How to install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) on a Windows 10 PC

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, the new major version of the most popular GNU/Linux distribution of the desktop, is now available. Taking advantage of the launch, we updated our installation guide for multiple operating systems on the same computer, with a selection of each one at startup. Together, not stirred, it is an ideal method to enjoy Windows and Linux.

Windows has been monopolizing consumer computer desktops for decades. Much of the market share comes from Microsoft's domain of the OEM channel, new computers that for the most part only offer pre-installed Windows without support for other operating systems. Thus, if you do not want Windows or you go to Mac or you are looking for an exception to the previous standard of manufacturers such as Dell that usually offers it in some models or you choose the few manufacturers specialized in Linux.

In any case, the offer is minimal with respect to what there is for Windows, and what happens if we also want (or need) Windows? Installing Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on a Windows 10 PC is a good solution to have the best of both worlds. Although not the only one, since with the same method other systems such as Windows 7 or even macOS can be combined under Hackintosh. Of course, if you like another GNU/Linux distribution you can replace it with Ubuntu because the installation is the same.

Hardware for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

The minimum hardware requirements to install a modern GNU/Linux distribution are very similar to those of Windows 10 or even lower in light distros. On paper, any computer running Windows 10 will be able to run Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with guarantees.

Although Windows continues to have much more complete hardware support than Linux and the big manufacturers do not usually support Ubuntu officially and generally, except for the specific computers named, the primary hardware (motherboard, processor, graphics, memory, and storage) will work in the vast majority of computers because Linux distributions today have great support for the main architectures, either using free or proprietary drivers.

For your reference, the team where we performed the test is an MSI Leopard laptop with Core i7-7700HQ processor, 16 GB of RAM, an integrated Intel 630 graphics card, a dedicated GeForce GTX 1050 and an NVMe SSD that once replaced the hard drive originally installed. The team amply meets the hardware requirements of both systems, but you don't need as much to run Ubuntu and as we said above, there are other lighter distributions if you have older or lower-level computers.

Installing Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on a Windows 10 PC

We have repeated it a dozen times, but another one goes: the installation of a GNU/Linux distribution is as simple a process today as installing Windows. At this point, we again indicate that we have chosen the new version of Ubuntu, but you can also use your preferred one, be it one of its "flavors" (Kubuntu, Xubuntu ...), an older one with long-term support or any of the new distributions from other providers.

Step 1. Get the system image

• Access the Ubuntu web portal and download the Ubuntu Desktop version ("ubuntu-20.04-desktop-amd64.iso"
• Compared to downloading Windows through its "installation medium", Canonical allows you to directly download the ISO image of the system.

Step 2. Prepare installation media by burning the ISO

• Use your favorite program to record the ISO. From here we continue to recommend a Rufus that works just as well to "burn" Windows or Linux images.
• Insert the medium that you will use in the recording. You can use a DVD, but we recommend you use a USB stick or disk with a minimum capacity of 8 Gbytes.
• Run Rufus, select the downloaded Ubuntu image by selecting the "Boot choice" and keeping the other options, GPT in "partition scheme" and target system "UEFI (not CSM).

Step 3. Secure clearance

Most computers that came with Windows preinstalled will take up all of the storage space, with one or more partitions. If you have several units on the computer as it happens with a desktop (hard drives or SSDs) installed you can dedicate one of them exclusively for Linux. If you only have one drive, you will have to make free space on a new partition in order to install Ubuntu on it. A step by step of the essential would be the following:

• We access the Windows 10 disk manager from Control Panel> Administrative Tools or using the command "compmgmt.msc" from the run window.
• As you will see in the example, the computer has a 1 Tbyte SSD with three partitions, two small for UEFI firmware and recovery, and all the rest in a primary partition "C" occupied with the installation of Windows 10, which is what we will have to reduce to achieve space. To do this, right-click on it and click on "reduce volume".
• The tool will analyze the “C” partition and will show the maximum size in which we can reduce it, which will correspond to the empty space. In our case, we have enough and we set the size to be reduced to 99999 Mbytes. That will be the size of the SSD partition that the Ubuntu installation will occupy.
• We will see how quickly an additional empty disk space will have been created. Do not touch anything else, create new partitions, or format them. The Ubuntu installer will already be in charge of creating the necessary partitions in the free space that we have created.

The partition size is indicative. A user who works daily with Ubuntu will need to free up more capacity but in our case, for tests, we have plenty. As we have said, in a production team you will need more space. And if your computer has a second storage unit (either SSD or hard drive), remember that you can dedicate one of them for Linux.

As for the Windows 10 disk manager, note that it is enough for basic partition management, but if you need something more advanced you can go to specialized software. Among those we like the most, we highlight the EaseUS Partition Master which has a free version. Its management is not easy and you have to know what is done, but it works automatically and with it, we will obtain full control of the partitions.

Step 4. Installing Ubuntu

The installation of a current Linux distro is as simple as doing it with a Windows version, in a step by step that if you follow us you will usually know yourself by heart:

• Insert the created media into a USB port on the machine. Restart the computer, enter the BIOS/UEFI and make sure that the USB stick is located as the first boot medium.
• Restart again to enter the Ubuntu installer. Click on "Install Ubuntu".
• You will enter the graphical installation mode that is explained alone. Click on install and select the language.
• Select the keyboard layout, the type of installation, and if you want it to download the latest updates.
• You will come to an important section that shows the enormous ease of installing Ubuntu. The installer recognizes the installed Windows system and allows Ubuntu to be installed next to it without touching the existing partitions at all and creating its own in the space that we had left free. (Advanced users can choose to customize, resize, etc.).
• The rest of the screens are trivial (including the administrator username and password that we will use) and the installation will finish without further ado. On a computer like the test notebook with an NVMe SSD, it completes in 6 minutes.

Using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Windows 10 interchangeably

Once the Ubuntu installation is completed, you will have the GRUB boot loader available, which is activated every time the computer starts and allows you to start Ubuntu or Windows. That is why in this type of configuration Windows and Linux must be installed first afterwards.

You can also select the system to start each time in the BIOS/UEFI, but it is more cumbersome than the bootloader.

We conclude by insisting that this type of installation is an excellent combination to enjoy the benefits of the most advanced version of the leading desktop operating system and the latest version of the most popular GNU/Linux distribution on the market. Together on the same computer, but not scrambled and with a dual boot that allows you to start one or the other in seconds.

We leave aside the use of virtual machines, another possibility to run different operating systems, but that on consumer machines do not offer either the performance or the user experience than with this method where each system runs separately and takes advantage of all the resources of the machine.

Also, your possibilities don't end with the two systems used for this guide and you can install other Linux, systems like Windows 7 and even OS X under Hackintosh. You just have to have free storage space, take care of the order of installation, deal with the partition types, UEFI and Secure Boot (or cancel them in your case) and have time and desire to complete a process that will offer great satisfactions and the maximum of performance.