The new release of Ubuntu (and subsequently Kubuntu) came out a few days ago. I decided to wipe the Linux partition (running Kubuntu 8.04) and install a fresh copy of 9.04.
The installation went very smoothly. I jotted down some notes as I went so that I could post a quick install guide.
If you want to install Kubuntu, you will need to create an installer CD. The CD is distributed as a .iso image. A CD image is a bit for bit representation of the CD, ready to be burned to a disk, which makes it very easy to create the bootable install CD. Download the ISO image from HERE. I used the standard 32 bit version, not the 64 bit version.
To properly burn the ISO image to a disk you will need a CD burning tool that supports burning images. Don’t simply burn the file to a CD, it won’t work. If you don’t already have a tool to do this, you can grab ISO Recorder HERE. ISO Recorder is a small download that adds the ability to right-click a CD Image file and burn it directly to a CD.
Once you have downloaded the .ISO file and burned it to a CD, you should have a bootable Live CD to test out Kubuntu! Simply put the CD in the drive and reboot your PC! If the PC does not boot from the CD, you may need to modify your boot order in your systems BIOS, but that is outside of the scope of this post.
As soon as you boot from the CD, you will be prompted to select your preferred language. I chose English. After you choose the language, you will be prompted to choose what you want to do. I recommend selecting the option to try Kubuntu without making any changes to your computer. This option will let you make sure that your hardware is detected properly before you commit to actually installing the operating system on your hard drive.
When the system boots up to the desktop, you will see an icon to install Kubuntu. Again, I suggest you play with the live CD for a little while to make sure you want to proceed with the installation. When the system is running from the live CD, performance will be very sluggish. This is because CD drives are significatly slower than hard drives. It is not an indicitave of your systems post install performance.
To begin the installation, click “Install”, and follow the prompts. The first few are very straightforward:
- Select your language, and click forward
- Set your time zone, and click forward
- Select your keyboard layout (in the US, take the default) and click forward
The next step is to prepare the space on your hard drive where Kubuntu will be installed. If you are running windows, and your entire hard drive is partitioned as one single large drive (C:), then things will be easy. Select the default option to install the Kubuntu side by side with your windows installation, choosing the OS that you want at boot. Follow the prompts, selecting the defaults for a guided install.
On my system, I already had a dual boot configuration between Windows 7 Beta, and Kubntu 8.04. I simply wanted to format the existing linux partition. I selected the option to manually specify my configuration. On the next screen, I selected my existing linux partition, and clicked the “format” checkbox. I was then presented with a few more options. I selected my filesystem type (EXT4), I checked the format checkbox again, and entered a / in the “mout as” box, in order to make the system mount the partition as the root of the filesystem.
The next screen will prompt for your name, username, desired password, computer name, and login preference. Fill in these fields and click forward.
Review your settings and click “Install”. Now would be a good time to grab a beverage of your choosing and maybe a sandwich, while you’re up. The installer will take some time to format the drive, copy all of the files, and configure your new operating system.
When the system is done, click “Restart Now”. Leave the CD in the drive until you are prompted to remove it and press enter.
When the system reboots, select the option in the Grub menu for Kubuntu and press enter. The system should now boot into your shiny new operating system!
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