How to install an ISO File

Posted on October 31, 2011 by BitHacker

An ISO image (International Organization for Standardization) is an archive file (also known as a disc image) of an optical disc, composed of the data contents of every written sector of an optical disc, including the optical disc file system. In most cases ISO Images are used to contain the true digital copy of the original disk. So, if you’ve downloaded an ISO image, just keep in mind that it is not an ordinary data CD/DVD image. Especially, in case of Operating Systems, these ISO Images contain files that make CDs/DVDs bootable, therefore, you need a special software to write them on CD / DVD and then install them.

How to mount an ISO file on Windows 7

If you need to see the contents of an ISO file that you just downloaded, then you will have to mount it in your computer. Mounting an ISO image file is similar to inserting a CD / DVD ROM in your CD /DVD Drive, the only difference is that this would be done virtually. Mounting an ISO file has a lot of benefits. Before burning it on to a CD or a DVD, you’re able to check the contents and verify if everything is just as you want. Or, if you want to install a software or a video game but don’t want to burn the ISO image on a CD or DVD. This would come in handy if you don’t have a CD / DVD Drive altogether in your PC or netbook. Windows 7 doesn’t give native support for ISO files so you have to use third party tools.

Using Virtual Clone and Magic Disk

Virtual Clone Drive lets you mount almost all kinds of image files be it ISO, UDF, BIN or CCD.Make sure that you have Administrative privileges on your computer before you continue. Download the utility and install it. Through installation steps, it will ask you for file association and then it will install the Drive Software (Application Driver). Now just double click on your image file to mount it.

Magic Disk is a similar program but it also gives you the option to set a number of multiple virtual drives and also change the drive letter of your existing virtual drive.

Remember that all the ISO editing / manipulating applications like Magic ISO, PowerISO and UltraISO have built-in capabilities to create virtual drives and mount ISO files in them.

How to mount an ISO file on Windows 8

A feature added to the Windows 8 pre-beta by default. All you have to do is click on the image file and click ‘Mount’ to mount the image file. Your image would be mounted as a new drive in My Computer. Right click it to unmount.

How to install an ISO file / image without burning it on a CD/ DVD

Extract the ISO Image

Well, you can either mount them. Or you can extract them. As stated in the introduction, ISO files are archives so almost any archive extraction application like WinZip , WinRAR and 7Zip can extract the contents of the file. 7Zip is the recommended software here as not only it is free but it also supports almost all kinds of compression formats. It has also the support for checking an archive for malware or virus before extracting it. Just keep in mind that once you have extracted the ISO image file, you cannot get back the same image file by compressing the data again. So, be careful before deleting the original ISO image file.

Write it on a USB Flash Drive

If this ISO image file is a windows image, like Windows 8 pre-beta. Then you have the option to write it on the USB Flash Drive. Which is always a better option as it will be a faster installation than a CD /DVD ROM. Refer to our article on How to Create and Install Windows 8 from a Bootable USB.

How to install an ISO file / image by burning it on a CD / DVD

What you Need?

The ISO Image file, it should be ending with an ISO extension at the end. You won’t see the extension if you have installed some compatible application.
CD/DVD Writer/Burner.
A CD/DVD ROM.
Software to burn the ISO Image. ISO Image Burner, other alternatives to this program exist too, like freewares ImgBurn, Free ISO Burner and a shareware UltraISO.

Steps to follow:

ISO Image Burner

Free ISO Burner

Ultra ISO

Instructions:

The process is same for whatever application you use.

Choose your ISO image file.
Select your CD / DVD ROM Drive.
Burn or Write.

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Unity basics and Keyboard Shortcuts in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

Posted on October 26, 2011 by BitHacker

Different Parts of Unity Desktop

(Click to enlarge.)

Windows Title – This title won’t show when you’re in the maximized application window.
Application Menu – Application menu is hidden in maximized application window.
Dash icon
Launcher
Launcher Icons
Workspace switcher
Trash Bin
Desktop
Application Window
Windows Borders and Decorations
Indicator Icons – Network, Sound, Messaging, Clock, Session and Power Menus.
Unity Dash
Lenses – Home, Application, Files and Music Lenses. These are actually tabs that help you navigate between what you want to look for. Essentially narrowing down the search results.

Keyboard Shortcuts

(Super is the key with Windows Logo on your PC or Command Key on your Mac.)

Launcher

Hold Super – Invokes the Launcher. (Image flipped.)

