• Lesson 1. Installing Linux in LiveCD mode
• Lesson 2. Installation options for Linux and Windows
• Lesson 3. The GNOME desktop environment
• Lesson 4. Customising GNOME
• Lesson 5. Installing and deleting packages
• Lesson 6. Configuring the network
• Lesson 7. Partitioning and mounting HDD partitions
• Lesson 8. File Manager
• Lesson 9. Archiving files
• Lesson 10. Launching Windows applications
• Test

Lesson 1. Installing Linux in LiveCD mode

:: 1. Preparing for installation :: 2. Starting the installation :: 3. Preparing the disks ::
:: 4. How do I partition the drives? :: 5. Partitioning the drive :: 6. Final steps :: Summary of the main points ::

You will learn how to:

• Install the Linux family Ubuntu operating system in LiveCD mode.
• Partition the hard disk using a utility included with the Ubuntu package.

Like any other operating system, Ubuntu should be installed on the hard disk. For greater convenience an option is often provided for when the user loads this operating system from the compact disk (in LiveCD mode). In this case he has the option of evaluating the new system without installing it on the hard disk.

This lesson covers the installation of the Ubuntu operating system from the Linux family in LiveCD mode. Advice is given on partitioning the hard drive into logical partitions.

Note: depending on the version of the Linux Ubuntu operating system, the installation interface may vary from the screenshots shown in this lesson (this lesson was produced using Ubuntu 8.04.1).

1. Preparing for installation

Preparation consists of directly booting up the OS from the compact disk (CD or DVD).

• At the very start of the process of booting up the computer go into BIOS using the necessary keystrokes (usually Del or F2) and establish the first boot device as CD or DVD device (usually the item corresponding to this is called first device or boot device, and is located on the Boot partition). Note that the BIOS menu structure may vary on different computers (see instructions for your computer's mother board).
  This part is necessary to avoid booting up the old operating system (if of course there is one) from the hard disk.
• Insert the CD or DVD.
• Exit BIOS, saving the settings (usually it is sufficient to press the Esc key and then confirm that you wish to save the settings). This will cause the computer to restart.
• On the Startup menu choose the topmost option:

This will cause the Ubuntu OS to be loaded in LiveCD mode in a few minutes. Its interface is in many ways similar to that of the Windows OS.

Note: LiveCD mode allows you to load the OS from the compact disk without installing it on the computer's hard drive, for the purpose of familiarisation, creating a recovery disk or graphic installation of this OS onto the hard drive.

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2. Starting the installation

In the OS loaded from the disk you can familiarise yourself with the Ubuntu, interface and settings, the functionality of its base applications, but any setting changes and documents created and saved on the Linux file system will be lost on restarting. For optimal working with Ubuntu, it should be installed on the computer.

The various stages of installing Ubuntu will now be discussed. Note that in the different versions of the OS these stages may be slightly modified.

• To install Ubuntu on the disc, double-click on the Install icon located on the desktop:

This will start the step-by-step installation process (wizard) of the OS in Russian.
• In the first window the installation language must be chosen. Obviously this will be English, (which nevertheless is the default selection):

• Thus simply click the Forward key :

• The second window is intended for selecting the time zone. Click either on the red marker with a city in your time zone (the major cities of the world are shown on the map):

• or select a city of your choice from the Selected city drop down menu:

• Note that the time differences are selected according to Greenwich Mean Time. After choosing the time zone click the Forward button.
• In the Keyboard Layout window choose from the left hand list United Kingdom (ie the keyboard layout supporting UK English):

• and from the right — United Kingdom — International (with dead keys):

• This allows you to use the fullest layout.

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3. Preparing the disks

An important step when installing the system is the correct division of the hard disk into partitions (logical drives). How this subdivision is done is a matter of personal preference and depends on one's objectives. You must specify how much disk space to reserve for the OS and how much for data storage, as well as providing for the possible installation of another OS (for example, Windows).

• The next window Prepare disk space serves to indicate which disk to use for the OS, as well as dividing it into partitions showing the size and type of file system (ext3 or fat32) of each partition. Choose the Manual option for more flexible management of disk space and click Forward.

• Note: if several physical drives are present in the Guided option their numbers (in order of connection to the computer bus) and size will appear.
  If a physical drive is connected to the computer, but is not in the list, then the computer should be turned off and either the quality of the drive's physical connection or the correctness of its selection in BIOS (when of course connected to the computer) should be checked.
  If you have multiple physical disks, you can select Guided and install the OS on the entire selected drive, without partitioning it.
  This will bring up the disk partition dialog box with a list of physical drives connected to the computer.
  Note: the case of a single physical drive installed on the computer will be discussed below.

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4. How do I partition the drives?

Two partitions are necessary for the Linux operating system, which it is recommended to place on a single physical drive, with the following file systems (hereafter FS):

• ext3, the FS for the Linux OS family. All Linux applications are installed here;
• swap is the FS serving as a swap space for the Linux OS family. The purpose of this partition is to store temporary data which will not fit into RAM (in the Windows OS this function is served by the swap file).

