Table of Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Downloading Ubuntu Virtual Environment .................................................................................................. 1
Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 12

Introduction
Linux is one of three predominant operating systems used by computers; the other two being
Windows by Microsoft and Mac OS by Apple. Unlike its competitors, Linux is completely open
source, meaning it can be modified by the user to reflect their needs and preferences. Compared
to Linux, Windows and Mac OS are restrictive and do not allow their users the option to change
the system’s operation. There are also many versions of Linux, called distributions or distros,
that offer different tools, environments and software (Techquickie, 2016). The user can choose
which version is best for their work.
I will be installing the Linux distribution Ubuntu through a virtual environment. Ubuntu is one of
the most popular Linux distributions and is the base of several other Linux distros (Delgadillo,
2017). Ubuntu is a distro that updates biannually with bug fixes and software updates. I am
following along with Joseph Delgadillo’s YouTube video The Complete Linux Course: Beginner
to Power User! and will be installing Ubuntu 15.10, which was released in October 2015.

Downloading Ubuntu Virtual Environment

Installing the Virtual Environment
Before installing Ubuntu, it is important to install the virtual environment. If Ubuntu is
directly installed onto the hard drive, the system will convert from the original OS to Linux. If
you are unfamiliar with Linux, this is not a good thing because you will not be able to go back to
what you are familiar with.
Procedure
1. Go to the website virtualbox.org
2. Click on the big, blue box stating, “Download VirtualBox [version number]” As of
December 2019, the latest version is Virtual Box 6.1.
3. Download the platform package corresponding to your system. I am currently running
Windows OS, so I will download the Windows host. I recommend saving the exe file to
your C: drive.

4. Run the VirtualBox exe file as an administrator

5. Click through the exe installation prompts and select “install”
6. When it is done, launch Virtual Box

Installing Ubuntu
1. Go to the website https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
2. Download the latest LTS version of Ubuntu. As of December 2019, the latest LTS
version is 18.04.03. (Note: The file is quite large, so the download may take a while.)

Setting up the Virtual Environment

1. After both Virtual Box and the ISO file for Ubuntu are downloaded, launch VirtualBox
2. Click “New”. This will create a new virtual environment

3. Name the virtual environment “Ubuntu”. The type should default to “Linux” and the
Version should default to “Ubuntu (64 bit)”. Click “Next”

4. Select the amount of RAM you allow the virtual machine to use. I have selected to use
VirtualBox’s recommended RAM, which is 1024 MB for my machine. Joseph
Delgadillo’s The Complete Linux Course: Beginner to Avid User! recommends setting
this to half your machine’s total RAM. It is up to you, the user, though it is strongly
discouraged to select an amount of RAM that is in the orange or red zones. Click “Next”
to continue.

5. Click “Create a virtual disk now”

6. Choose VDI (“VirtualBox Disk Image”)

7. Choose whether you want your virtual environment to dynamically allocate storage or
have a fixed size storage. Dynamically allocated storage will only use what it needs to
within the range you set. Fixed size storage will use all the storage in the range you set. I
will be using dynamically allocated storage.

8. Choose the amount of storage you allow your virtual environment to use. I will allow it to
use 10.00 GB. You can also change where your virtual environment is saved. When
finished, click “Create”.
9. Your virtual environment has been created! Now, select your virtual environment and
click on “Settings”. We are going to tell it which installation media we want to use.

10. Ensure in the “Systems” menu that “Enable I/O APIC” and “Hardware Clock in UTC
Time” are enabled. This should be the default settings.

11. Go to the “Display” menu. Change the video memory to operate at 100% and enable 3D
Acceleration.
12. Go to the “Storage” menu. Select the empty disk and select the disk on the far right.
Select “Choose a disk file”. A Windows File Explorer window should open- navigate to
where the Ubuntu ISO file has been saved and select it, then press “open”. When these
changes have been made, select “OK”

13. You are now able to run your virtual environment! To start the virtual environment,
select “Start”. It may take a while to load.
14. After the virtual environment has loaded, select “Install Ubuntu”. This will install Ubuntu
right to the virtual disk.
15. Choose your keyboard layout. If you are unsure of what your keyboard layout is, you can
test your keyboard layout by using the “Detect Keyboard Layout” button. When you have
selected your keyboard layout, press “Continue”.
16. Select “Install this third-party software” if you would like to allow for third-party apps to
operate, such as MP3 streaming. If you want the latest Ubuntu software, select
“Download updates while installing”. This will slow down the installation process. Press
“Continue”.
17. In the menu stating “Erase disk and install Ubuntu.”, select “something else” and press
“continue”.
18. Edit the virtual disk drive:

a. The virtual disk drive is called “sda”. Create a new partition table. This option is
located on the right.
b. Click on the “+” button on the left to create a new partition. This will be done a
couple of times to create new partitions.
c. The first partition to create will be for the “swap area”:
i. Change the “use as” type of partition to “swap area” and the size to 5 GB
(5000 MB)
ii. Press “OK”
d. The second partition created will be for the “Ext 4 journaling file system”
i. Change the “use as” type of partition to “Ext 4 journaling file system” and
the mount point to a forward slash “/”, representing the root. This will tell
the installation that we want to use this partition as the entire file system.
ii. Press “OK”
e. When your window looks like the one below, press “Install Now”.

f. A window will appear asking if you are sure you want to make these changes.
Press “Continue.”

19. Choose your time zone. When you have selected your timezone, press “Continue”
20. Change your computer name to reflect your name, something that you can use to identify
your machine and your username and password for your Linux machine. If you want, you
can also change whether Ubuntu will require you to log in or if it will log in
automatically. When you are satisfied with your choices, press “Continue”.
21. Ubuntu has been set up! Use the left and right arrows to read about uninstalling and
modifying Ubuntu, the software that has come pre-installed with Ubuntu and the Help
and Support resources offered with the software. As you read the information provided,
Ubuntu will finish installation on your machine.
22. Once the installation is complete, you will be required to restart your machine.
a. Click the “Restart Now” button in Ubuntu
b. At the bottom of the VirtualBox window, hover the mouse above the bar and
select “Devices”
c. Unselect ubuntu under the Optical Drives menu. This will restart the Ubuntu
window. Do not “Force Unmount” if VirtualBox presents that pop-up menu- press
“Cancel” and the system will still restart.
d. If VirtualBox freezes, close out of VirtualBox via closing the window or by the
Task Manager
23. To re-launch Ubuntu, settings for the VirtualBox need changed since installation is
complete.
a. Go to the Ubuntu VirtualBox Storage settings, as seen in Step 9
b. Change the Optical Drive settings: if the Ubuntu ISO file is still selected, unselect
it so the Controller: IDE is Empty. An alternative is to select “Remove Disk from
Virtual Drive”. Once this is done, select “OK”. It should look like the photo
below:

24. Re-start the machine. Ubuntu should launch the start menu successfully! Enter your
username and password to open Ubuntu. When first launched, Ubuntu will show its
Keyboard Shortcuts, shown below:
Works Cited

Delgadillo, Joseph, director. The Complete Linux Course: Beginner to Power User! YouTube,
YouTube, 16 Jan. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBp0Rb-ZJak.

Techquickie, director. What Is Linux? YouTube, YouTube, 24 May 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA3vmx0GaO8.