Welcome back! 1
In this lecture, I'll show you how to install Ubuntu in a virtual machine. We'll use VirtualBox 2
because it's free, but you can use VMware, as well. 3
The hardware requirements for Ubuntu Desktop Edition are at least 4GB of RAM and 20GB 4
free space on your disk. 5
From my experience, I can tell you that an SSD hard drive is also very important for a smooth 6
run. 7
The first step is to download the VirtualBox installer for your OS, probably Windows or Mac. 8
The installer can be found on the download page, here. 9
Download the binary version for Windows, Mac or Linux; it's downloading. 10
It's done; after downloading it run the executable to begin installing the software. 11
The installation process is straightforward, just click “Next” a few times and at the end “Finish”. We 12
won't go deeper into this because it's really simple. 13
After installing VirtualBox 14
it's recommended to install VirtualBox Extension Pack on the host machine to unlock advanced VirtualBox 15
features such as support for USB devices, flash drives and many more. 16
So download the Virtual Box Extension pack from the same address and install it. There's a single file 17
for all platforms. 18
This is the file. 19
It was already downloaded. 20
Double click the file, confirm the installation and click the Install button. 21
We are done with VirtualBox and we’ll go ahead and download Ubuntu. 22
In case you are wondering, Ubuntu is an African word meaning "humanity" and it’s often translated as 23
"humanity towards others”. The latest version of Ubuntu uses the Gnome shell as the default 24
GUI 25
and this needs a resourceful system. 26
If you only have an older system available, you could try a lighter-weight Desktop Environment such as 27
XFCE that runs on Xubuntu or LXDE which runs on Lubuntu. 28
We are talking about the same system, only the GUI being different. 29
I'm also a fan of Linux Mint, which has a very friendly user interface. 30
If you have enough space on your disk, you can try them all. 31
There are three possibilities for the installation:- to install 32
it as the main OS and in this case we download the provided ISO file, create a bootable USB disk using 33
a special software and then boot up the machine using the USB disk. 34
I'd recommend you to do so only after you get used to it a little. 35
The second option is to use it live and that means that Ubuntu will not be installed on your machine, 36
but will run directly from a USB disk. 37
And the third option is to install it as a virtual machine. 38
This is the recommended way for beginners because there is no risk of breaking your main system. 39
You can also download and try many other Linux distributions to see which fits you better. 40
The same steps shown in this video will apply to any other Linux distribution. 41
We go ahead and download the latest LTS version of Ubuntu. 42
LTS stands for long-term support, which means five years of free security and maintenance updates. 43
Ubuntu 20.04 is available only as a 64 bit version. There isn’t a 32-bit version. 44
Note that one follows a biannual release cycle with one release coming in April and other in October. 45
An Ubuntu release has the version number in the format year.month. 46
So Ubuntu 20.4 was released in the fourth month (April) of the year 2020. 47
Besides the version number, each Ubuntu release has also a codename, "Focal Fossa" being the code name for 48
Ubuntu 20.04. 49
It's almost done. Note that you also need a good Internet connection to download the Linux ISO file and update 50
the software. I've already downloaded the ISO file to save time and now it's on my desktop. 51
Start the VirtualBox and click on the new icon to create a new virtual machine. 52
Give it a relevant name like Ubuntu 20.04 53
Its type will be Linux and its version Ubuntu 64 bit. 54
Click next. 55
The next step is to allocate RAM to the VM. 4GB is recommended. But if it's not possible, 56
allocate at least 2GB or something in between. 57
Bear in mind: the more RAM you allocate, the faster it will run. 58
Note that you can change this value any time so you can test different values. 59
Now it's time to create a virtual disk, this serves as the hard disk of the virtual Linux system. 60
It is where Ubuntu will store its files and it's completely isolated in a single disk file. 61
Click next, and leave the default selection for the hard disk file type. 62
In this step, leave the default selection, which is “Dynamically Allocated”. The disk file will only 63
use space on our physical hard disk as it fills up till the maximum fixed size you'll be setting up 64
in the next step. 65
Now it's time to select the file location and size, I'd recommend you to use 20 GB or more. 66
If possible, for maximum performance, the location should be on an SSD disk. 67
I'll leave the default location and click create. 68
Now it's time to boot the Ubuntu ISO we’ve just downloaded and install Linux as a virtual operating 69
system. 70
I'm selecting the VM and clicking start. 71
Now I have to select the Start-Up File, which is the ISO file. I'll browse its location on my Desktop 72
by clicking the folder icon. 73
In this window, I'm clicking add and going to my desktop to selected. 74
The ISO file was selected and I'm clicking “Choose”. And then “start”. 75
Now, it's time when you can get an error related to AMD-V or VT-X while trying to start the VM. 76
This means that the virtualization or VT-X is disabled in your computer 77
BIOS. Reboot your system and access the BIOS settings using a function key that is specific for a computer 78
or laptop model. 79
Look for something related to virtualization or VT-X and enable it; save, restart the system and then 80
start the VM again. 81
Let's return to the Ubuntu installation. 82
It has started and in a few seconds I am presented with two options: I could try as a live os or I 83
could install it. 84
And of course, I'm clicking install Ubuntu. 85
In this window, I can choose the keyboard layout, in my case, it's English US. 86
In this window, I’ll leave the default options which are normal installation and “Download Updates 87
while installing Ubuntu”. This option requires an active Internet connection since it will update the 88
system while installing it. 89
The installation process will take a longer time. 90
Now, depending on what you want to do and how quickly you want to install it, you can leave this option 91
unchecked or not. 92
You can also update the system any time after installing it. I'll select both options and click “continue”. 93
If, like myself, you install Ubuntu in a VM , leave the default option and click “Install 94
Now”. 95
If you are installing Ubuntu as your a main operating system 96
this step is very important. 97
The default option will delete all your data and you'll format your disc. 98
Maybe you want to try a custom installation type by selecting “Something else”. 99
You'll be able to manually select, create and format your partitions. However, make a good backup of your 100
files in this case. I'm clicking “Install Now”. 101
Select your location and click “Continue”. 102
And in the last step, write your name and your computer's. The computer name will be the hostname that 103
will be displayed as part of the prompter. 104
Pick up a username and chose a password: 105
student and the password: 106
And you are done! 107
Depending on your hardware and your selections, it may take round 10 minutes to complete the installation. 108
I'm pausing the recording until it's done. 109
The installation is complete and I'll restart it to log into the system. 110
If it gets stuck on this screen, you may choose to close VirtualBox. 111
And if you want to save space on your disk you can delete the iso file. 112
It's not necessary anymore. 113
Once restarted I can log into Ubuntu with the user and password specified at installation. 114
Great! The network card is put into NAT mode 115
so I can access the Internet, as well. 116
I'm starting Firefox. 117
I'm also starting a terminal to check the Internet connection. 118
I want to ping an IP address. 119
Ping is working, and let's check a popular website like YouTube.com. 120
If you can't maximize the window, don't worry, because I'll show you how to fix it in the next lecture. 121
That's how you install Ubuntu as a VM in the VirtualBox. In the next video, I'll show you the top 122
things to do after installing it. 123
See you in a second!