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The final installer screens turn your earlier decisions into real changes. This is the moment to slow down. A correct summary should match the plan you wrote before booting the USB; it should not introduce a surprising disk, erase choice, or encryption method.
Create the Ubuntu account
Ubuntu asks for several names that serve different purposes:
- Your name is the readable name shown on the login screen.
- Username is the shorter account name used for the home folder and terminal prompt. Lowercase letters without spaces are the simplest choice.
- Computer name identifies this computer on a local network. Keep the suggested value or choose a short, non-sensitive name.
- Password protects the account and authorizes administrative changes.
Use a password you can type accurately with the selected keyboard layout. Do not place the password in the computer name, username, or notes visible beside the computer.
The installer may offer automatic login or require the account password at login.
Requiring the password gives useful protection when somebody can reach the computer. Automatic login is more convenient, but anyone who starts the computer can reach that account.
Disk encryption is a separate layer. An encrypted system may ask for a disk passphrase during startup, then ask for the account password at the login screen.
Confirm the timezone
Choose the location or timezone that matches where the computer is used. The timezone controls how the system displays local time; it does not determine the language or keyboard layout.
Check the clock shown by the installer. A wrong timezone can be corrected later, so it is not a reason to repartition or restart the installation.
Read the final installation summary
The Ready to install page is the last useful checkpoint before the installer writes the chosen layout to the internal disk. Read it rather than treating it as a routine confirmation.
Final review before installation
The target is the intended internal disk model.
- The displayed total capacity matches the internal disk, not the installer USB.
- The choice to keep or erase Windows matches the plan.
- The encryption option and recovery responsibility are understood.
- Important files are backed up and a restore copy has been checked.
- BitLocker and other required recovery keys are stored away from this computer.
- The charger is connected and reliable power is available.
- Unnecessary external disks have been disconnected.
If the only disk shown is a SanDisk USB around 114–123 GB with a VFAT partition or /cdrom mount point, this review has failed. Return to Ubuntu Installer Shows Only the USB Drive and do not confirm installation.
Let the installation finish
After confirmation, the installer copies files, configures the selected disk, and prepares the computer to boot Ubuntu. Progress time varies with the USB, internal storage, processor, and network.
Keep the power connected. Do not remove the USB or force the computer off while installation is active.
If the installer displays an error, record its exact wording before closing anything. Do not repeat destructive disk steps until you know whether the previous attempt changed the disk.
Restart and remove the USB
Select Restart now when installation completes. Ubuntu may display a message asking you to remove the installation medium and press Enter.
- Wait until that message appears or until the computer has clearly begun restarting.
- Remove only the Ubuntu installer USB.
- Press Enter when the message requests it.
- Let the computer start from its internal drive.
If disk encryption with a passphrase was configured, enter that disk passphrase at the early unlock screen. The account login appears later. Hardware-backed encryption may unlock automatically when its trusted hardware state is intact.
If the installer starts again
The computer probably booted from the USB again. Shut down or restart, remove the USB, then start the computer. If the USB must remain connected for some reason, use the one-time boot menu and choose the internal Ubuntu entry.
Do not run the installer again or select another erase option merely because the Try or Install screen returned.
If no boot device appears
Open the one-time boot menu and look for an Ubuntu or internal-drive UEFI entry. Record the exact message and whether firmware still detects the internal disk.
Avoid changing storage-controller settings at random. Changing RST, VMD, RAID, or AHCI after installation can make the installed system inaccessible too.
Use Ubuntu Installation Troubleshooting for Beginners to match the symptom to a safe next check.
Complete the first login
Log in with the Ubuntu account password. Check that the desktop loads and the internal disk—not the USB—is providing the system. Reconnect the installer USB only after this is clear, and only if you still need it.
Connect to the internet. Then work through this first-boot list:
- Open Software Updater when it is available and install current updates.
- Open the applications view and search for Additional Drivers. If the tool offers a tested proprietary driver for your hardware, read the device and recommendation before applying it.
- Restart when an update or driver change asks you to.
- Retest display resolution and scaling, audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, suspend and resume, and any external monitor or important USB device.
- Restore browser synchronization only to the intended account.
- Set up a backup destination rather than leaving the new installation as the only copy.
- Keep disk-encryption and Windows recovery information in its separate safe location.
Additional Drivers will not always propose anything. That can simply mean the installed open-source drivers already cover the hardware. Do not install a random driver from an unrelated website to make the list look complete.
Update with APT when you are ready
Ubuntu obtains most system software and updates from trusted online sources called software repositories. A package index is the local list of packages and versions those repositories currently offer.
The graphical updater is a good first route. The two terminal commands below refresh that list and then install available upgrades. Run them one at a time so you can see where the first action ends.
Open Terminal from the applications view. A prompt may resemble alex@learning-pc:~$, but the prompt is already supplied by the terminal. Do not type or copy it.
sudo apt updatesudo requests administrator permission for the following command. apt is Ubuntu’s package-management tool. update refreshes the package index; it does not install every available upgrade by itself.
When sudo asks for the account password, type it and press Enter. The terminal normally shows no dots, stars, or other characters while the password is typed. That is deliberate; the keyboard is not broken.
Read the final lines. A successful refresh reaches the configured repositories and finishes reading the package lists.
Ubuntu uses digital signatures to check that repository information came from an expected source and was not altered. A signature error means that check failed.
Record the exact error and investigate it instead of ignoring it or continuing with an unverified source. Network and repository errors also deserve attention.
sudo apt upgradeupgrade shows the packages it plans to update and asks for confirmation when needed. Read the summary, accept it only when it looks reasonable, and wait for the prompt to return. These commands are separate so a beginner can see where the first action ends and the second begins.
Common mistakes and recovery
Confirming from the USB’s capacity alone. Compare model, capacity, partitions, and internal/USB context together. Capacity is evidence, not an identity.
Removing the USB while files are still copying. Leave it connected until the installer requests a restart or removal.
Typing the terminal prompt. Type only the command shown inside each command block.
Thinking the password field is frozen. sudo normally gives no visual feedback. Type carefully and press Enter.
Ignoring update errors. Record the exact error, confirm internet access and system time, and ask for help before pasting commands from an unverified forum.
Installing an arbitrary graphics package. Prefer the installer’s recommended third-party option, current Ubuntu updates, and the Additional Drivers recommendation where available.
Practice
Knowledge check
Put the first boot in order. Explain when to remove the installation USB, the difference
between the disk passphrase and account password, and why apt update comes before apt upgrade.
What to learn next
Keep Ubuntu Installation Troubleshooting for Beginners nearby for restart, boot, driver, or installer symptoms.
Ubuntu desktop controls and terminal foundations are planned next; they are not required to prove that this installation completed successfully. The existing Astro Website Builder path is a later development direction after daily Ubuntu and terminal basics are comfortable.