Hold Super, then 1 or 2 or 3 and so on until 0 – Opens or puts focus to an application. The number actually corresponds to the location of the icon on the launcher from top to bottom.

Adding Shift will open a new instance of the application if it’s already open.

Super+T – Opens the trash can.
Alt+F1 – Put keyboard focus on the Launcher, use arrow keys to navigate, Enter launches an application, Right arrow exposes the quick lists if an application has them.

Ctrl+Alt+T – Launch a terminal window.

Dash

Tap Super(Press, don’t hold) – Opens the Dash.
- Tab - Move to the next lens (When the dash is open)
- Shift+Tab – 11.10+ only – Move to the previous lens (when the dash is open)
Alt+F2 – Invokes the Dash in a “special mode” to run a command. Typing in a Folder Name will find that folder in Nautilus, you can also use ~ as a shortcut in the field. Typing an application name will show different settings of that application with that application itself.

The Dash opens with focus on the search box to find applications and files. Using the arrow keys will navigate the results, use Enter to launch.

Panel

F10 – Open the first menu on the panel, use the arrows keys to move along to the end of that list or to the last menu, which is ‘Session’ by default.
Press Esc to close the menus without choosing anything.

Window Management

Super+W – Spread mode, zoom out on all windows in all workspaces.

Super+D – Minimize or restore all windows; (Show Desktop.)
Alt+Tab – Switch to other applications, you can hold Alt down and then hit tab to switch to the next application.

Alt-` (The key to the left of 1 on US layouts, by default Unity will take it as any key above the Tab key.)- Switch between an application’s windows. Hitting this combo when you’re already focused on an application will automatically switch only between the windows for that application.

Window Placement

Cycling through the same key Unity will cycle through different placement widths, so experiment by hitting the NUM key multiple times, for example Ctrl-Alt-numpad 5 5 5:

Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 7 – Place window in top left corner of screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 8 – Place window in top half of screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 9 – Place window in top right corner of screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 4 – Place window on the left side of the screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 5 – Center/Maximize the window in the middle of the screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 6 – Place window on the right side of the screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 1 – Place window in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 2 – Place window in the bottom half of the screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 3 – Place window in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 0 – Maximize window.
Alt + F7 with Arrow keys – Moves the current window on the screen in the current workspace. Use Arrow keys to change its position fast, and use Arrow keys (on NUMpad when NumLock is off) to change it slowly.

Workspace Management

Super+S – Expo mode (for everything), zooms out on all the workspaces and lets you manage windows.

Shift+Alt+↑ – Expo mode for all windows in the current workspace only.
Ctrl+Alt+← / → / ↑ / ↓ – Change to a new workspace.
Ctrl+Alt+Shift-← / → / ↑ / ↓ – Place window to a new workspace.
Alt + F10 to resize current window between normal size and/or maximize.

Above three shortcuts will work after you press Super + S

Ctrl+Alt+L - Lock the screen.

Screenshots

Above three shortcuts will work after you press Super + S – Take a screenshot of the current workspace.
Alt+PrtScn – Take a screenshot of the current window.

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Ubuntu 11.10 – Oneiric Ocelot Review

Posted on October 17, 2011 by BitHacker

The newly released Ubuntu, version 11.10, code named Oneiric Ocelot (The Dreaming Leopard). This new release comes packed with new features and bug fixes that are long awaited. Unity has undergone a major overhaul and I have to say that, Unity is here to stay. As you know, this is the second appearance for Unityand it looks far more usable and ‘polished’ than all the previous versions. Other than Unity as a desktop environment, Gnome 3 has been adopted and we’ve moved on from the previous Gnome 2. It is really amazing how the Ubuntu team has been able to add all those desktop environments to this one release. You have the option to choose from Unity, and Unity 2D from the new and improved login screen.

Backgrounds

These are said to be the most beautiful backgrounds that have come to the Ubuntu Linux. The artwork / designers team should be applauded here for selecting such beautiful pictures. Default wallpaper and theme is the same, which of course gives you a sense of consistency. You can open the background themes by right clicking anywhere on the desktop and selecting Change Background.

Apart from selecting the background, you can also have the basic theme changed to your liking.

Like other changes, the ambience theme has also undergone some tweaking. The title bar, screen moving corners, selection and dialogs are very polished and look really good this time in 11.10.

