Install Ubuntu Desktop On Windows

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This tutorial will guide you on how you can perform the installation of Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 18.10, or Ubuntu 18.04 in dual-boot with a Microsoft Operating System on machines that come pre-installed with Windows 10.

Unity (The Default Desktop) sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop. NOTE: If you’re using Ubuntu 16.04 or higher, you can use the “apt” command instead of “apt-get”: sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop KDE. If you’re using Ubuntu 16.04 or higher, you’ll need to add the PPA for KDE first: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports. Option 1: Try before you install. When you boot from your Ubuntu media (whether it’s CD, DVD, or flash drive), you get two options: Try Ubuntu and Install Ubuntu. Select Try Ubuntu. This loads the operating system directly into RAM, without writing anything to your hard drive. You can try it out, experiment with the bundled applications, and surf the web.

This guide assumes that your machine comes pre-installed with Windows 10 OS or an older version of Microsoft Windows, such as Windows 8.1 or 8.

In case your hardware uses UEFI then you should modify the EFI settings and disable Secure Boot feature.

If your computer has no other Operating System already installed and you plan to use a Windows variant alongside Ubuntu, you should first install Microsoft Windows and then proceed with Ubuntu installation.

In this particular case, on Windows installation steps, when formatting the hard disk, you should allocate a free space on the disk with at least 20 GB in size in order use it later as a partition for Ubuntu installation.

Requirements

Download Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 18.10, or Ubuntu 18.04 ISO Image as per your system architecture using following link:

Step 1: Prepare Windows Machine for Dual-Boot

1. The first thing you need to take care is to create a free space on the computer hard disk in case the system is installed on a single partition.

Login to your Windows machine with an administrative account and right click on the Start Menu->Command Prompt (Admin) in order to enter Windows Command Line.

2. Once in CLI, type diskmgmt.msc on prompt and the Disk Management utility should open. From here, right click on C: partition and select Shrink Volume in order to resize the partition.

Shrink Volume to Resize Windows Partition

3. On Shrink C: enter a value on space to shrink in MB (use at least 20000 MB depending on the C: partition size) and hit Shrink to start partition resize as illustrated below (the value of space shrink from below image is lower and only used for demonstration purposes).

Once the space has been resized you will see a new unallocated space on the hard drive. Leave it as default and reboot the computer in order to proceed with Ubuntu installation.

Windows Partition for Dual Boot Ubuntu Installation

Step 2: Install Ubuntu with Windows Dual-Boot

4. For the purpose of this article, We will be installing Ubuntu 19.04 alongside with Windows dual boot (you can use any Ubuntu release fro installation). Go the download link from the topic description and grab Ubuntu Desktop 19.04 ISO image.

Burn the image to a DVD or create a bootable USB stick using a utility such as Universal USB Installer (BIOS compatible) or Rufus (UEFI compatible).

Place the USB stick or DVD in the appropriate drive, reboot the machine and instruct the BIOS/UEFI to boot-up from the DVD/USB by pressing a special function key (usually F12, F10 or F2 depending on the vendor specifications).

Once the media boot-up a new grub screen should appear on your monitor. From the menu select Install Ubuntu and hit Enter to continue.

5. After the boot media finishes loading into RAM you will end-up with a completely functional Ubuntu system running in live-mode.

On the Launcher hit on the second icon from top, Install Ubuntu 19.04 LTS, and the installer utility will start. Choose the language you wish to perform the installation and click on Continue button to proceed further.

Select Ubuntu Installation Language

6. Next, choose the first option “Normal Installation” and hit on Continue button again.

7. Now it’s time to select an Installation Type. You can choose to Install Ubuntu alongside Windows Boot Manager, option that will automatically take care of all the partition steps.

Use this option if you don’t require personalized partition scheme. In case you want a custom partition layout, check the Something else option and hit on Continue button to proceed further.

The option Erase disk and install Ubuntu should be avoided on dual-boot because is potentially dangerous and will wipe out your disk.

