I started writing this initially for myself as a reference guide, and then more so for a friend making the jump from windows. I make no disclaimer for any errors or problems caused by this guide, but will faithfully say it is as accurate and helpful as i have been able to make it without outside input, and contains the same steps 'i' use to getting things as i want them on a fresh 'Edgy' install.
If it seems it is of help to people (including my mate Scott
i will continue the guide in the near future to cover further configuration, application choices and customisation.x trash x
Downloading And Burning Kubuntu
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1) Goto http://www.kubuntu.org and select a source to download the iso image from.
eg. http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/r...sktop-i386.iso
2) When you burn the iso image make sure you turn the speed down (x4 is a reasonable speed). Writeable CD's are not an ideal media for booting or installing an operating system, burning at a slow speed will make the disk more reliable.
Installing Kubuntu
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Note: It is advisable to install Kubuntu with a working broadband connection!
1) Boot the system up with the Kubuntu CD in (you may have to change your BIOS boot options if you currently have another working operating system on the disk.
2) Select 'Start or Install Kubuntu' from the boot menu.
3) Kubuntu will load in 'Live CD' mode, enabling you to use the operating system, and see what it has to offer. It will also give you a good idea as to whether all your hardware is supported. If any of your hardware doesn't work straight off don't worry (some hardware such as wireless networking devices sometimes require manual configuration). When you are happy to continue click the 'Install' icon on the desktop.
4) Follow the install procedure through, most steps are reasonably straight forward. When you reach the screen that asks you how you want create the installation partition, choose the first option if you have unpartitioned disk space available (and other operating systems on the same disk you wish to live intact), or the second option if you wish to erase the entire disk and use it's full capacity for Kubuntu.
5) When the installation has finished copying all the files you will be prompted to choose from between either continuing in 'live' mode or rebooting the system. When the system has finished shutting down you will be asked to remove the installation CD and press enter.
Booting Up For The First Time
-----------------------------
1) The boot procedure is split into various stages. First there is the Grub menu. This has a short timer enabling you to press escape in order to boot into other operating systems that may be installed on the system. Things like the amount of seconds the menu is available for, and the default operating system can be changed later on. Next Kubuntu loads. When this has completed you will be presented with a login (this to can be removed later if you wish). When you have logged in the KDE desktop loads, and you can start using the operating system.
Logging In As A Super User
--------------------------
Much of the stability and security in the Linux model is due to the fact you need to be logged in as a super user to install files, edit system files ot alter advanced system settings. Whenever you try to do something in the KDE desktop that requires Super User privilages, you will be presented with a password dialogue, in which you will need to enter your login password. Though this seems strange from the point of view of a Windows user, it's worth considering anyone else using your system without your permission, or someone trying to hack your system over your internet connection, or adware or viruses trying to damage your system, will have a much more difficult time. Kubuntu runs by default without a firewall or anti-virus (and i have not had one problem so far, as compared to windows when i had constant problems even with security software). Should you be concerned about not having any security software running, it is available for free.
Updating Your Kubuntu Installation
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More so than any modern operating system Kubuntu is under constant development, dealing with any bugs or security issues and offering improvements and new versions of applications. Though a graphical tool is available for Kubuntu, it is much faster and easier to update your system through a terminal application.
1) First you need to configure what sources your system will connect to when looking for updates. It is possible to configure your system to be on the cutting edge (along with the bugs new releases are prone to), only accepting software that has found it's way to the main repository (tried and tested), or somewhere in between. The file that contains this information is in a system file, so you need to be a super user to edit it. Goto the 'K' button in the bottom left corner, and select 'Run Command..'. Type 'kwrite' in the command box, and then press the 'Options' button. Tick the 'Run as a different user' box, and enter your password in the 'Password' box (root is the user name for the default super user account).
2) You need to open a file (either from the 'File' menu or the toolbar button). In the 'Open File' dialogue type '/etc/apt/' in the address bar, and select the 'sources.list' file. You can then delete the current file contents, and paste the following over the current file contents (this provides a better balance off stability vs access to new versions than the default configuration).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (do not include this line)
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted
## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-updates main restricted
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-updates main restricted
## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'universe'
## repository.
## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## universe WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu security
## team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy universe
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy universe
## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports'
## repository.
## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-backports main restricted universe
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-backports main restricted universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security universe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(do not include this line)
Save the file and close KWrite.
4) Now we have edited the sources (also known as repositories) in the source file, we can run an update, to bring the system up to date with all changes and additions since the 6.10 install disk was released. Goto the 'K' button, navigate to the system folder and run 'Konsole'. You will be greeted by a black terminal window containing 'username@computername:~$'. First we need to login as a super user, type 'sudo su' and enter your password at the prompt. The prompt will then change to 'root@computername:~$'.
