Ubuntu

What you get out of this

Ubuntu is an operating system, meaning the same thing that Windows is on most computers. You download it for free, install it yourself, and get a computer that works for office tasks, the web, image editing and programming without any license to renew.

For a business, two things matter. The old laptop gathering dust at home becomes useful again, because Ubuntu runs on hardware that Windows 11 has turned down. And anyone who wants to learn something technical, such as running Docker or a web server, gets a much straighter path forward, because almost all server documentation in the world is written for Linux.

There is already a guide for Linux Mint on this site. Mint is built on Ubuntu and the two are related. The difference in short: Mint has a desktop that looks more like Windows and is gentler on anyone switching from Windows for the first time. Ubuntu is the original, has more ready-made instructions online and is what you meet in almost every tutorial for servers. If the computer will be used to learn technology: choose Ubuntu. If it will mostly replace a Windows computer in everyday life: read the guide about Mint too before you decide.

What you need before you start

• A computer that meets the requirements: a dual-core processor at 2 GHz or better, 6 GB of memory and 25 GB free on the disk. These are Ubuntu's own figures for 26.04.
• A USB drive of at least 8 GB. Everything on it is erased.
• Internet during the installation. It works without, but updates and drivers are easier with it.
• A backup of everything on the computer today. Photos, documents, everything. Put it on another USB drive or in the cloud.
• Two hours. The download is about 6 GB and takes time on an ordinary connection.

The point about the backup is not a formality. During the installation you choose how the disk is to be partitioned, and one wrong click there erases everything that was there before. There is no undo button.

Which version

Ubuntu releases a new version every other April and every other October, but only every other year comes an LTS, meaning long term support. An LTS gets security updates for five years without you paying anything. The other versions get nine months, and then you have to upgrade.

Always choose LTS. The current one is Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS, with the codename Resolute Raccoon. The dot and the one at the end mean that it is an updated release of 26.04 with all fixes since April included, which makes the installation smoother.

You may also come across Ubuntu Server. It has no desktop at all, just a text window, and is meant for computers that stand in a server rack. What you want is called Ubuntu Desktop.

Download and make a USB drive

1. Go to ubuntu.com/download/desktop and download for Intel or AMD 64-bit, which almost all computers are. The file is about 5.9 GB and ends in .iso. An ISO file is an image of an entire disc, packed into one file.
2. Download a program that writes the ISO file to the USB drive. On Windows, Rufus is the least complicated. balenaEtcher works on both Windows and Linux.
3. Insert the USB drive, start the program, select the drive and select the ISO file. Double-check that you have selected the right device. If you select your external hard drive with all your photos on it, they are gone.
4. Start writing. It takes five to fifteen minutes.

Start the computer from the USB drive

The computer normally starts from its own hard drive. You need to tell it to start from USB instead, and how that is done varies between manufacturers.

Shut down the computer completely, insert the drive, turn it on and repeatedly press the key that opens the boot menu. It is usually F12, sometimes F10, F9, F2 or Esc. Many manufacturers show the key in a brief line of text at the bottom when the logo appears. If you cannot find it: search for the computer's model name and the word boot menu.

In the menu you select your USB drive, which is usually listed under its brand name or as UEFI: USB.

Two things can get in the way. Fast Startup in Windows means the computer does not shut down for real, but goes into hibernation, and then you never make it into the boot menu. Turn it off in the Windows power settings first. Secure Boot on the other hand is usually not a problem, since Ubuntu is signed and approved.

Try before you install

When the computer has started from the memory stick, you can choose between trying Ubuntu and installing it. Try it first. Ubuntu then runs directly from the USB drive without touching the hard disk.

Do three things while you are there: connect to wifi, play a film on a video site to hear that the sound works, and check that the screen resolution looks right. If all of that works, the rest of the installation almost always goes well. If wifi does not work, it will not work after the installation either, and then it is worth finding out why before you overwrite Windows.

It runs slowly when you try it. USB drives are slow. That says nothing about how it will be after the installation.

The installation

Click the installation icon on the desktop and go through the steps.

