How to install Ubuntu 20.04 and dual boot alongside Windows 10
By: Dave'S Roboshack
Tags: Technology, Linux, Open Source, Ubuntu, Windows 10

Get your tools

Before you can create an installation media, you first need the right tools to create one. The first thing is to download the Ubuntu ISO file that you want to install. An ISO file is simply a file that contains the actual operating system in a compact format. Go to https://ubuntu.com/download#download and click on the 20.04 LTS button.

*LTS stands for Long-Term-Support which simply means that this version gets support for 5 year unlike the other releases that are only supported for 9 months. Going for LTS is for many people the best option.

Download page of Ubuntu 20.04

Your browser might ask you if you want to save the file or open it. I’d recommend to save it. The ISO file is about 2.8 GB in size, so be prepared that it will take a while. This is the perfect time to get some tea.

The next tool that you need is a software to create the installation media. There are several tools available such as UNetbootin or Rufus. I personally am a big fan of balena Etcher.

Website of balena Etcher

Etcher is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux and pretty easy to use. After the download has finished, you need to install it.

Installation of balena Etcher

Getting your system ready

After you installed Etcher and downloaded the ISO file, you can create the installation media. You can either use a CD (yes, those still exist) or simply a USB stick. Using the USB stick is the most convenient as you do not need a CD drive which start to be come a rare artifact. Make sure the USB stick is empty as all the data will be erased in the next step.

When you open Etcher, you have a very simple interface.

balena Etcher for creating the installation media

First, you select the ISO file that you want to use. You can probably find it in your downloads folder. Just navigate to it and select the ISO file. Then, you need to select the USB stick that you plugged into your computer and that you want to use as installation media. Take care that you select the correct one as you don’t want to wipe your internal hard drive or an external drive. The easiest is to look at the size of the different options and select the one with the memory size that your USB stick has.

When the ISO and the USB stick are selected, click on the Flash! button. This will also take a while.

Flashing the installation media

Getting Windows Ready

There is one more step you need to do as preparation before the actual installation. You need to make some free space on your hard drive so your computer knows where to install Ubuntu. For this, you need to open the partitions software with the name “Create and format hard disk partitions”. You can simple type the word “partition” in the search bar of the start menu.

Start menu for partitioning software

When starting the partitioning software, a new window called Disk Management should open up. This program should show you all the mass storage devices connected to your computer, internally and externally. In my case, I only have one hard drive because I already removed the USB stick and I only have one small hard drive in my demo setup.

Disk management tool

Many computers nowadays have one smaller SSD hard drive and a larger HDD hard drive. You will probably want to install Ubuntu on your SSD drive, given that you have enough disk space.

For a bare minimum installation, you should have at least 9 GB. If you also want to install some programs and save some files on Ubuntu, then you probably want a little bit more storage for your Ubuntu system. I would recommend at least 36 GB to make sure you don’t run out of disk space when have all the Ubuntu partitions on one hard drive. You can use less if you want to install Ubuntu on two hard drives: one for the system and one for storing your personal files. More on that later.

Right click the partition that you want to shrink to make free space available on. Then, click on the “Shrink Volume…” button in the context menu.

Selecting the partition to shrink

Next, you need to choose how much storage you want to make available. Enter the amount of Mega Bytes you want to have for your Ubuntu installation. Again, I would recommend to have at least 36 GB. Click on the “Shrink” button.

Selecting the size of the empty partition

Creating the new empty partition takes a while and then it should be displayed as Unallocated.

New empty partition created

After this is done, you can proceed with the installation of Ubuntu. You may now shut down your computer.

Installing Ubuntu

Now it is time to plug in the flashed USB stick and restart your computer. When the splash screen of your computer’s manufacturer appears, you need to press either F1, F2, F12, ESC or DEL on your keyboard to enter the BIOS menu of your computer. Which key to press depends on the brand of your computer. Your computer might even tell you which key to press. Else, you might need to look it up either in the manual of your computer on online.

Once you entered your BIOS, you need to find the option to change the boot order. The BIOS of each motherboard can be slightly different. You need to navigate through it by yourself to find the option to change the boot order. When you find it, you should place the entry for USB devices on the first position so when you restart the computer it will automatically boot from the USB stick with the Ubuntu installation media.

As an alternative, some computers even allow to directly choose the boot device to continue. In that case, you don’t need to change the boot order and you can simply select the USB stick to boot the computer. Again, this depends on the manufacturer of the motherboard.

Note: If possible, disable the fast-boot option from your BIOS as this can cause trouble when switching from Windows to Linux. The reason is that the fast-boot setting will prevent a full shutdown of the PC and when starting up in a different OS, this could cause some issues. Also, the secure-boot option might need to be disabled. If that is the case, Ubuntu will let you know during the installation process. You will need to type a password during the installation process and then again when rebooting. This password will only be asked once.

When your computer is booting from the USB stick, it will show to you the Ubuntu logo. It might even perform a system check.

Ubuntu boot screen

After the file check is complete, your computer will show you the Ubuntu welcome screen where you can choose whether you want to “Try Ubuntu” or “Install Ubuntu”. The first option is suited for testing if everything works such as the Wi-Fi drivers or other hardware. You will choose the second option for the installation.