5) The main program for running updates and installing programs (also referred to as packages in Linux) is called 'apt'. Type 'apt-get update' followed by enter. This will retrieve a list of all pertinent updates based on what you have installed. Now type 'apt-get upgrade' followed by enter. You will be informed of what software will be updated, and the disk space it will require. If you are happy to continue enter yes. All updates will be carried out automatically, leaving you back at the 'root@computername:~$' prompt when the process has completed.
Installing And Configuring Firefox
----------------------------------
Kubuntu Edgy installs Firefox 2.0 by default. In the same way Firefox is not a native Windows program and has displayed quirks when running on Windows, neither is it a native KDE program. In the same way there are no serious problems, but there are a few tricks to making it fit in better.
1) Launch 'Konsole' again (by pressing the 'K' button and going to the system folder), and enter 'sudo su' followed by the password to login as root (incidentally if you ever have a 'Konsole' window open already logged in as root you do not need to repeat this, it's only when you open a new one). Now enter 'apt-get update' (though nothing is likely to have changed since the last time you ran apt-get update, it's a good habit to get into to make sure you have access to the latest versions of things, and it doesn't take long anyway), and then enter 'apt-get install mozilla-firefox', entering 'y' if prompted for confirmation. A 'Mozilla-Firefox' shortcut will have been added to you're internet folder when pressing the 'K' button.
2) There's a problem with the scroll bars in Firefox 2.0 on KDE, it's only aesthetic but it's annoying. From the 'System Menu' on your taskbar open the 'Home Folder'. Now goto the 'View' menu and select 'Show Hidden Files'. Navigate into the '.mozilla' folder by clicking it, then the 'firefox' one, then the 's9r3lt0v.default' folder (the sequence of letters and numbers will be different for you), then the 'chrome' folder. Here create a new text file (right click, Create New, Text Document...), and name it 'userChrome.css'. Make another file in the same way called 'userContent.css'. Now goto the 'K' button and 'Run Command...', entering kwrite. When 'KWrite' has loaded first drag the 'userChrome.css' file into the window to open it, and paste in the following;
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(do not include this line)
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-up-top"] { display: -moz-box !important; }
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-down-top"] { display: none !important; }
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-up-bottom"] { display: -moz-box !important; }
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-down-bottom"] { display: -moz-box !important; }
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(do not include this line)
Save the file.
3) Repeat the same with 'userContent.css' adding the following;
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(do not include this line)
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-up-top"] { display: -moz-box !important; }
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-down-top"] { display: none !important; }
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-up-bottom"] { display: -moz-box !important; }
scrollbarbutton[sbattr="scrollbar-down-bottom"] { display: -moz-box !important; }
scrollbar [orient="vertical"] thumb { -moz-appearance: none !important; }
scrollbar [orient="horizontal"] thumb { -moz-appearance: none !important; }
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(do not include this line)
And again, save the file. You can now close 'Kwrite'. The next time you open 'Firefox' the up/down arrows will be arranged like the rest in KDE, and the scrollbars will be standard grey ones. Sadly the proper KDE scrollbars leave graphic artifacts behind when you move them which is visually annoying. Until this is fixed the following adjustments make things tidier.
4) Next to install flash support. Flash 9.0 beta has recently been released for linux and seems to be very stable and run all flash content i have tested it on (the file you need to find is 'flashplugin-nonfree_9.0.21.55-3v1ubuntu0_i386.deb'). Save the file somewhere sensible like the 'Home Folder' or your 'Desktop'. Launch the 'Konsole' (logging in as root using 'sudo su' if you need to) and navigate to the folder you have saved the .deb file by using 'cd /home/*username*' or 'cd /home/*username*/Desktop'. It is worth mentioning at this point Linux is case sensitive, so when entering any commands you must use lowercase and capital letters as they are displayed for the folders and commands.
5) Once you are in the right folder (typing 'ls' followed by enter will list the files in the folder you are currently in), type 'dpkg --install flashplugin-nonfree_9.0.21.55-3v1ubuntu0_i386.deb', and follow the prompts. You will find if you type 'dpkg --install flas' and then just hit the 'tab' key it will complete the filename for you to save typing it all out. Once you have agreed to all the licensing prompts, simply restart 'Firefox' to start using it with flash.
6) There are a few other addons i would recomment that can be found through the 'Firefox', 'Addon-ons' manager (this is a combined interface for the old themes and extensions managers). 'KDEFF' is a theme which makes the 'Firefox' buttons match the standard 'Konqueror' buttons, this makes 'Firefox' look much more at home in KDE. 'Download Statusbar' is an extension that displays all your downloads in the browser status bar instead of a separate window, it is highly configurable and a really useful feature. 'Forecastfox |10n' is the best weather information extension i have found for getting accurate UK weather. 'Personal Menu' enables you to highly customise the look and controls of firefox so you can have things exactly as you want.
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