How to Install Ubuntu Linux on Your Computer: Part 2, Try Ubuntu No-Risk With a Live CD

If the idea of installing an entirely new operating system without first trying it out concerns you, this tutorial is for you.  Ubuntu provides a way for you to preview what the OS is like without ever having to save anything to your hard drive or make any changes through the Live CD option.

If you're wondering why you would want to install another operating system on your computer, check out my previous post.


The Ubuntu Live CD is a bootable CD-ROM that allows you to either preview the Ubuntu experience or install the entire OS to your hard drive.  Here are a few factoids about the Ubuntu Live CD:

• The Ubuntu Live CD is the same thing as the operating system installation disk
• The Ubuntu Live CD is FREE.  If you find it somewhere and they are charging for it, you are getting scammed.
• The Ubuntu Live CD works on most but not all hardware configurations.  That means desktop and laptop computers with a CD-ROM drive.
• You can not make any changes to the Live CD, you must install Ubuntu to your hard drive if you want to start using the OS to store information.
• You can connect to the internet and browse the web with the Live CD provided that it supports your computer hardware.
• The Live CD is small enough to fit on a CD-R disk (but will work on a DVD-R disk as well).

A couple of unique uses for the Ubuntu Live CD:

• Use the Live CD to access your Windows files when you can not log in or boot your Windows OS.
• Install the Live CD onto an USB flash drive for a portable OS you can use on many different computers while traveling.
• Browse the internet on a computer covertly without leaving any evidence on the hard drive of the computer you are using.

Step 1, Download Ubuntu

To get started downloading Ubuntu, head on over to the Ubuntu website and download the desktop ISO: http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download 

Step 2, Burn the Ubuntu ISO to a writable CD

Insert a blank CD-R into your computer and open your CD burning program.  Select the Ubuntu ISO file and burn it to the disk.  If you don't know how to use a program you already have to burn the ISO, Ubuntu has a guide using an open source program: Infra Recorder

1. 
   
   

   Download and install Infra Recorder, a free and open-source image-burning program.

2. 
   
   

   Insert a blank CD in the drive and select Do nothing orCancel if an autorun dialog box pops up.

3. 
   
   

   Open Infra Recorder and click the 'Write Image' button in the main screen.

   - Alternatively you can select the 'Actions' menu, then 'Burn image'.

4. 
   
   

   Select the Ubuntu CD image file you want to use, then click 'Open'.

5. 
   
   

   In the dialog box, click 'OK'.

Step 3, Reboot

Once you have your ISO burn to your CD, reboot your computer and make sure you new Ubuntu CD is in your CD-ROM drive.  Most computers are set up to boot from a CD-ROM drive before your hard drive, but if you start booting into Windows, you will need to change your computer BIOS to boot from a CD first.

Step 4, Give Ubuntu a try

Select "Try Ubuntu" when you are prompted.  Ubuntu will load from the CD and you should be up in running in a minute or two.  If you like what you see, you can install Ubuntu to your hard drive.  Next time, we'll talk about how to install Ubuntu without making any changes to your current OS, allowing you to boot into either Windows or Ubuntu.