well thus far, why not take the plunge?
Another great thing about Ubuntu is the amount of discourse and guides online. It's very well supported, as are many other distributions...to varying degrees. I hope this helped you get going on your way. The accompanying video is probably a bit rough-cut because I saw value in doing it live, so to speak, on a real machine, rather than scampering around in a virtual machine where real changes aren't taking place (well, I guess they sort of are, but you get my drift, hopefully). I'm rambling...
Thanks for coming along and hope to see ya next time. Cheers.
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