How to Install Ubuntu (Step by Step)

The current long-term support release is Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ("Resolute Raccoon"), released in April 2026 and supported for five years of standard updates (to 2031), with more via Ubuntu Pro — Canonical's release cycle page confirms that LTS versions ship every two years with five years of standard security maintenance. LTS releases are the right choice for most people: they are stable and maintained for years. The steps below apply to 26.04 and to the previous LTS, 24.04 — Ubuntu's installer was redesigned in that generation, so the on-screen wording matches both.

What you need before you start

• A PC or laptop (64-bit) that meets Ubuntu's requirements: roughly a 2 GHz dual-core CPU, 6 GB of RAM, and 25 GB of free storage for a comfortable desktop experience — the figures published on the official Ubuntu Desktop download page.
• A USB flash drive of 8 GB or larger that you can erase — writing the ISO wipes it.
• A working internet connection (wired or Wi-Fi) so the installer can fetch updates.
• A backup of anything important on the target machine. Installing an operating system touches partitions; back up first, every time.

Step by step: install Ubuntu

1. Download the Ubuntu LTS ISO. Go to ubuntu.com/download/desktop and download the current LTS image (Ubuntu 26.04 LTS at the time of writing). You will get a single .iso file of roughly 4–6 GB. If you want to be thorough, verify its SHA-256 checksum against the value published on the download page — on Windows PowerShell:

   Get-FileHash .\ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso -Algorithm SHA256

   and on Linux or macOS:

   sha256sum ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso

   The output should match the published hash exactly.
2. Create a bootable USB stick. Plug in your USB drive, then write the ISO to it with a reputable tool:
   • On Windows: balenaEtcher or Rufus. Select the ISO, select your USB drive, and click Flash/Start.
   • On an existing Ubuntu: the built-in Startup Disk Creator, or GNOME Disks.
   • On any Linux/macOS (advanced): dd — see the caution below before you use it.
   The tool erases the USB drive and makes it bootable. This takes a few minutes.
3. Boot the PC from the USB stick. Leave the USB plugged in and restart. Open the firmware boot menu by tapping the boot-menu key during startup — commonly F12, F10, Esc, or F2, depending on the manufacturer — and choose the USB device (it may be listed as "UEFI: <brand> USB"). On most modern PCs you can leave Secure Boot enabled; Ubuntu is signed and boots fine with it on — the Ubuntu UEFI Secure Boot documentation explains that Ubuntu's boot binaries are signed, using a shim signed by Microsoft and a GRUB signed by Canonical.
4. Choose "Try or Install Ubuntu". The USB boots to a menu; pick Try or Install Ubuntu and wait for the desktop to load. You are now running Ubuntu entirely from the USB (a "live session") without changing anything on your disk yet — a good moment to confirm your Wi-Fi, trackpad, and display work. When ready, open the Install Ubuntu app on the desktop.
5. Pick language, accessibility, and keyboard. Choose your language, then your keyboard layout — use the test your keyboard here box to confirm the right characters appear. Accessibility options (larger text, screen reader, high contrast) are available from the first screen if you need them.
6. Connect to the internet. Select your Wi-Fi network and enter the password, or plug in an Ethernet cable. A connection lets Ubuntu download updates and, if you allow it, third-party drivers and media codecs during installation. You can also choose to do this later.
7. Choose the installation type and extras. Select Interactive installation (the normal manual setup). You will then choose between a Default selection (a core set of apps) or an Extended selection (adds office and utility apps). You can also tick boxes to install recommended proprietary software — graphics/Wi-Fi drivers and media codecs — which most laptops benefit from.
8. Decide how to use the disk — the important choice. The installer offers, typically:
   • Install Ubuntu alongside your existing system (dual boot). Ubuntu shrinks your Windows partition, keeps Windows and your files, and adds a boot menu (GRUB) so you pick an OS at each startup. You choose how much space to give Ubuntu with a slider.
   • Erase disk and install Ubuntu. Wipes the whole selected drive and installs Ubuntu only. Simplest, but it deletes everything on that disk — see the caution below.
   • Manual partitioning ("Something else") for people who want to lay out partitions themselves.
   Pick the option that matches your goal, then double-check the drive it points at — especially if the machine has more than one disk.
9. Set your timezone, user, and password. Confirm your region on the map or from the list, then create your account: your name, a computer (host) name, a username, and a strong password. You can choose to require a password to log in and, on supported hardware, enable full-disk encryption for extra protection of your files at rest.
10. Review and install. The installer shows a summary of what it will do — read it, confirm the disk actions are what you intended, and click Install. Copying files and configuring the system takes roughly 15–30 minutes. When it finishes, choose Restart now and remove the USB stick when prompted.
11. First boot and updates. If you dual-booted, the GRUB menu appears — pick Ubuntu (or Windows). Log in, then bring the system fully up to date. Open a terminal and run:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

    Enter your password when asked, review the list of packages, and confirm. Reboot if the update installs a new kernel. That's it — Ubuntu is installed.

A note on other distributions

This guide is for Ubuntu, but the shape of a Linux install is similar across distributions — download an ISO, make a bootable USB, boot it, and run an installer. What differs most is the package manager you use afterwards to install and update software. Ubuntu and Debian use apt; Fedora uses dnf; Arch uses pacman. For example, "update everything" is:

Where a step genuinely varies by distro we say so; when in doubt, follow that distribution's official documentation or wiki rather than a generic command copied from elsewhere.