Dashboard

The ‘Dash’ is pretty much the core of the Ubuntu desktop environment since the release of Ubuntu 11.04. Clicking on the Ubuntu Logo on the left bar, you can launch your favorite applications, find files, play your favorite music. Just start typing in the search box and your favorite application or even setting will pop up. Like other graphic improvements, the ‘Dash’ has a frosted glass effect and hi resolution icons. Major improvements have come in from the additional lenses (tabs) at the bottom of the dash. Through extensions, you can add more lenses to the dash ‘s functionality too. Applications tab will allow you to not only see your installed apps but also the ones that are available for download and use.

Then there is the Files tab, which gives you the most recent files that you opened, recent searches and a quick access to your home folders like Downloads and Documents. The music tab in the end allows you to browse through your music and lets you search for a song instantly. Add filters to this, and you get a customized dynamic search, which really improves the search results. Another improvement that you’d see is the fade in fade out effect on the global menus. You get a default global menu, that is when there is no application open. But, when you open an application and maximize it, It goes into full screen mode. Just like Mac OSX but only this functionality is used from the Ubuntu desktop. You move your cursor to the top left and from there you can see the application file menu.

The draw backs of not including the global drop down menus and file menus of this kind are that a user does not know what to do and where to go, if he/she has no idea about the application or what the application is called that he/she is looking for. But, once you’ve figured it out. You’ll really enjoy working in this environment. The no distraction, full screen application. That being said, we think that Unity still has a long way to go and requires a lot more improvements (evolution) for it to compete with the likes of Gnome or KDE.

Indicator Applets

On the top right, you have the applications that we call, indicator applets. These applets also have gone under some tweaking for them to work with the GTK3. On far right is the power menu.

It gives you all the access to the basic requirements like the system settings, display settings, your startup applications and software update. Another improvement is that it shows you the currently attached devices too, with access to other stuff like Printers and Scanners, within the range of a single click. The Shut Down, hibernate and Log Out menu are also in this power menu. Next up is the user menu which effectively allows you to change a user, change your user accounts as well as your online accounts like Google, etc.

Calendar and Sound Menu remain the same. The network applet has one change where it now shows you the ID of current network device that you are using to connect to the network.

Probably the very first of its kind feature in any operating system which tell you about your associated network devices right within the network manager.

Applications

Like the previous versions of Ubuntu, this release also comes with default pre-installed applications that will cater to your basic needs. They’ve made some changes with the recent releases. We did install some other applications like VLC media player and Chrome browser. But, Ubuntu 11.10 comes with Firefox 7 for browsing and thunderbird 7 for your email. Keeping in mind that thunderbird is a cross platform application and many users already have access to it in their Widows Operating System. Other applications include the Libre Office 3 which is a comprehensive alternative to Microsoft Office. Then we have banshee media player and shotwell photo manager for all your basic photo browsing needs. A quick mention of the Alt+Tab changes. It gives you a quick preview of the application that you are running and also if you have two windows of same application open, it will allow you to preview those too and select between them.

Ubuntu Software Center

This is one of the major improvements in this release of Ubuntu Linux. This major overhaul has made it prettier and more accessible than ever before. Opening the Software Center will definitely give you the look and feel of other software centers like iPhone appstore. There are top rated application, which of course are rated by the Ubuntu Linux users with their reviews too.

This really helps a new user to help install a new application. You can also write a review for an application after installing it to your computer. Open it and you’ll find yourself delved into the sea of really awesome applications.

Ubuntu One

Some nice improvements here too. It is a 5GB free cloud storage system, free for all Ubuntu Linux users. You can also purchase extra space if you want to. It allows you to sync your notes, contacts, documents and anything that you want it to. With a Windows version available, this is a really handy addition to the cloud storage application that have come to Ubuntu Linux.

Verdict

As far as the performance is concerned, this is by far the fastest Ubuntu Linux operating system ever. Login and log out time is much much faster. Boot time has also decreased drastically. This is the most polished release ever by canonical as a lot of bugs have been removed from the previous two releases. I won’t be wrong if I say that from looks and the usability, this is really very closer to the Mac OSx, not to mention Ubuntu is the most developed and refined operating system in the world today. Much more stable and much more coherent, a simple desktop operating system for every user out there.

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Linux Alternatives for Windows Applications [Infographic]

Posted on October 11, 2011 by BitHacker

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How to connect to Remote Windows Computers from Ubuntu Linux

Posted on September 12, 2011 by BitHacker

If you want to learn about how networks operate then Linux is the best choice for this purpose. Networking is the area in which Linux has excelled very fast. Even on a desktop machine you can see how networks work on a fundamental level because Linux puts you directly in contact with this technology. There is a vast integration and support for networking in Linux, using the system tools. Using these tools you can perform any networking related task including accessing a remote computer. Accessing a remote computer comes in handy if you want to perform a task remotely like installing an update and/or you don’t have extra output devices connected to other machine.

