Ubuntu Linux For Dummies (2007)
Part I: Starting Fast
Chapter 2. Live Ubuntu
In This Chapter
· Assessing your resources
· Starting Ubuntu directly from disc
One of the reasons Ubuntu is so popular is that it's so easy to use. Ubuntu is distributed live on either a CD-ROM or DVD. By live, I mean that Ubuntu can be booted (started) directly from that disc. Forget about spending a long afternoon installing it — you can use it right now.
How can Ubuntu be alive? Well, it's not alive, it's live. That's "live" in terms of being directly bootable from read-only media. To reach its live status, Ubuntu is constructed in such a way that it can start from the disc and then use your computer's RAM (random access memory) to store files. This memory isn't saved when you reboot your computer.
Ubuntu Linux For Dummies includes a live Ubuntu CD-ROM that works with most Windows PCs.
Making Sure You Can Use Ubuntu on Your Computer
Here's what you need to run live Ubuntu:
· A compatible computer, like one of these:
o Intel/AMD-compatible 32-bit PC (typical Windows computer)
Most PCs made in the last 20 years use 32-bit processors.
This book's companion CD runs on 32-bit PCs.
o Intel/AMD-compatible 64-bit PC (the latest, fastest Windows machine)
Windows computers using the Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 (Athlon64 and Opteron) or Intel EM64T (Xeon) processors are 64-bit.
o This book's companion CD doesn't work on 64-bit computers. You can download a 64-bit Ubuntu CD from http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.10. Ubuntu provides instructions for burning the CD at http://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto.
o PowerPC-based Apple Macs: This book's companion CD doesn't work with PowerPC-based computers. You can download a PowerPC-compatible CD from http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.10. Ubuntu provides instructions for burning the CD at http://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto.
Ubuntu Linux For Dummies doesn't provide instructions for installing Ubuntu Linux on Macs.
· CD-ROM or DVD drive: Your computer must have a CD-ROM or DVD drive that you can boot Ubuntu from.
· An Ubuntu CD-ROM or DVD: In the back cover of this book, you'll find an Ubuntu CD for 32-bit PCs.
If you want to connect your Ubuntu computer to a network or the Internet, Chapters 6 through 9 describe how to configure Ubuntu to use various networks and Internet connections after you start it. When you're finished, you can just eject the disc and reboot the computer, and it will work exactly as you found it. You will leave no tracks in the rice paper, Grasshopper.
Less talk, more rock! Let's start using Ubuntu.
Chapter 2. Live Ubuntu
In This Chapter
· Assessing your resources
· Starting Ubuntu directly from disc
One of the reasons Ubuntu is so popular is that it's so easy to use. Ubuntu is distributed live on either a CD-ROM or DVD. By live, I mean that Ubuntu can be booted (started) directly from that disc. Forget about spending a long afternoon installing it — you can use it right now.
How can Ubuntu be alive? Well, it's not alive, it's live. That's "live" in terms of being directly bootable from read-only media. To reach its live status, Ubuntu is constructed in such a way that it can start from the disc and then use your computer's RAM (random access memory) to store files. This memory isn't saved when you reboot your computer.
Ubuntu Linux For Dummies includes a live Ubuntu CD-ROM that works with most Windows PCs.
Making Sure You Can Use Ubuntu on Your Computer
Here's what you need to run live Ubuntu:
· A compatible computer, like one of these:
o Intel/AMD-compatible 32-bit PC (typical Windows computer)
Most PCs made in the last 20 years use 32-bit processors.
This book's companion CD runs on 32-bit PCs.
o Intel/AMD-compatible 64-bit PC (the latest, fastest Windows machine)
Windows computers using the Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 (Athlon64 and Opteron) or Intel EM64T (Xeon) processors are 64-bit.
o This book's companion CD doesn't work on 64-bit computers. You can download a 64-bit Ubuntu CD from http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.10. Ubuntu provides instructions for burning the CD at http://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto.
o PowerPC-based Apple Macs: This book's companion CD doesn't work with PowerPC-based computers. You can download a PowerPC-compatible CD from http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.10. Ubuntu provides instructions for burning the CD at http://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto.
Ubuntu Linux For Dummies doesn't provide instructions for installing Ubuntu Linux on Macs.
· CD-ROM or DVD drive: Your computer must have a CD-ROM or DVD drive that you can boot Ubuntu from.
· An Ubuntu CD-ROM or DVD: In the back cover of this book, you'll find an Ubuntu CD for 32-bit PCs.
