This post will walk you through running Ubuntu from a boot CD without installing it on your computer. You will need an Ubuntu CD, which you can create (see this post), or order (from here). You will probably want to read through the whole post before you begin, since you won’t be able to open a browser while you are restarting your computer.
- Insert your Ubuntu CD into the CD drive of your computer.
- Restart your computer.
- Most computers should automatically boot from the CD. You will see the Select Language screen. Select whichever language you prefer (English is selected by default). Press Enter.
- You will then see the Install menu. The top option (selected by default) is “Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer”. You can navigate through this menu by using the arrow keys. Navigate to the Try Ubuntu option. Press Enter.
- The Ubuntu Load screen will appear. It will probably take a few minutes to load, so don’t panic if it seems to be taking a while. Running Ubuntu from the CD is slower than it would be if it was installed on your hard drive.
- Once it is loaded, you will see the Ubuntu login screen. It should automatically login after a slight delay. If not, you may have a problem with your CD, click Options and then Restart and try again.
- Don’t you just love that startup music? ^_^ Makes me smile every time!
- There it is! The Ubuntu desktop! The shortcut to Firefox is up on the top bar. Explore and try stuff out. Visit http://ubuntuforbeginners.net and look at some of the tours. There are a lot of great programs built in to Ubuntu.
- When you are ready to exit and go back to Windows (or install Ubuntu?!) just click the red power button on the top right of the screen, and select restart. The CD will automatically be ejected, and you will reboot into your original operating system!
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Filed under: Walkthroughs Tagged: | boot, linux, try, ubuntu