In this tutorial we’ll be using the ‘Terminal Server Client’ program that comes installed by default in your Ubuntu Linux.

Terminal Server Client

The Terminal Server Client program (Applications > Internet > Terminal Server Client) is an application that allows you to connect to a variety of remote Desktop server programs and, in particular, Windows 7, Vista, XP, or 2000 computers via the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Unfortunately, Windows XP Home and earlier versions of Windows don’t support RDP connections, which means that they aren’t able to run an RDP server and allow other computers to access their Desktops. Windows Vista Basic and Vista Premium also suffer from this limitation. You can use some other third party applications to overcome that limitation.

Before we continue, please make sure that you’re Windows operating system is configured to allow the incoming connections and also make sure that your user has a password on his/her account. Terminal server requires a password and permission to ‘incoming connections’ in order to connect to the system.

How To Allow ‘Incoming Connections’ on your Windows 7

Click the Start button, right-click Computer, and click Properties.

In the window that appears, click the Remote Settings link on the left side.

In the dialog box that appears, click Allow Connections from Computers Running Any Version of Remote Desktop (Less Secure), and then click Apply.

Please note that these instructions assume that you intend to connect using a Windows administrator username and password. If not, you’ll need to click the Select Users button and add the user accounts you wish to use.

How To Allow ‘Incoming Connections’ on your Windows XP

The following instructions are also valid for Windows 2000 and NT. To configure Windows XP, right-click My Computer and select Properties. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Remote tab, and make sure “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer” is selected. Windows 2000 and NT might need some service pack upgrades for this to work.

Know your Computer’s Name or IP Address

Click on ‘Computer’ in ‘Start Menu’ and you’ll see your computer’s name in the bottom right corner, OR start Run dialog box by pressing WIN+R and then type ‘cmd’ to run the command prompt. In the command prompt type ‘hostname’ and it will show you the name of your computer. For Windows XP, you can see the Computer Name in the ‘Remote’ tab in System Settings too.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Webscopia>hostname
Webscopia-Laptop

C:\Users\Webscopia>

Similarly you can find the IP Address of your Windows machine by typing ‘ipconfig’ command in the command prompt and it will return you something like below:

C:\Users\Gunner>ipconfigWindows IP Configuration

Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::84ae:2db5:2593:3b84%14
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.47.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

If you have more than one Ethernet adapters connected to your computer, you’ll see more than one output at the console. Choose the one which is directly connecting to the LAN or WiFi.

Connect to your Windows Computer Remotely

Now on the Ubuntu computer, click Applications > Internet > Terminal Server Client. When the program is running, in the Computer field, type either the IP address of the machine or its name. You don’t need to type the username, password, or any other details.

Click Connect, and a new window should appear, in which you should see a login prompt. You should then log in to Windows, using the specific username and password.

Windows 7 in Terminal Server Client.

Windows XP in Terminal Server Client.

Remote View of Windows XP in Ubuntu Linux

That’s it, you just connected to your Windows Computer remotely (XP and Windows 7). Remember that this can be done over the internet too, you just need to know the IP Address of the remote computer.

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How to set Windows as default Operating System in Linux Grub Menu

Posted on September 5, 2011 by BitHacker

GRUB (short for GNU GRand Unified Bootloader) is a boot loader package from the GNU Project. GRUB is the reference implementation of the Multiboot bootloader program that allows you to select from different operating systems installed on your computer, in order to boot any one of them. If you followed our previous article of ‘How to install Ubuntu Linux on your computer’, you’d have noticed that Ubuntu installs a menu that shows up at the start, when you turn your computer on.

This menu has set ‘Ubuntu’ as default operating system with a time out of 10 seconds. Which means that if you don’t do anything (select any other OS by pressing up/down arrow keys), it will boot you into Ubuntu Linux. If in any case you want ‘Windows’ to be your default operating system, then follow the steps below.

What you need?

A program called startup manager. This small program will allow you to select your default operating system. With this, you can also tweak some other setting like, changing the time out and resolution of the boot menu.

Install Startup Manager

To install startup manager, go to Applications > ‘Ubuntu Software Center’.

Type ‘startup’ without quotes in the search box and you’ll be shown the ‘Startup Manager’ application. Just click on it and press ‘Install’

Enter the ‘user password’ when prompted, and you’re application will be installed in your computer.