If you want to connect your Ubuntu computer to a network or the Internet, Chapters 6 through 9 describe how to configure Ubuntu to use various networks and Internet connections after you start it. When you're finished, you can just eject the disc and reboot the computer, and it will work exactly as you found it. You will leave no tracks in the rice paper, Grasshopper.
Less talk, more rock! Let's start using Ubuntu.
Running Live Ubuntu
Follow these steps to run live Ubuntu from this book's companion CD-ROM:
1. Insert your Ubuntu CD-ROM in your CD-ROM or DVD drive.
After you eject any disc that might already be inserted, of course.
2. Start or reboot the computer.
If you're running Microsoft Windows XP or Vista, follow these steps to reboot:
1. Click the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen.
The Start menu pops up.
2. Click the Turn Off Computer option (or it might say Shut Down) in the lower-right side of the menu.
The Turn Off Computer (or Shut Down Windows) window opens.
3. Click the Restart option.
Restart might be a button, or it can be an option in the drop-down menu, depending on how your computer's set up.
Windows shuts itself down and then restarts your computer.
Always use the Microsoft Windows restart process to reboot your computer. Shutting off your computer by pressing the power button — or by pulling the plug — can damage the computer's file system (the internal organization of your data). If you're really unlucky, Windows sometimes can't repair damaged file systems.
3. If necessary, tell the PC to boot from the CD or DVD drive.
If your computer checks the CD or DVD drive for an operating system before it boots from the hard drive, it will automatically boot from the Ubuntu disc. You can go directly to Step 4 now.
If your computer doesn't automatically boot from its CD-ROM or DVD drive before it looks at the hard drive, you need to tell the computer what you want it to do when it starts rebooting. The sidebar "Booting from your CD-ROM or DVD drive" gives you a couple of options.
4. Press the Enter key to select the Boot from CD-ROM option.
Ubuntu automatically boots from the CD-ROM after 30 seconds if you do nothing.
As Ubuntu boots, numerous subsystems are started for such jobs as
o Finding available hardware
o Starting networking
o Mounting file systems
Mounting is a Linux term for making storage devices such as your hard drive, CD-ROM/DVD, and USB drives available for use.
Ubuntu's process is clean, quick, and displayed graphically, as shown in Figure 2-1 .
Figure 2-1: Ubuntu starts each subsystem.
When Ubuntu finishes checking, starting, and mounting, it's ready to use, as shown in Figure 2-1
Figure 2-1: Ubuntu is ready for use.
.
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Booting from your CD-ROM or DVD drive If your PC doesn't automatically try booting from the CD or DVD drive by default, you have a couple of options to force it. Some computers let you specify what device to boot from just this time. If you don't want to change the default boot, try these steps as your computer begins to boot: 1. Press F12 or the Escape key if and when you see the one-time boot menu prompt. The one-time boot menu appears. 2. Press the appropriate key for booting from your CD-ROM or DVD drive. Your PC boots from the indicated device. Next time, the PC will boot from its default. If you want the computer to check the CD or DVD drive every time it reboots, you can change the default. Try these steps as your computer begins to boot: 1. Press the BIOS configuration key. Most computers use the F2 key to start the BIOS configuration editor. Other common keys are F1, the Escape (Esc) key, and the Delete (Del) key. Read the screen carefully as the computer boots to find out which key to press. The BIOS configuration screen opens. 2. Select the Boot option when the BIOS editor starts. 3. If necessary, use the BIOS editor menu to make your CD-ROM or DVD drive bootable. The appropriate key is typically the plus (+) or space key to make a device bootable. 4. Use the appropriate key to move the CD-ROM or DVD drive above the hard drive. Usually, the up- and down-arrow keys move a device up and down the list. 5. Press the Escape key to exit the boot menu. 6. Press the Escape key to exit the BIOS configuration. 7. Select the Save and Exit option. When your computer boots from your Ubuntu disc, you'll quickly see the screen shown here. |
The Graphical Environment
The underlying graphical system is based on the X Window System, also known simply as X (but not the X-Files), maintained by the X.Org Foundation. The graphical desktop environment — the look and feel — is based on the GNOME (pronounced guh-NOME) system. Both X and GNOME are open source software, of course, and I describe them in more detail in Chapters 11 and 12. For now, all you need to know about X and GNOME is that they give you an attractive and functional place to work.
GNOME is attractive, highly customizable, and provides links to all of the software described in this book. I describe and explain the applications in later chapters.
There's plenty more to discover about Ubuntu, and the rest of this book is dedicated to showing how.
· If you want to use live Ubuntu now, Chapter 5 starts with the basics.
· If you want to permanently install Ubuntu on a hard drive, Chapters 3 and 4 show you how to prepare a PC and install Ubuntu.
It's your choice. Read on!