3.5 Booting from the Ubuntu USB Image

Insert the Ubuntu installation media into the appropriate drive and power on the system. If the system tries to boot from the hard disk drive you will need to enter the BIOS set up for your computer and change the boot order so that it boots from the installation media drive first. For the first few seconds of the boot process a largely blank screen will appear with the following image located along the bottom edge:

Figure 3-4

If no action is taken at this point, Ubuntu will boot into the Live session and provide the option to either try Ubuntu without installing, or to begin the installation process as shown in Figure 3-1 above. Alternatively, pressing the keyboard Esc key will enter the boot menu system beginning with the language selection screen shown in Figure 3-5:

Figure 3-5

Navigate using the keyboard arrow keys and press the Enter key to select a language at which point the Ubuntu boot menu screen will appear as shown below:

Figure 3-6

Once again, options are provided to either try the Ubuntu Live session, or to begin the installation process. If you experience a black screen when attempting to start or install Ubuntu, reboot the system and try again using one of the safe graphics options. The installation media and system memory may also be checked for defects, or the system booted from the primary hard disk drive installed in the computer system (assuming it contains a bootable operating system image). A range of Function key options provide access to settings such as changing the accessibility options, accessing help and specifying special boot parameters.