How to install Ubuntu from Windows (for technotards)

Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/h-BB4m25w7E

Ubuntu What?

Mark Shuttleworth, first millionaire to go to space and creator of Ubuntu, is South African. Ubuntu is an African word which essentially means goodwill.

Seeing that technology is way too complicated, Out of sheer goodwill, Mark has spent millions of dollars developing Ubuntu to be a computer system that is easy enough for anyone to use - whether they be a grandma or a developer.

It combines the simplicity of the Mac OS X interface with the power of real Linux under the hood (as opposed to that pansy 1980's wannabe Linux - aka Unix - that Mac runs on top of).

Being free, Ubuntu is spread mostly by word rather than by advertisement.

WUBI What?

The Windows Ubuntu Installer makes it so that a technotard can easily install Ubuntu without any technical knowledge whatsoever and without any changes to your computer's configuration.

(warning: technical explanation below)

See, WUBI fights the power by installing Ubuntu inside of Windows and uses the existing Windows boot loader to access Ubuntu.

Windows 8 WTF?

Note: you can ignore this section unless you know for a fact that you intend to use Ubuntu 12.04 instead of the latest version. Feel safe.

The sad news is that Microsoft has cut a deal with the main laptop manufacturers to prevent Ubuntu from being installed on any laptop with the "Windows 8 Certified" sticker.

Miraculously, however, the Ubuntu team was able to figure out how to circumvent the issue. but you have to use Ubuntu 12.10 or later. A backport might come out for Ubuntu 12.04.2.

Again: you're not crazy, the big companies are, in fact, out to get you and make your life more difficult. Technology would be simpler, but they have financial incentive to keep it complicated.

Pay Close Attention!

This is gonna change your life!

Note: In theory you should be able to accomplish all of the steps just by guessing (except for one about making Ubuntu the default), but I spell it all out very clearly for you because, hey, I want you to feel safe!

Download WUBI

1. Google "Windows Ubuntu Installer"
2. Click on a link that looks something like Windows Installer
3. Donate if you wish or click ["Not now, take me to the download ›"]
4. Continue to the next section while the download finishes

Note: Here's a direct link to download wubi.exe

Download the latest Ubuntu

This step is optional.

Ubuntu will be downloaded automatically by WUBI unless it finds that you downloaded it yourself.

I prefer to choose for myself so that I know for sure which version I got.

1. Google "Download Ubuntu"
2. Click on a link that looks something like Download Ubuntu Desktop
3. Download the latest 64-bit Ubuntu Desktop

Note: Here's a direct link to download Ubuntu 12.10 Desktop 64-bit

Install Ubuntu from Windows

1. Wait for both downloads to finish
2. Now go into your downloads folder (click on the start menu, click downloads)
3. Run the wubi installer (double click on wubi)
4. Note: If you know that you put the wubi installer and the ubuntu iso in different places on purpose, you need to go back and put them in the same folder. Otherwise, wubi will download ubuntu again!
5. When the installer opens set the disk space to the largest available number

• don't worry, using storage space doesn't make your computer slower (that's RAM, which is completely different than your hard drive)

1. Set a password and remember it (like the password you use for everything)

• Seriously, remember the password, you'll need it whenever you boot into Ubuntu

1. Click install
2. Wait 5 minutes or so for the installer to "finish", but don't reboot yet

Set Ubuntu to be the default

This step is optional (but very nice).

1. Go to the Start Menu
2. Select Control Panel
3. Type environment in the search bar
4. Click Edit the system environment variables
5. Under Startup and Recovery click Settings
6. For Default operating system select Ubuntu
7. Set Time to display list of operating systems to 3
8. Click OK to close the boot options box
9. Click OK to close the startup and recovery box
10. Close the Control Panel (click on the X)

Continue the installation from Ubuntu

1. Reboot your computer (you can click Finish from the Ubuntu Installer or use the Start Menu)
2. Don't Panic. You'll see the screen flicker a few times as Ubuntu boots for the first time
3. Wait 20 minutes or so for the installation to complete (you should see progress bars and such)
4. Eventually you will be asked to log in to Ubuntu with your password

Using Ubuntu

2. Read this warning

More on Ubuntu

If you're using Ubuntu as a desktop (which you are by this point), you'll want to see my forthcoming tutorial on how to install the DVD player and such (as Ubuntu is not legally allowed to install it for you. Yes, there is a conspiracy. Yes, the large corporations do want to make your life more difficult to retain more profits).

Using Windows

Every time your computer reboots you will see a screen that allows you to select Windows instead of Ubuntu (using the arrow keys and enter to select).

If you find that you need Windows for Photoshop or whatever (i.e. you're trying to open a virus sent to you by a Nigerian prince, but it won't open in Ubuntu) choose Windows, duh.

Just keep in mind that except for the case of Photoshop, everything you need is available in Ubuntu Linux.

It's high time you switch from Microsoft Office to Google Docs, btw.

Uninstalling Ubuntu

Note: Before you uninstall Ubuntu, set Windows back to the default. See the section "Set Ubuntu to be the default" above, but change the default from Ubuntu to Windows.

1. Open Control Panel
2. Search for 'uninstall'
3. Click 'uninstall'
4. Select 'Ubuntu'
5. Click 'uninstall'

Note: Any files you created in your Ubuntu folders will be deleted.

By AJ ONeal


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