Opening ‘Startup Manager’ and changing boot menu

Go to System > Administration > and select ‘Startup-Manager’

It will analyze your system and then you’ll be shown the program screen

Just select your operating system from the drop down menu of ‘Default Operating System’, you can also change the resolution and the ‘time out’ in seconds too.

Restart your computer and you’ll see ‘Windows’ set as default OS in GRUB menu.

Manual Editing

Since the release of Grub2. The configuration entry for GRUB menu is no more in ‘menu.lst’. It has now shifted to ‘grub.cfg’ file.

Open it with your favorite text editor by the following command and entering the ‘user password’,

:~$ sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Select the Windows entry (you can find it by Ctrl+F, you can see that ‘Windows’ is highlighted) and cut/paste it above the ‘Ubuntu’ entry. Save it and restart your computer.

Caution: Make sure to save a backup of this file before doing any kind of editing.

These steps should help you change the default operating system on your dual OS computer from Linux to Windows.

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How to install Ubuntu Linux on your Computer

Posted on August 26, 2011 by BitHacker

Before you proceed further, I hope you’ve read the previous parts of this series of ours ‘Going Open Source’. We started with ‘Why you should use Linux systems’ and then told you some ‘basics and pre installation steps’ about Ubuntu Linux. In this post, we’ll go through the steps that are required to install Ubuntu Linux on your computer. Everything is very simple and I tried to explain these steps as much as I could. Installing Ubuntu Linux was a dim and distant job in the past, it was sometimes very difficult, but the developers now have it down to a fine art, so it should take only 30 minutes or so on a modern PC. But if you still have a confusion at any step, you can reach me in the comments at the end of the article and I’ll be happy to help you in any way.

Overview

Before we proceed further, you need to download the latest Ubuntu Linux ISO Image file. ISO image files of the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Ubuntu 11.04, which you can burn to a blank CD-R/RW disc by following How to burn an ISO image on CD/DVD or better, you can write these images on your USB Flash Drive which is 40 to 60 % faster than a CD/DVD. If you are a novice user, just download the default version of Ubuntu Linux that comes with ‘Unity’ desktop environment (see other available desktops variants here). The installation program of Ubuntu is a little different from that of Windows. After you’ve booted from the DVD-ROM or USB Flash Drive, a menu will appear. You can choose the Install Ubuntu option, and the CD/DVD will continue booting to a graphical installer. Alternatively, you can choose the ‘Try Ubuntu without installing’ option. This allows you to run Ubuntu from the DVDROM or USB Flash Drive, in which you are actually trying it out without making any changes to your computer. Running Ubuntu Linux from a CD/DVD or a Flash Drive is often referred to as ‘Live mode’. This will be the exact duplication of Ubuntu Linux as you’d have installed it on your computer, just with some minor draw backs. Your performance won’t be the same as it won’t be running from the hard disk so there would be a little delay in data read/write and any changes made to the system (except in case of partition) will be forgotten once you reboot your system. This is where the persistent file comes in handy if you’re trying Ubuntu Linux live from a USB Flash Drive.

Step 1.

If you are installing Ubuntu Linux side by side with your Windows operating system then you should make sure that you perform this step. Scan the disk for errors….

To scan the disk, open Computer, right-click your Windows drive (usually C:\) and select Properties. In the window that appears, click the Tools tab and then click the Check Now button under the Error Checking heading.

Ensure that there’s a check alongside Automatically Fix File System Errors, and click the Start button. You will then be prompted to schedule the disk check the next time your computer restarts. Select to do so and reboot your computer, so the disk check can take place. (Scan disk will start right away, if its not a C:\ drive)

Make sure that Windows is shut down correctly. (Do not hibernate.)

Step 2.

Now when you’ll restart your system, you need to boot it from the CD/DVD OR the USB Flash Drive of Ubuntu Linux . If you don’t know how to write a USB Flash Drive with bootable Ubuntu Linux and then booting from it, then please refer to our previous article on ‘How to create a bootable USB Flash Drive of Ubuntu Linux’ because that is what we’ll be following in this article.

Step 3. Install Ubuntu

When you’ll boot your Ubuntu Linux from USB Flash Drive, you’ll be taken to the UnetBootIn menu. By default, it would be on ‘Default’, there are options like ‘Try Ubuntu Without Installing’ and ‘Install Ubuntu’ too.

