Ubuntu Linux® For Dummies®

Chapter 2. Live Ubuntu

In This Chapter

• Assessing your resources

• Starting Ubuntu directly from disc

One of the reasons Ubuntu is so popular is that it's so easy to use. Ubuntu is distributed live on either a CD‐ROM or DVD. By live, I mean that Ubuntu can be booted (started) directly from that disc. Forget about spending a long afternoon installing it — you can use it right now.

How can Ubuntu be alive? Well, it's not alive, it's live. That's “live” in terms of being directly bootable from read‐only media. To reach its live status, Ubuntu is constructed in such a way that it can start from the disc and then use your computer's RAM (random access memory) to store files. This memory isn't saved when you reboot your computer.

Ubuntu Linux For Dummies includes a live Ubuntu CD‐ROM that works with most Windows PCs.

Making Sure You Can Use Ubuntu on Your Computer

Here's what you need to run live Ubuntu:

• A compatible computer, like one of these:

  • Intel/AMD‐compatible 32‐bit PC (typical Windows computer)

    Most PCs made in the last 20 years use 32‐bit processors.

    This book's companion CD runs on 32‐bit PCs.

  • Intel/AMD‐compatible 64‐bit PC (the latest, fastest Windows machine)

    Windows computers using the Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 (Athlon64 and Opteron) or Intel EM64T (Xeon) processors are 64‐bit.

  • This book's companion CD doesn't work on 64‐bit computers. You can download a 64‐bit Ubuntu CD from http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.10. Ubuntu provides instructions for burning the CD at http://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto ...