Linux in 5 Easy Steps

khess 0 Tallied Votes 1K Views Share

Hey Windows fans, would you like to take Linux for a spin to see what everyone's buzzing about? It's easy to do in just five easy steps. You can test Linux for yourself without having to setup multibooting, worry about partitioning or installing over your current Windows system. That's right, you can. Try out that Linux power and coolness for yourself using these five easy steps. Don't worry, you'll never have to leave the comfort of Windows to do any of them--not even to a command line. Let's get started!

1. Download Virtual PC 2007 - Virtual PC 2007 allows you to install various operating systems as virtual machines and run them simultaneously with Windows. No rebooting required. Download this free application from Microsoft, install it and then proceed to Step 2.

2. Download Ubuntu 9.10 - Everyone agrees that Ubuntu Linux is the great Windows contender, especially for those who are new to Linux. Go to the Ubuntu Downloads page to download your free copy. The download is large (~600MB) so it might take a while, so be patient.

3. Create a New Virtual Machine - To install Ubuntu Linux, you'll need to setup a new virtual machine (VM) for it. This is just like building a PC on which to install a new operating system except that the hardware is virtual.
Open Virtual PC, click the New button, click Next, Create a Virtual Machine, name the new VM something like Ubuntu and click Next, select Other for operating system, click Next, Adjusting the RAM, change the 128 to 256 and click Next, A new virtual hard disk, click Next, change 16384 to 4000 (Hopefully you have 4GB free space--if not, change the location to a drive where you do), click Next to finish. You should see your new Ubuntu VM listed in the Virtual PC console.

4. Boot the ISO Image - The file that you downloaded in Step 2 is delivered to you as an ISO image, which means that it is an entire CD image in a single file. You do not have to burn the image to CD disk and boot from it. You can boot directly from the ISO image file.
With Virtual PC still open, click Start. A black box opens. This is your VM booting up. While the screen is still black, click CD on the menu bar, click Capture ISO image, browse to the Ubuntu ISO image that you downloaded in Step 2, select it, and click Open. Your VM will now boot to the ISO image.

5. Install - Ubuntu installation is easy. Press the ENTER key to begin. Follow the prompts to install your new system. If you come across something you don't understand, just accept the default value and click Forward to continue. When Ubuntu is finished installing to the new VM, there is a prompt to restart, click Restart. This will reboot your VM and bring it up to the desktop or the desktop login. If you are presented with a login prompt, type in the username and password you used during installation.

Congratulations, you just installed Ubuntu Linux into a virtual machine! What you have in that VM is a fully-functional desktop operating system that compares favorably to Windows. Go ahead, give it a try.
You'll find that it works almost exactly like Windows and is loaded with all kinds of software. You don't have to pay for Ubuntu or any of the programs that you use.
Next, check out the Linux forums here on DaniWeb to ask questions and find out how powerful your new system is and what you can do with it.
Write back and let me know how you like your new Ubuntu system.

alaa sam commented: thanks i found every single information i was looking for thanks again +0
ChuckWest 0 Newbie Poster

Amazing! I blew away Vista and XP because Ubuntu is a lot better by far. What was I thinking?

andre.smit. 0 Newbie Poster

I have been using linux since 1993, SuSE, Redhat and Slackware! HOWEVER, I think ubuntu cooks! I now have 6 PC's and they all run (k)ubuntu!

khess 95 Practically a Master Poster

@ChuckWest
You should blow away Vista in favor of anything...even DOS 2.2.

cwrinn 0 Newbie Poster

I'm not much of an Ubunter, but what about Wubi(http://wubi-installer.org)? That's less steps than listed above, free and not from Microsoft.

khess 95 Practically a Master Poster

@cwrinn
You're right, Wubi is cool.

nononono 0 Newbie Poster

See http://forum.videohelp.com/topic375466.html for even easier ways to play with Ubuntu - "Portable Ubuntu" or a make a bootable live USB key (persistent) of Ubuntu or the stylish Linux Mint.

Addartis 0 Newbie Poster

Since Windows seems to be the standard, I´am very lucky with working on Unbuntu because the open source for me are equal to no gates.

Hans Baltjes

khakilang -3 Posting Pro in Training

I first install Ubuntu 8.10 and now 9.10. It really blow me of my feet. Easy to install and use. Gnome is cool. Work on older machine. Luckily I didn't throw away my old machine. No virus for the first time in my life and best of all its free.

geoinfo 0 Newbie Poster

hi everyone.. i really need help in how to use ubunto how to execute programs in linux.. im not so into computer sciences but i really want to master it.. i appreciate ur help thx :s:s

skfroi 0 Newbie Poster

Instead of Virtual PC why not use VirtualBox. Works better IMHO and is OSS (Open Source Software).

@geoinfo
Try this link for some begginer tutorials/ebooks

The ubuntu forums are a great place to go and find info. Just start using ubuntu and when you get stuck on a task you want to do go to the forums and ask / look for a helping hand.

While you're visiting the forums check if there are any LoCo teams in your area.

And last but not least remember about Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Mint. All are base on Ubuntu but have different themes and/or desktops, and are awesome to try.

Have a good one

mrphantuan -2 Newbie Poster

Good post. I am also going to write a blog post about this…I enjoyed reading your post and I like your take on the issue. Thanks. Thankyou for your article,,,great.

pajojeff 0 Newbie Poster

It's like you took the words right out of my mouth. Seriously, great job.

ThisOldMan 0 Newbie Poster

The simplest way to use Ubuntu is to run it from the CD. That's right. From the CD. When I was installing Ubuntu, I was surfing the net using Firefox in Ubuntu while Ubuntu was being installed in the background. Try doing that with Windows. Ubuntu uses so very little resources.

alaa sam -2 Junior Poster

Thanks a lot .
can this work for any computer ? does it have any special requirement for installation ?

khakilang -3 Posting Pro in Training

Thanks a lot .
can this work for any computer ? does it have any special requirement for installation ?

It depend what Distro you want to install. Puppy Linux can be use on Pentiume 4, 1.5GHz, 128MB RAM and a 20GB hard disk. But of course the more RAM you have the better.

ThisOldMan 0 Newbie Poster

I read somewhere that a Linux distro can be run even on an ancient 286 pc. Anyone knows where I can confirm this?

khakilang -3 Posting Pro in Training

I read somewhere that a Linux distro can be run even on an ancient 286 pc. Anyone knows where I can confirm this?

The lightest Distro I know of is Tiny Core Linux. But I can't confirm whether it would run on 286 machine because I don't have one. But no harm trying.

ThisOldMan 0 Newbie Poster

What I have found out is that I can load the lowendscipt on my 64Mb vps. Think I can do the same with centmin, too, but haven't tried it yet. Not sure what cpu my 64Mb vps is running, though.

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