Getting Ubuntu | The Official Ubuntu Book

Ubuntu is an entirely free OS, and when you have a copy of it you can give it to as many people as you like. This free characteristic of Ubuntu means that it is devilishly simple to get a copy. If you have a DSL or better Internet connection, head over to www.ubuntu.com/download, and select your country from the list of download sites. You can then select a desktop or alternate install CD based on your platform and download it.

Note

See the Burning a CD section below for details on how to create your Ubuntu CD from the file you just downloaded.

If you are willing to wait for a CD, you can get a physical Ubuntu CD mailed to you free of charge. To do this, go to https://shipit.ubuntu.com/, and log in. You will need an account on the Launchpad site to use the ShipIt service. If you don't have one, just click on the "create a new account" link to create one. To use ShipIt, fill in the simple form and submit it. Your CDs will then be sent out.

Burning a CD

When you download an Ubuntu CD, you download a special .iso file, which is the same size as a CD (around 650MB). To run the CD you need to convert this file into an installation CD. The file that you downloaded contains a detailed map of what the CD should look like, complete with all the different files that are part of Ubuntu. When you burn the .iso file to the CD-ROM, the original CD layout is restored, and you have a complete installation CD all ready to go.

Tip: Which Image?

When you are reading about .iso files, you will often see them referred to as CD Images. The term "image" here does not refer to a visual image such as a photo or picture but instead refers to a snapshot of a CD.

You need to use a CD-burning application to burn your .iso file to the CD correctly. Inside the application there should be a menu option called "Burn from Disk Image" or something similar. You then select the .iso file, insert a CD, and after a few minutes, out pops a fresh Ubuntu installation CD.

To give you a head start, the following sections present instructions for burning a CD in some popular tools.

In Windows with ISO Recorder

To burn your .iso with the freely available ISO Recorder, first go to http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/, and then download and install ISO Recorder. To burn your image, follow these steps:

1.	Insert a blank CD into your CD writer.
2.	Locate the .iso file you downloaded, right-click it, and select Copy Image to CD.
3.	Click Next, and the recording process begins.
4.	When the image has been written, click Finish to exit ISO Recorder.

In Windows with Nero Burning ROM

To burn your image using Nero Burning ROM, follow these steps:

1.	Insert a blank CD into your CD writer.
2.	Start Nero Burning ROM.
3.	Follow the wizard prompts, and select Data CD.
4.	When the wizard finishes, click Burn Image on the File menu.
5.	In the Open dialog box, select the .iso file, and then click Open.
6.	In the wizard, click Burn to create the Ubuntu CD. When completed, click the Done button to exit.

In Linux with GNOME

To burn your image using Linux with GNOME, follow these steps:

1.	Insert a blank CD into your CD writer.
2.	In Nautilus, right-click on the file you just downloaded, and choose Write to Disk. The Write to Disk dialog box opens.
3.	In the dialog box, choose your CD writer and speed, and then click on Write. The Writing Files to Disk Progress dialog box opens, and Nautilus begins writing the disk.

Burning with Mac OS X

To burn your image using Mac OS X, follow these steps:

1.	Load the Disk Utility application (found in your Utilities folder).
2.	Insert a blank CD, and then choose Images > Burn and select the .iso file.

Tip: Use the Right Option

You need to ensure you use the Burn from Disk Image or similar option rather than just copy the .iso image onto the CD to be burned. If you just burn the file directly you will have a CD containing the single .iso file. This is no good.

The Burn from Disk Image function takes the .iso file and restores all the original files from the installation CD onto the disk. This ensures you have a proper installation CD.