Running this executable will prompt the following:įor Step 1, select Ubuntu from the list of Linux distributions.įor Step 2, browse the path of the downloaded Ubuntu disk image from the previous step.įor Step 3 select the inserted USB drive and check the Will FAT32 Format checkbox. Next, download the latest version of Universal USB Installer from here. Any data on the USB will be lost so ensure that it has been copied safely to a different external storage device. Insert the USB drive into either a 2.0 or 3.0 USB port, though connecting to a 2.0 port will impact the speed of the boot. The next step is to create the bootable USB drive by extracting files from the Ubuntu disk image using the Universal USB Installer software. For my Dell Inspiron 3593 laptop, I opted for the Bionic Beaver LTS 18.04.

You can refer to the Ubuntu certifications to verify this.Ĭurrently there are three LTS versions to choose from: LTS 16.04, LTS 18.04, and LTS 20.04. You can read more about the Ubuntu release cycle here.įor the installation, please ensure that the selected LTS version is supported by the hardware machine that will be running the OS. It is suitable to use LTS versions instead of interim releases which would require more frequent upgrades, typically within 9 months or less. LTS simply refers to Long Term Support and it guarantees that your OS will receive security updates, bug fixes as well as hardware support improvements for 3 to 5 years from the time of its release. This will be downloaded as an ISO file, approximately 2GB in size. In order to proceed, you will need a USB pen-drive with at least 4 GB storage space and an external hard drive to create a backup of important data.ĭownload your desired Ubuntu LTS version from here. This is one of the easiest ways of replacing the existing Windows OS on your laptop with a Linux distro.

This blog covers a step by step guide on how to install Ubuntu on your system using a bootable USB drive.

Universal usb installer linux ubuntu