When partitioning a disk you should know which FS are compatible and which are not. The following diagram shows the compatibility of the most well-known FS:

Thus the fat32 file system can be detected by the Linux OS as well as the Windows, but the ext3 and NTFS file systems are basically incompatible but can "see" each other if special utilities are used. Also, the following rules on OS/FS interoperability should be observed:

• Linux is only installed on ext3;
• Windows 95 and 98 OS are only installed on fat32;
• NTFS file system is recommended for the installation of Windows XP and Vista OS.

Taking the above into account, we will describe the three recommended schemes for partitioning the hard drive given a single hard disk:

Schematic description:

• a) recommended, if the machine will only be running Linux. The size of the hard disk is preferably not less than 20 GB.
  b) recommended if the machine will be running Linux and, if necessary, Windows 95 or 98. The fat32 partition serves as a storage space for other information or for the installation of Windows. This drive can also be connected to another computer running Windows. In this case only the partition with fat32 will be seen. The size of a hard disk using this scheme is preferably not less than 40GB.
  c) recommended if the machine will be running Linux OS and Windows XP or Vista. The partition depicted by a yellow box can be unformatted or have fat32 for a later conversion to NTFS using a utility included with the distribution of Windows. The fat32 partition serves as a storage space for other information accessible by Linux as well as Windows. The size of a hard disk using this scheme is preferably not less than 60GB.

Note: if multiple physical drives are present the partitions may be shared between the drives as desired.

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5. Partitioning the drive

At this point we will partition the drive in accordance with scheme b) of the preceding paragraph:

• To create a disk partition table select the line with the physical disk and click the New partition table button. The partition table is part of the Master Boot Record (MBR). It contains information on all the disk partitions. Logical partitions can now be created on the disk:

• Below the physical drive designation the subsection free space appears, which is what we will be working with.
• Create a partition for Linux with the ext3 file system format (the type of file system used by the Linux operating system family. This FS is not supported by Windows, but can accessed by it using third-party utilities). To do so, select the line on the partition table and click New partition. A window appears with the settings for the new partition:

• In the option New partition size in megabytes enter the amount of disk space for the new OS. A desirable partition size for Linux is upwards of 10000 MB.
  The option Location for the new partition indicates whether the partition is to be created at the beginning or the end of the drive.
  In the option Use as, the type of file system of the new partition is shown. For Linux this will be ext3.
  The Mount point option shows the mount point of the logical partition. For a system disk this must be a backslash and the starting point of the Linux file structure (in Windows, for example, this is c:).
  After assigning the parameters of the new partition click ОК. The new partition will appear (/dev/sda1):

• Note that the table shows the logical partition's FS type, mount point, size and need for formatting (indicated by the tick box ). If, after creating the partition, any free space remains on the physical medium, then the line free space (the amount of free space indicated in the Size) column) appears below; having selected this, you can continue to create more partitions.
  Note: formatting partitions which were present before the installation of Linux will lead to a loss of any information located on them, while for newly created partitions, formatting is automatically required.
• Create a swap partition for Linux with the swap file system format. To do so, select the free space line on the partition table and click New partition. In the now familiar dialog box specify that a partition with the swap FS and a size of no less than 256 MB is to be located after the first partition:

• This will cause a second logical drive to be created:

• Note: the swap partition is not formatted.
• Create a partition with the fat32 file system format, which will occupy all the remaining space. To do so, as in the previous cases, select the free space line and click New partition line and click fat32 FS and the mount point. The figure determining the remaining free space is automatically inserted:

• Note that the mount point is a directory in Linux where the file structure of the logical drive is located. Linux developers recommend that all mount points be created in the mnt directory, but this is not in the least obligatory and a mount point can be for example /windows.

We have now finished formatting the disk:

Note that in Linux the two outer drives will be visible. The operating system swap partition does not appear.

Now click Forward and wait for the drive formatting process to finish.

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6. Final steps

• The (Who are you?) window, appearing upon completion of the drive formatting, is for entering personal information. The upper two fields are for entering your name and login (system log-on name). By default they are identical:

• For access to important system settings, enter the password (administrator password) twice:

• Click Forward, and then, in the Ready to install window that appears, click Install. Now sit back and wait for the installation to finish (40-60 mins):

• Ubuntu informs you when the installation is finished with the Installation complete window.
• Restart the computer. To do so select the Restart now option:

• Upon restarting, go into BIOS and set the hard disk as the primary boot device. Next, exit from BIOS saving the parameters and wait for Ubuntu to load up. With this the basic installation is complete.

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Summary of the main points

• Ubuntu can be installed in LiveCD mode. In this mode you can familiarise yourself with the basic resources of the OS.
• The installation of Ubuntu takes place in a step-by-step mode with a description of each step in English.
• If Ubuntu is to occupy the whole hard drive then at the step Preparing disk space the Guided option and the necessary hard drive should be selected. Otherwise the physical disk should be partitioned by selecting Manual.
• The Linux OS family uses the ext3 file system.
• The mount point is a directory in Linux from which the disk structure will be visible. For a system drive this point is a backslash.
• The ext3 and NTFS file systems are incompatible. There are special utilities to allow one FS to "see" another.
• Personal data must consist of Latin symbols. The Linux OS family is also case-sensitive.

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