Hi!
I am currently using Windows 8 right now. I am planning to switch to Ubuntu 12.04. Before this I would like to know what are the requirements of this software. Can you give me what re the best features of this operating system compared to Windows platforms? Can you give me instructions on how to properly install this with my desktop computer? Do I need to reformat my external drives with my desktop once it is installed or it will work once I plug the device in?
Thank you!
Instructions in switching from Windows 8 to Ubuntu 12.04
Hello,
Ubuntu is a Linux-based OS that’s completely different than Windows. When you’re switching from Windows to Linux, it’s strongly recommended to backup all your important files to another device like external HDD, pendrive etc. as the file format and disk management system of Linux is completely different than Windows.
Though Ubuntu is different than Windows, it has much advantage compared to Windows. The first and main part is its low system requirements. Ubuntu requires 700 MHz processor, 512MB RAM, and 5GB HDD space for installation, screen resolution supporting 1024 x 768 screen resolution. Almost all the PC today have much more powerful hardware resource, meaning that it’ll run in any machine. Windows require higher hardware specs and doesn’t run on all machine perfectly.
Another most important thing is, it’s free and without any security issue. Windows costs more than $100 where you can retrieve a copy of Ubuntu completely free. Since the starting, Linux has experienced only a few security issues where Windows is still in continuous threat.
Ubuntu comes with all the software and apps default installed that are required at minimum. Windows doesn’t come up with all required apps and needed to be installed separately.
In order to install Ubuntu,
1. Get the latest LTS release of Ubuntu.
2. Use Universal USB Installer or UNetbootin to create a bootable USB for installing Ubuntu from the ISO downloaded.
3. Backup all your data of your HDD.
4. Restart your PC, boot into the USB drive.
5. Erase your entire HDD for making Ubuntu have fresher environment. It’s better to remove the Windows partitions first. Take a look how to remove Windows installation.
6. Install Ubuntu.
Instructions in switching from Windows 8 to Ubuntu 12.04
Just like with normal software, before you install an operating system like Microsoft Windows or Linux Ubuntu, you need to check the operating system’s system requirements and this point to the hardware. You might encounter performance issues or missing features if the requirements are not met or the hardware falls short. If you want to try Linux Ubuntu, go to the Ubuntu Desktop download page.
The latest version at the moment is Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS. “LTS” stands for “Long-term support” and this means five (5) years guaranteed free security and maintenance updates until April 2023. It requires 2 GHz Dual-Core or faster processor, 4 GB RAM, 25 GB free space, optical drive, and internet connection (optional). Another version you can install is Ubuntu 19.10.
The system requirements are the same as with the LTS version. The difference between the two is that LTS offers five years maintenance updates while the non-LTS version offers only nine (9) months of maintenance updates. They also recommend that you install Ubuntu on 64-bit computer.
