Installing two operating systems on the same computer offers a wide range of benefits. This article shows you how to install the latest version of Ubuntu on a machine that already has a Windows 10 installation on it. Make sure you have an 8GB USB memory drive that does not contain any important data as you will formatted.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Prepare the Computer for Installation
Step 1. If you wish, back up your data
If there are important files on your computer that you can't risk losing, copy them to an external USB hard drive so you can have a backup copy if something goes wrong.
Step 2. Disable Windows Fast Startup
- Access the "Control Panel" (to do this press the key combination "Windows + X", then choose the "Control Panel" option from the context menu that appeared).
- Select the "Power Options" icon.
- Click the "Specify Power Buttons Behavior" link.
- Choose the "Change settings that are currently unavailable" link.
- At this point, make sure that the "Enable fast startup (recommended)" checkbox is disabled. It is located within the "Shutdown Settings" section located at the bottom of the window.
Step 3. Disable the "Secure Boot" feature
- Press the "Windows + I" key combination to access the Windows 10 "Settings" screen.
- Select the "Update & Security" icon, then access the "Recovery" tab using the left sidebar of the "Settings" menu. At this point, press the "Restart now" button located in the "Advanced Startup" section.
- The next time you reboot the "Choose an option" window will appear. Select the "Troubleshoot" icon, then choose the "Advanced Options" item.
- Choose the "UEFI Firmware Settings" option from the "Advanced Options" menu. At this point, press the "Restart" button to access the UEFI settings.
- Your computer will automatically restart and give you access to UEFI (the advanced and modern version of the old BIOS). Access "Startup Settings" using the menu at the top of the window, then choose the "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement" option (use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select it and then press the "Enter" key). Now press the "+" or "-" keys to change the value of the chosen item.
Part 2 of 4: Create an Installation USB Drive for Ubuntu
Step 1. Download the Ubuntu ISO image
To do this, you will need to download the installation file of the latest Ubuntu version directly from the official website.
- Start an internet browser and log in to this address.
- At this press the "Download" button for the most updated Ubuntu version.
Step 2. Download the Rufus program
It is a free software that can create a bootable USB drive needed to proceed with the installation of Ubuntu.
- Start an internet browser and log in to this address.
- Download and install the latest version of Rufus.
Step 3. Create a bootable USB drive
- Open the Rufus program, then select the USB drive you connected to your computer from the "Device / Drive" drop-down menu.
- Press the CD-ROM shaped button next to the "ISO Image" drop-down menu. At this point use the dialog box that appeared to select the Ubuntu ISO image file you downloaded in the previous steps, then press the "Open" button. Now press the "Start" button.
- When asked to download the Syslinux software, press the "Yes" button.
- Press the "OK" button to use the ISO image boot mode.
- At this point check that you have selected the correct USB drive and press the "OK" button to continue.
Step 4. Once the USB drive is finished, simply reboot your computer without removing the media, then choose whether to start a "Live" session of Ubuntu or install it on a hard drive partition
Part 3 of 4: Creating a Partition
Step 1. Connect the Ubuntu bootable USB drive to your computer, then turn on the computer so that it boots directly from the USB drive
When the Ubuntu Welcome window appears, choose the "Try Ubuntu" option. At this point a "Live" session of Ubuntu will start, but you can also choose to permanently install it on your computer if you wish.
Step 2. Press the "Windows" key on your computer and search using the keyword "gParted"
It is a program to partition the hard drive. Select the "gParted" icon from the results list to start the program.
Step 3. Select the partition where the Windows 10 operating system is installed
It should be the largest on your computer's hard drive. Press the button with an orange arrow icon pointing to the right. Now reduce the size of the selected partition by at least 25GB, in order to free up enough space to accommodate the Ubuntu installation.
Part 4 of 4: Install Ubuntu
Step 1. Select the "Install Ubuntu 16.04 LTS" icon on the desktop
This will launch the Ubuntu installation wizard.
Step 2. If desired, select the check buttons "Download updates during Ubuntu installation" and "Install third party software for graphics and Wi-Fi devices, Flash, MP3 and other formats"
These are optional options, so they shouldn't have any impact on your Ubuntu installation if you choose not to select them.
Step 3. Choose the "Other" item from the "Installation Type" screen, then press the "Next" button
Step 4. Press the "+" button
A new window will appear giving you the option to add a new partition.
Step 5. Create the primary partition of the operating system
Resize this partition so that you have enough space to create the swap partition. As the file system format for formatting choose the "Ext4 journaling" option using the "Use as:" drop-down menu. Use the appropriate drop-down menu to set the "Mount point" to the value "/", then press the "OK" button.
Step 6. Create the swap partition
Reserve at least 4 GB of space (4,096 MB) for this partition. Select the "Swap" option from the "Use as:" drop-down menu, then press the "OK" button. At this point you can press the "Install" button to continue.
Step 7. Select the location where you live and press the "Next" button
Step 8. Choose your language and keyboard layout, then hit the "Next" button again
Step 9. Type the username and password you will be logged in to, then press the "Next" button
Step 10. Wait for the installation to finish
Step 11. Once the Ubuntu installation is complete, the computer will automatically restart
Advice
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If you run into any problems, try using GRUB2's automatic repair feature.
- Open a terminal window and use it to run these commands: sudo add-apt-repository ppa: yannubuntu / boot-repair && sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && boot-repair
- If the commands are executed successfully, you should see the boot sequence repair window appear.
- Press the "Recommended Repair" button and follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