Select Ubuntu Installation Type

8. On this step we’ll create our custom partition layout for Ubuntu. On this guide will recommend that you create two partitions, one for root and the other for home accounts data and no partition for swap (use a swap partition only if you have limited RAM resources or you use a fast SSD).

To create the first partition, the root partition, select the free space (the shrink space from Windows created earlier) and hit on the + icon below. On partition settings use the following configurations and hit OK to apply changes:

  1. Size = at least 20000 MB
  2. Type for the new partition = Primary
  3. Location for the new partition = Beginning
  4. Use as = EXT4 journaling file system
  5. Mount point = /

Root Partition Settings

Create the home partition using the same steps as above. Use all the available free space left for home partition size. The partition settings should look like this:

  1. Size = all remaining free space
  2. Type for the new partition = Primary
  3. Location for the new partition = Beginning
  4. Use as = EXT4 journaling file system
  5. Mount point = /home

9. When finished, hit the Install Now button in order to apply changes to disk and start the installation process.

A pop-up window should appear to inform you about swap space. Ignore the alert by pressing on Continue button.

Next a new pop-up window will ask you if you agree with committing changes to disk. Hit Continue to write changes to disk and the installation process will now start.

Confirm Partition Changes

10. On the next screen adjust your machine physical location by selecting a city nearby from the map. When done hit Continue to move ahead.

11. Pick up a username and password for your administrative sudo account, enter a descriptive name for your computer and hit Continue to finalize the installation.

This are all the settings required for customizing Ubuntu installation. From here on the installation process will run automatically until it reaches the end.

Create Ubuntu User Account

12. After the installation process reaches its end hit on Restart Now button in order to complete the installation.

The machine will reboot into the Grub menu, where for ten seconds, you will be presented to choose what OS you wish to use further: Ubuntu 19.04 or Microsoft Windows.

Ubuntu is designated as default OS to boot from. Thus, just press Enter key or wait for those 10 seconds timeout to drain.

Ubuntu Installation Completed

13. After Ubuntu finishes loading, login with the credentials created during the installation process and enjoy it. Ubuntu provides NTFS file system support automatically so you can access the files from Windows partitions just by clicking on the Windows volume.

Ubuntu Login Screen

That’s it! In case you need to switch back to Windows, just reboot the computer and select Windows from the Grub menu.

If you want to install some additional software packages and customize Ubuntu, then read our article Top 20 Things to Do After Ubuntu Installation.

Learn how to download and install Ubuntu Linux on Windows 10 in such a way that it won’t harm Windows. Using this method Ubuntu Linux will only run when you tell it to and it doesn’t require any special partitioning of your disks.

This installation method requires you to download a piece of software called VirtualBox from Oracle which allows you to run other operating systems as virtual computers on top of your current operating system, including Windows 10.

What You Will Need

In order to install Ubuntu Linux on Windows 10 you will need to download the following applications:

Steps Required to Run Ubuntu Linux on Windows 10

  1. Download Oracle Virtualbox
  2. Download Ubuntu
  3. Download Virtualbox Guest Additions
  4. Install Virtualbox
  5. Create an Ubuntu virtual machine
  6. Install Ubuntu
  7. Install Virtualbox Guest Additions

What About Windows 7 and Windows 8 Users?

There are also some alternative guides for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users installing Ubuntu Linux.

Download Oracle Virtualbox

Download Virtualbox by clicking on the large download button in the middle of the screen.

Choose 32-Bit or 64-Bit

To find out whether you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit system click on the Windows start button and search for PC Info.

The screen that appears tells you lots of useful information about your computer such as the amount of RAM, the processor, and the current operating system.

The most important part, however, is the system type which as you can see from the image shows that my system is 64-bit. Using the same technique you can work out which system type your computer is.

Download Ubuntu

There are two versions of Ubuntu available:

  1. Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS
  2. Ubuntu 15.04 (soon to be Ubuntu 15.10)

Ubuntu 14.04 is for people who don’t want to upgrade their operating system every 6 months. The support period has a number of years to run and therefore it really is a case of installing it and getting on with your life.