Try Ubuntu without installing: This option lets you run Ubuntu “live” from the USB Flash Drive, so you can try out its features, albeit in a slightly limited state. If you’ve never seen Ubuntu up and running, choose this option and play around. To install Ubuntu Linux once you’ve booted into ‘Live Mode’, just double click on the ‘Install Ubuntu 11.04’ icon on the desktop.

Install Ubuntu: This will start Ubuntu’s installation routine. Choose this if you want to get straight on with installing Ubuntu on your PC now.

Step 3. Choose your language

Choose ‘Install Ubuntu’ and hit ‘Enter’. It will show you the booting screen of Ubuntu Linux 11.04.

Next it will boot you into the main screen of Installation procedure. It will automatically connect you to the internet (via LAN or WIFI) it will . Choose your Language, often ‘English’ and press ‘Forward’.

Step 4. Preparation

This next step will prepare you for the installation.

You have to have at least 4.7GB space available but as we discussed in our previous article, it’s better that you have at least 10GB space available.
You are plugged into a power source, if you are using a laptop. In case, you run out of battery during the installation process, you’ll have to start over again and you might loose some important data too if you are in the middle of partitioning your hard drive.
Connection to the internet is required if you check the option ‘Download Updates while installing’. In case you’re not connected to the internet, updates can always be downloaded when you are done with the installation.
Next up, do check the ‘Install Third Party Software’, this will allow you to play some proprietary media files like mp3s. Click ‘Forward’ in the end.

Step 5. Choosing and partitioning your hard disk

On the next screen, you’ll be given the option to Partition your hard disk. If you have no operating system installed on your machine, you’ll see a screen like the following. You can safely choose ‘Erase disk and Install Ubuntu’ If there is no data on your hard drive because choosing this option will erase your entire hard disk and will create partitions that are suitable for Ubuntu Linux. So be careful at this step.

but if you have a Windows operating system installed you’ll see a screen as below. It will detect your operating system be it ‘Windows XP Professional’, ‘Windows Vista’ or ‘Windows 7’.

You can choose ‘Install Ubuntu alongside Microsoft Windows (whatever your version is), this will calculate the free space and will install Ubuntu alongside your current operating system and you don’t have to worry about the partitioning your hard disk.
Second option, ‘Replace Microsoft Windows with Ubuntu’ will of course, delete your Windows Installation.
Third option is a little bit advanced, it allows you to repartition or resize your hard disk and we’ll cover that in another article.

Choose the first option and click ‘Forward’, it will calculate the space and will come up with best configuration possible. In my case, I had a 40GB hard drive with Windows XP Professional installed on it. It detected my Windows operating system and size of the hard disk and showed me the best configuration. Now it will automatically resize the Windows partition to 21.8GB and then make another 21.2GB partition for Ubuntu Linux. This process is seamless and you don’t have to do anything here. (The installer will take as much space as Ubuntu needs, without shrinking the existing partition too much.)

In case you want to give your Windows partition more space, you can drag the divider to the right side and it will allocate that space to the Windows partition. If you think there is not enough space on your hard disk, you can reboot your computer, go into Windows and remove some files, see our previous article on how to free up some space. You can also resize your Windows Partition inside Windows if you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Keep in mind that at this stage, it is not committing any changes to the hard disk. This is just an visual overview. Once you are done with the changes, click on ‘Install Now’ button. This will ask you to confirm your changes, click ‘Continue’ to move forward or ‘Go Back’ to make the changes again.

Warning: Once you click on ‘Continue’, it will commit the changes, partition your hard disk and you’ll not be able to undo that.So double check your changes and then click on ‘Continue’.

Step 6. Keyboard Layout and Location

Now that the installation is underway, Ubuntu will next ask you to choose your time zone and then keyboard layout. (They’ll be in separate screens but I’ve put ‘em in one step to save space and time.) If your PC is already connected to the Internet, Ubuntu may already have detected your location correctly. You can select your time zone manually by clicking your location on the world map that’s displayed or by selecting the nearest city from the dropdown lists at the base of the page.

Similarly, your keyboard layout should correspond to your language and locale settings, and will be automatically selected, so you can just click the Forward button.

Step 7. Setting up a user

Next you’ll be prompted to say who you are and choose the name you want to use to log in. In answer to the question Your Name? you can enter the name by which you’ll be formally identified on

the system to anyone who uses it. Next is your computer’s name by which it would be identified on the network. Give it something understandable so that you’ll be able to identify it, if you are accessing it from another computer in a network. Next, you’ll be asked for the name you want to use to log in. This username needs to be unique; users on the same computer cannot have the same username. Also, it must follow these rules:
• The username should be one word without any spaces in it.

