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Installing Ubuntu (Quick Guide)

This guide walks you through downloading and installing Ubuntu on a physical machine or virtual machine.

Table of Contents​

Download Ubuntu​

Want a Lightweight Alternative?

If you're only doing development or testing (not using real hardware or GUI tools like RViz), consider using Docker instead of installing Ubuntu directly. See Docker Setup →

Create a Bootable USB​

You'll need:

  • A USB drive (at least 8 GB)
  • The downloaded Ubuntu .iso file

Choose your OS below for USB creation instructions:

On Windows (Rufus)​

  1. Download Rufus
  2. Plug in your USB stick
  3. Select:
    • Device: your USB
    • Boot selection: Ubuntu .iso file
    • Partition scheme: GPT (recommended for UEFI)
  4. Click Start and wait for the write to finish
tip

If you would like to keep your operating system: See Dual Boot Instructions →

On macOS (Etcher or Terminal)​

Option A: Balena Etcher (GUI)

  1. Download Balena Etcher
  2. Select the Ubuntu .iso, choose your USB, and click Flash

Option B: Terminal

# Convert ISO to IMG if needed
hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o ubuntu.img ubuntu.iso

# Find your USB (e.g., /dev/disk2), then:
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
sudo dd if=ubuntu.img.dmg of=/dev/rdiskX bs=1m
sync
warning

Replace X with your actual USB disk number — double check!

On Linux​

# Replace this with the path to your downloaded ISO file (any version)
ISO=~/Downloads/ubuntu-XX.XX-desktop-amd64.iso  # e.g. ubuntu-22.04.4-desktop-amd64.iso

# Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device (e.g., /dev/sdb — double check!)
sudo dd if=$ISO of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress && sync
warning

Be very careful with /dev/sdX — using the wrong drive can erase your system!

Step 2: Boot the Ubuntu USB Installer​

  1. Insert the USB and reboot the system
  2. Enter BIOS/UEFI (usually by pressing F2, Del, F12, or Esc during startup)
  3. Set the USB as the first boot device
  4. Save changes and reboot

Install Ubuntu​

Once the installer loads:

  1. Select Try or Install Ubuntu
  2. Select "Erase disk and install Ubuntu" (for a clean install)
warning

This will erase all data on the selected drive. If you would like to keep your operating system: See Dual Boot Instructions

  1. Choose your timezone
  2. Create a username and password
  3. Click Install

Wait for the installation to complete, then remove the USB and reboot when prompted.

Post-Install Setup​

After booting into your new system:

# Update your system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install common tools
sudo apt install -y curl git build-essential gnome-tweaks

You're now ready to install ROS 2 or any development tools you need!