Part 2: Installing Ubuntu and Getting to know your new OS

(The longest and hardest post of this series, don’t be scared, its not that hard)

This section will cover the beginning part of setting up the actual server. I will assume you have read post one and have all the I have listed there ready and available.

This is the first step in setting up the server. For this step you will need a CD burner, blank CD and an internet connection. Go to Ubuntu.com and select your country to begin. After selecting your Continent and Country you will see a link that looks similar to this: Ftp-mirror.internap.com. click on any of them (they are all just different locations that contain the file we need) and another list will appear under it. Select the “CD image for Desktop and Laptop PCs” and download the file that appears.

Making a bootable CD

Once your download finishes you will have a file called “ubuntu-6.10-desktop-i386.iso” on your computer. This file is what you will burn to a CD. However, its not like burning a normal CD you must use a program called “Nero” or “CD Burner XP Pro 3″. Nero is a program developed by a company called “Ahead” and can be installed as a trial and must be purchased to use as a full version. CD Burner XP Pro 3 I find far easier to use and is free on top of that. You can search google and download the program very easily. Once you have that program and the ISO file ready open up “CD Burner XP Pro 3″ and when it starts up you will see a box appear with 3 buttons in it. Select the button at the top of the window and another window with 4 panes in it will appear. Using the top left pane select the folder that the ISO file is in and then in the top right pane select the ISO file and click the “Add” button between the two right side panes and the press the “Burn” button on the left side. After the CD is finished copying proceed to the next step.

Installing Ubuntu 6.10

If you are reading this, congratulations, I am glad that the first step didn’t scare you to the point that you gave up. The rest of this is really pretty simple, so lets get started. But first let’s make sure that you have everything you need ready. You will need your new Ubuntu 6.10 CD that you just created. You will also need the computer you plan on installing Ubuntu on with keyboard, monitor and ethernet cable all plugged in (a mouse is optional, but recommended to avoid excessive tabbing).

Start up the machine, open up the CD drive and put the CD in the computer. Press the button again to turn it off and then turn it back on with the CD in there. At this point hopefully your computer will boot from the CD instead of the hard drives as it usually would. If it does not, you need to either enter the boot menu for the computer and tell it manually to boot off of the CD or go into the BIOS and change the order that the devices are checked for bootable media. Since the proces of doing this varies from motherboard to motherboard your best bet is to google for how to do it with your motherboard and read about how to do it. But generally to change the BIOS settings you press F2 or Del button at the splash screen or BIOS screen and to enter the boot menu its usually F12. But like I said its different for everyone so if they don’t work check with your motherboard manufacturer or motherobard manual for more details.