• You can choose any username consisting of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers, but not symbols or punctuation.

• The username cannot begin with an uppercase letter, although you can use uppercase in the rest of the name.

Next choose a good password, a combination of Upper and Lower case letters with numbers. For example, ‘W3bsc0p1A’. This password is ‘Good’ and easy to remember. You can also use special characters in your password too, to make it stronger. You can also choose to encrypt your ‘Home Folder’, in that case it won’t be accessible from outside without giving a password.

Step 8. Import documents and settings from Windows Operating System

The next step is to migrate accounts by importing documents and settings of existing user accounts from your Windows partition to Ubuntu. (This screen won’t come if you’re installing Ubuntu on a fresh hard disk or have chosen to overwrite your Windows partition.) This is certainly a handy feature to be offered by the installer but then again, there is no point in importing if you have a large amount of data, such as music and video, stored on your Windows partition. You would be merely duplicating large amounts of data on the same disk, which makes no sense given as your Windows partition will be accessible from your new Ubuntu system.

Click ‘Forward’ after every step and by the time you are done with these screens, your installation procedure should be finished. All this time it was busy ‘Resizing your partitions’, ‘Copying files’, ‘Updating your system’ (if you were connected to internet), ‘Configuring Hardware’ and ‘Installing System’. At the end, it will install GRUB, the boot loader on your hard disk, that will allow you to choose between ‘Windows and Ubuntu Linux’ to boot from. Ubuntu Linux in the meanwhile will be showing you some introductory screens.

Once the installation is complete, it will show you a dialog box asking you to restart your computer. Remove any installation media (in this case we had a USB Flash Drive) and click on ‘Restart’.

Step 9. Bootloader Screen

Upon the reboot you’ll be greeted with the GRUB screen. This is a bootloader which detectes all the operating systems in your hard disk and displays them accordingly and as you can see there are options for ‘Ubuntu Linux’ and ‘Windows XP Professional’. Choose the first default option ‘Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-generic’ to start Ubuntu Linux. (2.6.38-8 is the version of Linux kernel)

Step 10. Login Screen

You’ll be presented with a login screen, just click on the username that you created during the installation procedure, enter the password, and click on ‘Login’

By following the steps in this article, you should now have Ubuntu installed on your computer.

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Installing Ubuntu – Basics and Pre Installation Steps

Posted on August 19, 2011 by BitHacker

Following our previous post, ‘Why you should use Linux Systems‘, I’m sure you’ll be convinced on trying out a Linux System/Distribution on your computer. This article is second in our series of ‘Going Open-Source’ and I’ll be taking you through the steps of Installing Ubuntu Linux on your laptop or PC.

Ubuntu is the best Linux distribution for desktops. Since it is Linux: it is stable and secure; it is derived from Debian, so it is free, open source, and has a lot of applications available; and it is Ubuntu, a distribution oriented to human beings. It is beautiful and has that ‘wow’ factor which I’m sure your friends will be really surprised to see. Why do I use Ubuntu Linux? Well, you can follow this guide to know more about Ubuntu Linux.

Since most computers in the world run Windows, but there are very few people that install Windows themselves. They have no need to, because almost every computer you can buy comes with Windows pre-installed. Five years ago, there weren’t many companies that were selling new computers pre-loaded with Ubuntu or any other Linux Distribution (Flavor). But now, apart from Dell and HP, who are shipping their inexpensive net-books pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux , there are a lot of companies (Official List) that ship computers pre-installed with the latest version of Ubuntu.

So in case you’re reading this article and you haven’t bought a computer yet, I suggest you check with your local vendor and get yourself an Ubuntu Laptop, it would be a lot cheaper than the one that comes with Windows 7 Home Premium. Here is a more comprehensive list of the vendors who sell hardware pre-installed with Linux Systems.

Now, for most of us, getting Ubuntu means installing it for ourselves. This can seem a daunting prospect if you haven’t done it before. However, Ubuntu makes this job as easy as it’s possible to be. Its installation routines are very advanced compared to previous versions of Linux and even compared to other current distributions.

If I have convinced you to try Ubuntu Linux, let me be your guide on your first steps.

Partitioning

For this guide, I’ll be assuming that your PC already has Windows installed on it. This won’t present a problem, actually. In most cases, Ubuntu can live happily alongside Windows in what’s called a dual-boot setup, which enables you to choose which operating system to run at your computer’s startup. This is exactly what we’ll be doing, installing Ubuntu Linux side by side with your Windows Operating System.

