Basic Installation

[kena]

I have downloaded the latest .iso and burned it successfully to a DVD. My computer won’t boot from the DVD and the procedure to mess around in the BIOS makes me nervous.

Isn’t it possible to just install it on my hard drive and use it as a dual boot system with Windows 10? I can’t find any installation instructions anywhere. It looks like all you want me to do is run it from a DVD or a USB drive. That can’t be right.

Any help would be gratefully received.

kena

[orschiro]

Hi Kena,

Does it boot from a USB medium?

Changing your settings in the BIOS to give priority to your DVD or USB over your hard drive should be the only thing you have to do in order boot from the installation medium.

It’s not complicated.

[ouroumov]

I can’t find any installation instructions anywhere. It looks like all you want me to do is run it from a DVD or a USB drive. That can’t be right.

What?

Please refer to @wolfman’s install guide:

Ubuntu beginners guide, complete how to install and run first update

WARNING 1: BACKUP ALL YOUR DATA BEFORE YOU START TO INSTALL IN CASE THINGS GO WRONG!. SAVE ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES AND FOLDERS TO EITHER AN EXTERNAL USB DRIVE AND/OR TO A 2ND HARD DRIVE ON YOUR PC. DO NOT SAVE ANYTHING ON THE SAME DRIVE YOU INTEND TO USE FOR LINUX UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND/KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!. ONCE YOU START PARTITIONING AND YOU COMMIT TO FORMATTING YOUR PARTITIONS, THERE IS NO GOING BACK!. WARNING 2: IF YOU HAVE A RECOVERY PARTITION AND HAVE NOT CREATED ANY RECOVERY DISKS…

It is due an update, but it’ll give you hints regarding the steps to follow.

[1Q7FE6zp]

[quote=“kena, post:1, topic:13733”]My computer won’t boot from the DVD[/quote]Does it boot from other DVDs normally? Reason I’m asking – Either the PC is configured not to boot from the DVD (which is done in the BIOS) or the DVD burning process failed (leaving you with an unbootable DVD).

Anyhow, as @orschiro mentioned, it might be better to simply create a bootable USB instead. It’ll save you DVDs in the end.

Here are some instructions on creating a bootable USB in Windows 10:

Create a bootable USB stick on Windows | Ubuntu tutorials

Regarding the BIOS – It depends a bit on the exact make and model of your PC’s motherboard how to configure it to boot from DVD/USB but ultimately, the point is to go into your PCs BIOS/UEFI (usually accomplished by pressing the Delete button at the very first screen your PC shows when booting; the PC should say though, what button to press) and look for Boot Order or something to that effect and configure it to first attempt DVD and/or USB.

[marfig]

Try to hit F8 repeatedly during the initial screen as the BIOS is locating devices and before it starts booting the current OS. On that screen you may also see instructions for the key to press to open the Boot Order window (which could be something else other than F8). Most BIOS have an option like this, that allow you to specify which device to boot from without having to go into the BIOS settings.