Install Ubuntu 26.04: Bootable USB, Partitioning, and First Steps

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS “Resolute Raccoon” was released on April 23, 2026 with Linux kernel 7.0, GNOME desktop, and standard security support until April 2031. A clean install gives you a known-good starting point on new hardware, when replacing another operating system, or when an upgrade path is not practical.

This guide walks through how to install Ubuntu 26.04: downloading and verifying the ISO, writing a bootable USB drive, completing the installer, and doing the initial setup after the first boot.

Before you start: You need a USB drive with at least 12 GB of free space. Back up any existing data on the target machine — the installer can erase the entire disk.

Install Ubuntu 26.04: Download the ISO and Create a Bootable USB

Download the desktop ISO from the official Ubuntu downloads page. The file is ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso at about 6.1 GB.

Verify the download before writing to USB. A corrupted ISO causes installer crashes that are difficult to diagnose. Download the checksum file and compare it:

bashwget https://releases.ubuntu.com/26.04/SHA256SUMSsha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

The output should show ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso: OK. On Windows, use Get-FileHash in PowerShell. On macOS, use shasum -a 256.

Write the ISO to a USB drive. Use Rufus on Windows, balenaEtcher on macOS, or dd on Linux.

On Windows with Rufus: select the ISO, keep Write in ISO Image mode, and set the partition scheme to GPT with target system UEFI (non CSM) for modern hardware. Use MBR only for legacy BIOS systems.

On Linux with dd: find the USB device with lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,MODEL. Write to the whole device, not a partition:

bashsudo umount /dev/sdb*sudo dd if=ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

The oflag=sync flag forces data to flush to the USB before the command exits. Writing to /dev/sdb1 instead of /dev/sdb corrupts the partition table.

Insert the USB, restart, and open the boot menu with F12, F10, F9, Esc, or Del depending on your machine. Select Try or Install Ubuntu.

Walk Through the Ubuntu 26.04 Installer

The installer guides you through each screen in order:

1. Language and accessibility: choose your preferred language
2. Keyboard layout: use the test field to confirm symbols type correctly before continuing
3. Network: connecting during installation lets the installer download updates; you can skip this and update after install
4. Installation type: select Install Ubuntu. Choose Try Ubuntu first if you want to test hardware support before committing
5. Interactive installation: the standard path for desktop installs. The automated option is for mass deployments using a YAML config file
6. Apps: Default selection gives a lean desktop; Extended selection adds office and media tools immediately
7. Third-party software: enable when you have internet access. This installs proprietary NVIDIA and Wi-Fi drivers and media codec support
8. Disk setup: Erase disk handles partitioning automatically for a clean install. For manual control, a UEFI system needs at least two partitions: a 512 MB FAT32 /boot/efi partition and a 25 GB+ ext4 root / partition. Adding a separate /home partition lets you reinstall Ubuntu later without touching your files. Ubuntu uses a swap file by default, only create a swap partition if you need hibernation, sized at least as large as your RAM. If an existing EFI partition is already on disk from another OS, reuse it with /boot/efi as the mount point and leave the format checkbox unchecked to preserve the other system’s boot entry
9. Encryption: worth enabling on laptops and private-data machines. Store the recovery key before continuing
10. User account: the password here covers both desktop login and sudo access, so choose a strong one
11. Time zone and review: confirm disk, keyboard, and account details before starting the copy

Remove the USB drive when prompted after the installation finishes, then reboot.

First Steps After Installing Ubuntu 26.04

After the first login, install available updates:

bashsudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Verify the installed version:

bashlsb_release -a

If this machine will be accessed remotely, set up SSH and configure the UFW firewall. For a full post-install checklist covering drivers, media codecs, and desktop tweaks, see the things to do after installing Ubuntu 26.04 guide.

Ubuntu 26.04 is now installed. The first priority is updates, then hardware verification, and then adding only the applications and services your setup needs. Leave a comment below if you run into any issues.