How to Install Ubuntu 18.04 (Bionic Beaver)

Introduction

Ubuntu 18.04 (codenamed Bionic Beaver) is a free, open-source distribution of Linux, based on the Debian operating system. 18.04 was released in April 2018 and it is an LTS (long-term support) version publicly supported until 2023.

In 2020, Ubuntu 18.04 was succeeded by Ubuntu 20.04 as the latest LTS version.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install Ubuntu 18.04. 

Prerequisites

  • 2 GHz dual-core processor, at least
  • 4 GB system memory
  • 25 GB of free space on the hard drive
  • A DVD drive or USB port

Step 1: Download Ubuntu 18.04 ISO File

Before you start, make sure you have read the prerequisites, and you have all the recommended system requirements. If you are confident that your system can support the new OS installation, take the first step, and download Ubuntu 18.04.

1. Open a browser of your choice and navigate to the Ubuntu 18.04 official download page.

2. You will see two available packages – Ubuntu 18.04 for Desktop and Ubuntu 18.04 for Server.
We shall download and install the desktop version.

3. Select the 64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop image link to start downloading the package.

Click the 64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop image link to download Ubuntu for Desktop.

4. It will take a couple of minutes to download the .iso file. Once it is done, move on to creating a bootable USB or DVD.

Step 2: Create a Bootable USB

The next step is to create a way to transfer the installation package to your system. You will want your computer to boot from the USB on which the package is on. To do that, you need to create a bootable USB.

This process requires at least a 2GB flash drive and software that creates bootable USB flash drives. There are many options to choose from (Rufus, UUI, UNetbootin, PowerISO, and so on).

For this example, we are going to use Rufus, as it is much faster than the alternatives out there. It is also free and open-source.

1. Download Rufus from the official website. Navigate to the webpage and scroll down to the Download section.

Select option to download Rufus bootable.

2. You will find a list of the latest updated versions. Today, these include Rufus 3.5 and Rufus 3.5 Portable or other available versions. Click on either one of the first two, choose to Save and then Run the file.
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