The main issue with such a situation is that Windows needs to shrink and make some space available for Ubuntu (unless you install it on a second hard disk, or using a virtualization technique). Remember that Ubuntu Linux is an Operating System just like Windows therefore Ubuntu needs its own separately defined part of the disk, which is referred to as a partition. Hence, partitioning your hard disk will allow us to make some room for the Ubuntu Linux. All of this can be handled automatically by the Ubuntu installation routine, but it’s important that you know what is actually happening when you’ll be installing your new operating system. So, even if you intend to install Ubuntu on a completely blank hard disk, it’s still important that you understand partitioning.

Viewing Partitions on your computer

You can view your disk’s partitions by using the Disk Management tool in any version of Windows by following this method:

Right Clicking Computer in Start Menu and selecting Manage. This brings up the Computer Management. Then select Disk Management under Storage.

Disk Management Tool

Pressing WIN+R and typing 'diskmgmt.msc' without quotes and hitting ENTER.

Start Disk Manager Using Runbox

Most desktop PC systems have just one partition, unless the user has specifically created additional partitions.

One Partition on the Disk

Recovery Partition on the Hard Disk

Some laptops come with a recovery partition as it contains files that will recover your Windows operating system in case something goes wrong. Though its quite tempting to delete that partition and get some extra space, make sure you have Windows Recovery Disks before you delete that partition. As mentioned, Ubuntu needs a partition of its own. During installation Ubuntu will shrink the main Windows partition and create two new partitions: one for the operating system and an extra one to hold the swap file.

In addition, the Ubuntu installation routine writes a new boot sector which is located at the very beginning of the disk and contains a smanother program that lets you choose between operating systems (and therefore partitions) when you first boot up.

Now, since Ubuntu cannot shrink a partition that is full with data, we need to make sure that there is some free space on your drive so that Ubuntu may claim that free space.

Freeing Up Space on your Hard Drive

Ubuntu Linux requires minimum of 3GB space to get installed, this 3GB is a bare minimum (lowest) requirement in case you don’t have enough space on your hard disk. In ideal situation, you should free up at least 10GB of space for it to run smoothly and to make some roam for the applications you’ll be installing in your Ubuntu operating system. Your other options, other than freeing up space are of course, using another hard disk or ‘Stop Using Windows’ and removing it completely.

To see how much space you’ve left on your drives, you can Open ‘My Computer’ and see the bar under the drive. In older Windows, you can Right Click on a drive and Select Properties to see the ‘Free and Used’ Space.

Free Space Bar in Windows 7

Partition Properties in Windows XP - Free Space

You can use different methods to free up space from your computer:

Run Disk Cleanup: Start > Computer and right-click the icon representing your hard disk.
Select ‘Properties’ from the menu that appears and then click the ‘Disk Cleanup’ button.

Disk Cleanup Tool

Turn Off System Restore: Start > right-click Computer in the menu. Select Properties and click the System Protection link on the left of the window that appears. In Windows 7, select the drive (usually C:) for which you want to deactivate System Restore and click Configure. Select Turn Off System Protection in the window which appears, and confirm your change by clicking OK here and in the underlying System Protection window.

How to turn off 'System Restore' in Windows 7

Uninstall/Remove Stuff: Consider uninstalling unused software via the Add/Remove Programs applet within Control Panel. If you have any large games installed, consider removing them first, because they usually take up substantial amounts of hard disk space. You may also consider deleting movies that you’ve already seen and they are lying there eating up valuable space on your hard drive.

Backup Your Data

You don’t need to backup your data ONLY if you just bought your computer, in this case there is nothing on it valuable to you. So you don’t need to save anything. In all other cases, you should think of backing up your data. Even if you think you don’t have important stuff on your computer there is stuff that is useful for you to use later. Such examples are, bookmarks on different browsers, extensions that you’ve installed in browsers (its a headache to go through the installing process again). Use this guide to backup your firefox and chrome profiles. For other forms of data, like documents, emails and images you can either write them on a DVD or use a portable hard disk. Portable hard drives are fast, reliable and are easier to carry without worrying a data loss.

This article was an effort to familiarize you with the basics of the installation process. Now you know what will be the procedure happening when your hard disk will be partitioned and what steps you should take to free up some space and backup your data. In the next article, I’ll give you full step by step procedure to the installation of Ubuntu Linux.

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