1. Language and keyboard. Choose Swedish for both. Test in the box that åäö comes out correctly.
2. Interactive or automatic installation. Choose interactive. The automatic one is for those who have a ready-made settings file.
3. What to install. The default selection gives you a web browser, office suite and media players. The extended selection adds more programs. Take the default; you can add more afterwards.
4. Third-party software. Check that box. It contains drivers for graphics cards and wifi chips as well as codecs for video and music. Without it, some hardware works less well.
5. The disk. The important step. The option that erases the entire disk gives the simplest installation and removes everything that was there. The option that installs alongside an existing system gives dual boot, where you choose the system every time the computer is turned on. The third, manual partitioning, you should skip until someone has shown you how it works.
6. Encryption. Ubuntu offers to encrypt the entire disk. Do it if the computer contains anything related to customers or finances. But: if you lose the password there is no way in, and no one can help you. Write it down.
7. Account. Name, computer name, username and password. The username should be in lowercase and without åäö, since it becomes the name of your folder in the file system. What you type here is also what you type when the system asks for a password to install programs.
8. The installation takes ten to twenty minutes. Remove the USB stick when it asks you to and restart.

If you choose dual boot with Windows kept: let Windows finish updating before you start, and expect that a large Windows update now and then can overwrite the boot menu. It can be fixed, but it is an extra thing to keep track of. If the computer is your own and you are sure, a clean installation is less trouble.

The first thing you do afterward

Open Terminal with Ctrl, Alt and T, and fetch all updates:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

The first command fetches the list of what is new, the second installs it. You will be asked to type your password, and the characters are not shown as you type. That is intentional.

If you need to play media files that do not work, or you are missing fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman, there is a bundle package:

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

During the installation, a license agreement for the fonts is shown. Use the Tab key to move to Ok and press Enter; the mouse does not work in that box.

If you want to change how the desktop looks, for example move the application list or change the placement of the buttons, gnome-tweaks is what you want.

Snap, and why the program is sometimes not what you thought

Ubuntu has two ways to install programs, and it confuses almost everyone at first.

Deb packages are the classic way, the one apt handles. Snap is Canonical's newer format, where the program comes with everything it needs baked in and runs a bit more isolated from the rest of the system.

Here comes the surprising part: some programs that look like they are installed with apt are in fact snap. If you type sudo apt install thunderbird on Ubuntu 26.04, you do not get a deb package. You get a small intermediate package whose only job is to install the snap version for you. The same applies to Firefox. There is nothing wrong with this, and the programs work, but it explains why they start more slowly the first time and why they cannot always reach files outside your home folder.

If you want a third option, there is Flatpak, which does not come with Ubuntu but can be added:

sudo apt install flatpak

After that you add Flathub as a source according to the instructions at flathub.org/setup and restart the computer. On Linux Mint this is already done from the start, which is one of the concrete differences between the two systems.

If something goes wrong

The computer boots straight into Windows even though the USB drive is plugged in. Fast startup is on, or you pressed the key too late. Turn off fast startup in Windows and press the key right when you turn on the computer.

No wifi after the installation. Connect a network cable if you can, run the update commands above and open Additional Drivers in the system settings. There is often a driver there that is not installed automatically.

The screen flickers or the resolution is wrong. Almost always the graphics driver. Same place: Additional Drivers, choose the one marked as tested.

The computer does not shut down but hangs on a black screen. Hold down the power button for ten seconds this time, and run the updates. A newer kernel usually solves it.

A program you need only exists for Windows. Check whether there is a web version before you give up. If there is not, and the program is necessary for your work, dual boot is a better plan than regretting it afterwards.

The license and what it costs

Ubuntu is free to download, use and install on as many computers as you like, even in a company. An LTS version gets five years of security updates without you paying anything. There is a subscription, Ubuntu Pro, that extends it further and is free for private use on a limited number of machines, but you do not need to think about that at this stage.

Ubuntu is backed by Canonical, a company that makes its money from support and server services. The desktop version is and remains free, and the code is open.

Wondering if your old laptop can handle it? Get in touch with the model, and we will tell you what we think.