Ubuntu 15.04, 15.10 and beyond are the latest releases and have more up to date developments which aren’t available in 14.04. The downside is that the support period is much shorter at just 9 months. The upgrade process isn’t a big deal but obviously requires more effort than just installing 14.04 and leaving it.

There is a big download link next to both versions and it is up to you whether you want to install 14.04 or 15.04 and beyond. The installation process doesn’t really change.

Download Virtualbox Guest Additions

The guest additions make it possible to run the Ubuntu virtual machine in full-screen mode at a suitable resolution.

There are a lot of links on this page. Click on the link that matches the version of Virtualbox you downloaded previously.

When the next page opens click on the link for VBoxGuestAdditions.iso (There will be a version number as part of the link i.e. VBoxGuestAdditions_5_0_6.iso).

How to Install VirtualBox

Press the start button and search for Downloads. Click on the link to the Downloads file folder.

When the downloads folder opens click on the Virtualbox application file you downloaded earlier on.

The Virtualbox setup wizard will begin. Click Next to start the installation.

Where to Install Virtualbox

The next screen lets you choose the Virtualbox installation options.

There is absolutely no reason not to choose the defaults unless you want to choose a different installation location in which case click on ​Browse and navigate to where you want to install Virtualbox.

Create VirtualBox Desktop Icons

You now have the option to create shortcuts, either on the desktop and/or the quick launch bar and whether to register file associations such as VDI files to Virtualbox.

It is up to you whether you want to create shortcuts. Windows 10 is really easy to navigate with the powerful search button so you might decide not to bother creating either of the shortcuts.

Virtualbox Warns About Resetting Your Network Connection

A warning will appear stating that your network connection will temporarily be reset. If this is a problem to you right now then click No and come back to the guide at a later stage otherwise click Yes.

Install VirtualBox

You are finally at the point of installing Virtualbox. Click the Install button.

A security message will appear asking whether you are sure you wish to install Virtualbox and halfway through the install you will be asked whether you want to install the Oracle Universal Serial Bus device software. Click Install.

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Create a Ubuntu Virtual Machine

You can start Virtualbox simply by leaving the Start Oracle VM Virtualbox after installation checked and clicking Finish or for future reference click the Start button and search for VirtualBox.

Choose the Type of Virtual Machine

Give your machine a name. It is a good idea to go for the Linux distribution name (i.e. Ubuntu) and the version number (14.04, 15.04, 15.10 etc).

Select Linux as the type and Ubuntu as the version. Make sure you choose the correct version based on whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit machine.

How Much Memory Do You Give Your Virtual Machine

You now have to choose how much of your computer’s memory you will assign to the virtual machine.

You cannot assign all of your computer’s memory to the virtual machine as you need to leave enough for Windows to continue running as well as any other programs that you have running within Windows.

The minimum you should consider assigning to Ubuntu is 2 gigabytes which ​are 2048 MB. The more you can give the better but don’t go overboard. As you can see I have 8 gigabytes of memory and I have assigned 4 gigabytes to the Ubuntu virtual machine.

Note that the amount of memory you set aside is only used while the virtual machine is running.

Slide the slider to the amount you want to assign and click Next.

Create a Virtual Hard Drive

After assigning memory to the virtual machine you now have to set aside some hard drive space. Select the Create a virtual hard disk now option and click Create.

There are a number of different hard drive types that you can choose from. Choose VDI and click Next.

There are two ways to create the virtual hard drive:

If you choose dynamically allocated it will only use space as it is required. So if you set 20 gigabytes aside for the virtual hard drive and only 6 is required then only 6 will be used. As you install more applications the extra space will be allocated as necessary.

This is more efficient in terms of disk space usage but isn’t so good for performance because you have to wait for the space to be allocated before you can use it.

The fixed size option allocates all the space you request straight away. This is less efficient in terms of disk space usage because you may have set aside space you never actually use but it is better for performance. This is the better option as your computer generally has more disk space than memory and CPU power.

