This chapter covers installation on a typical desktop or laptop computer
system.
Before You Begin the Installation
Installing a new operating system is a major event, and you should make sure
that you have properly thought through what is going to take place. The first
thing to consider is how the hardware will be affected by the software that
you propose to install. Although Ubuntu runs well on a variety of hardware, it
is worthwhile to check your hardware components because some bits of
hardware do not work well with Ubuntu. This section provides some areas for
you to investigate and think about; it might even save you hours of frustration
when something goes wrong. Problems are becoming much less frequent, but
they still crop up occasionally.
You start by researching and documenting your hardware. This information
will prove helpful later on, during the installation.
Researching Your Hardware Specifications
At the absolute minimum, you should know the basics of your system, such as
how much RAM you have installed and what type of mouse, keyboard, and
monitor you have. Knowing the storage capacity and type of hard drive you
have is important because it helps you plan how you will divide it for Ubuntu
and troubleshoot if problems occur. A small detail, such as whether your
mouse uses the USB or PS/2 interface, ensures proper pointer configuration—
something that should happen without any problem, but you will be glad you
know it in case something does go wrong. The more information you have,
the better prepared you are for any problems.
You can make an inventory or at least a quick list of some basic features of
your system. Again, the items you most want to know include the amount of
installed memory, the size of your hard drive, the type of mouse, the
capabilities of the display monitor (such as maximum resolution), and the
number of installed network interfaces (if any).
DVD INSTALLATION JUMP START
To install Ubuntu Desktop from the disc included with this book, you
should first test whether your system is compatible by running Ubuntu
from the DVD live. In general, a system must have at least a 2GHz dual-
core processor, 25GB of hard drive space, 2GiB RAM, and a monitor with
a display resolution of at least 1024 × 768. You also need a DVD drive for