Ubuntu Live CD: What do I do?

[Daveski17]

OK, I have a live CD of Ubuntu. Do I just insert it into my drive? I am a bit worried about if it will replace my original OS (Win XP) permanently.

I am new to this & I am not sure what exactly happens, & I know virtually nothing about Linux.

Could someone just give me instructions on how to use the live CD. Cheers.

[saivin]

Live CD concept was developed for just the kind of people like you! No offense!

Don't worry, using LiveCD will not spoil your data or your installed OS. Just insert the CD and reboot. You will have to answer few questions it asks like your location, keyboard type, preferred language etc. Once the system boots into default desktop, explore the system. If you are impressed with it come back here for help to install linux to harddisk along with your windows.

[Daveski17]

OK thanks. Could you be a bit more specific on just exactly what the questions are? I am going to try this on my old 'tower' which was a custom build. All I know about the keyboard is that it is a standard UK Qwerty made by 'Genius'.

[bigtomrodney]

The questions are just about your own language (select English presumably) and the keyboard layout you prefer (likely English UK). The keyboard isn't hardware related, it's just a matter of preference to you...where you like your slashes, hash sign etc.

If you want to install it you can just click on the "Install" icon on the desktop, but there's no need to worry about that yet.

[saivin]

Could you be a bit more specific on just exactly what the questions are?

I'm sorry, I can't be much help here. I don't remember them all nor have Ubuntu liveCD right now with me.

See, most live CDs ask:
1. your location-to set local time,
2. your keyboard type- you have mentioned its standart UK QWERT keyboard. others may be using other type of keyboards like french, russian, right to left languages like arabic, indic languages as used in my country...
3. your preferred language - naturally you would prefer the Operating system to support your native language.

I think Ubuntu asks only these three. Why ask? Try it out. Don't worry your system is not affected by a live session.

[devils casper]

LiveCD won't change anything in Harddisk unless you do it explicitly. If you are planning to install Ubuntu then back up data first. Create 2 Partitions for Ubuntu before starting installation. GParted Partition Manager is available in Ubuntu LiveCD. Look for it in Menu. Its one of the best partition manager and you can create/shrink/delete partitions through it easily.

* 10-15 GB, ext3
* 512 MB, SWAP.

Start installation and select Manual Partitioning in Partition Section. Assign / mount point to ext3 partition. Installer will detect SWAP partition and Windows OS. It will setup dual boot itself and you will have choice to boot either OS at startup.

[Daveski17]

Ok thanks. I will get back to you when I have figured out my wireless router. Cheers.

[Daveski17]

LiveCD won't change anything in Harddisk unless you do it explicitly. If you are planning to install Ubuntu then back up data first. Create 2 Partitions for Ubuntu before starting installation. GParted Partition Manager is available in Ubuntu LiveCD. Look for it in Menu. Its one of the best partition manager and you can create/shrink/delete partitions through it easily.

* 10-15 GB, ext3
* 512 MB, SWAP.

Start installation and select Manual Partitioning in Partition Section. Assign / mount point to ext3 partition. Installer will detect SWAP partition and Windows OS. It will setup dual boot itself and you will have choice to boot either OS at startup.

OK, thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

[graphicks]

I personally used the Live CD for Ubuntu 8.10 after receiving it in the mail. It won't affect a thing on your computer unless you tell it to do just that. Remember that the Live CD will run slower than a full install. You will also need to tweak your settings (such as the network settings for your internet connection - just the same as you would for MS Windoze). Everything is self explanatory. You can't mess it up unless you ignore warnings. If everything is not to your liking, you can remove the CD and reboot.
I liked it so much that I decided to install it to the hard drive. I went through a lot of backup and writing down settings for DSL, etc. Then I used the Live CD to install, making my machine dual boot. Now I get a screen that asks whether I want to boot into XP or Ubuntu. If I have not decided in 15 seconds it boots into XP. (I need to change that somehow, since I never use XP anymore.) Everything about the install was pretty well automatic (I didn't have to partition or do anything other than answer the self-explanatory questions.). It all happened without a command line. It gave me enough experience to want to learn more (and I am still). This is great for a newbie to linux. Give it a try!

[Daveski17]

OK thanks for the info. I will get back to you shortly. I am having a bit of a problem with the wireless router on the PC that I want to set up Ubuntu on. I am getting that sorted as we speak. I will look forward to getting back to you using Ubuntu!