To start an elevated terminal, search for “Command Prompt” or “PowerShell” or “Windows Terminal”, click “Run as administrator”, and accept the elevation prompt. Windows Terminal will display a security shield after elevation is successful.
You can also visit the Microsoft Store to select a distribution of your pick.
A Live CD or Live USB is a disk that you can boot into, and often contains a preview version of the operating system that can be run directly from the CD or USB stick. Install an image burning program, or use your system’s built-in burning tool if you are using Windows 7, 8, or Mac OS X. Pen Drive Linux and UNetBootin are two popular tools for burning ISO files to USB sticks.
Once the computer reboots, press the key used to enter the boot menu. The key for your system will be displayed on the same screen as the manufacturer’s logo. Typical keys include F12, F2, or Del. For Windows 8 users, hold the Shift key and click restart. This will load the Advanced Startup Options, where you can boot from CD. For Windows 10 users, go to advanced boot in settings and click “Restart Now. " If your computer doesn’t give you direct access to the boot menu from the manufacturer’s splash screen, it’s most likely hidden in the BIOS menu. You can access the BIOS menu in the same way that you would get to the boot menu. At the manufacturer splash screen, the key should be listed in one of the bottom corners. Once you’re in the boot menu, select your live CD or USB. Once you’ve changed the settings, save and exit the BIOS setup or boot menu. Your computer will continue with the boot process.
You will be asked to configure some basic options, such as language, keyboard layout, and timezone.
Distros such as Ubuntu will set a recommended partition automatically. You can then adjust this manually yourself. Most Linux installations require at least 20 GB, so be sure to set aside enough room for both the Linux operating system and any other programs you may install and files you may create. If the installation process does not give you automatic partitions, make sure that the partition you create is formatted as Ext4. If the copy of Linux you are installing is the only operating system on the computer, you will most likely have to manually set your partition size.
If you install multiple distros on your computer, they will all be listed here.
Some hardware requires proprietary drivers to work correctly in Linux. This is most common with graphics cards. There is typically an open source driver that will work, but to get the most out of your graphics cards you will need to download the proprietary drivers from the manufacturer. In Ubuntu, you can download proprietary drivers through the System Settings menu. Select the Additional Drivers option, and then select the graphics driver from the list. Other distros have specific methods for obtaining extra drivers. You can find other drivers from this list as well, such as Wi-Fi drivers.