Set the Size of Your Virtual Hard Drive

Finally, you are at the stage of setting how much space you wish to give to Ubuntu. The minimum is about 10 gigabytes but the more you can spare the better. You don’t have to go overboard though. If you are just installing Ubuntu in a virtual machine to test it out go for a smaller amount.

Install Ubuntu on Your Virtual Machine

The virtual machine has now been created but it is like a computer that doesn’t have an operating system installed yet.

The first thing to do is to boot into Ubuntu. Click the start icon on the toolbar.

This is the point where you need to choose the Ubuntu ISO file you downloaded earlier. Click on the folder icon next to the Host Drive dropdown.

Navigate to the download folder and click on the Ubuntu disc image and then on Open.

Start the Ubuntu Installer

Click on the Start button.

Ubuntu should load into the little window and you will have the option to try Ubuntu or install Ubuntu.

Check Your Virtual Machine Meets the Pre-Requisites

A list of pre-requisites will be displayed. Basically, you need to make sure your machine has enough power (i.e. plug it in if you are using a laptop), has over 6.6 gigabytes of disk space and is connected to the internet.

You also have the option of downloading updates whilst installing and to install third party software.

If you have a good internet connection check the download updates option otherwise untick it and leave the updates to install at a later point post installation.

Check the install third party software option as it will allow you to play MP3 audio and watch Flash videos.

Choose the Installation Type

The next step lets you decide how to install Ubuntu. As you are using a virtual machine select the Erase disk and install Ubuntu option.

Do not worry. This will not erase your physical hard drive. It will just install Ubuntu in the virtual hard drive created earlier on.

A message will appear showing you the changes that will be made to your disk. Again this is only your virtual hard drive and so it is safe to click Continue.

Choose Your Location

You will now be required to choose where you live. You can either select the place on the map or type it into the box available.

Choose Your Keyboard Layout

The penultimate step is to choose your keyboard layout.

You may find that the correct layout has already been chosen but it isn’t, try clicking on the Detect Keyboard Layout option.

If that doesn’t work, click on the language for your keyboard in the left panel and then choose the physical layout in the right pane.

Create a User

The final step is to create a user.

Enter your name into the box provided and give your virtual machine a name.

Now choose a username and enter a password to associate with that user. (repeat the password as required).

The other options are to log in automatically or require a password to log in. You can also choose to encrypt your home folder.

As it is a virtual machine you may as well go for the Log in automatically option but we recommend always selecting the Require my password to log in.

Ubuntu will now be installed.

When the installation has finished click the File menu and choose close.

You have the option to save the machine state, send the shutdown signal or power off the machine. Choose power off the machine and click OK.

Install Guest Additions

The next step is to install the guest additions.

Click on the settings icon on the VirtualBox toolbar

Click on the storage option and then click on IDE and choose the little circle with a plus symbol icon which adds a new optical drive.

An option will appear asking you to choose which disk to insert into the optical drive. Click on the Choose disk button.

How To Install Ubuntu Desktop

Navigate to the downloads folder and click on the VBoxGuestAdditions disc image and select Open.

When you are back at the main screen click the start button on the toolbar.

Open the VirtualBox Guest Additions CD in Ubuntu

Ubuntu will boot for the first time but you won’t be able to use it full screen until the guest additions are properly installed.

Click on the CD icon at the bottom of the launcher panel on the left and make sure there are files for VirtualBox Guest Additions.

Right-click on an empty space where the list of files are and choose open in terminal.

Install Virtualbox Guest Additions

Type the following into the terminal window:

Finally, you need to reboot the virtual machine.

Click on the little cog symbol in the top right corner and choose shutdown.

You will be given the choice to restart or shutdown. Choose Restart.

Install Ubuntu Desktop On Windows 10 Hyper-v

When the virtual machine restarts choose the View menu and select Full-Screen Mode.

A message will appear telling you that you can toggle between full screen and windowed mode by holding down the right CTRL key and F.

You're done! Great job.

Summary

Install Ubuntu Desktop On Windows

Congratulations! You should now have successfully installed Ubuntu as a virtual machine on Windows 10.