ISO-Testing Tutorial - Simple Testing

Introduction

You have chosen the "Simple Testing" alternative to test Ubuntu Quantal Quetzal (12.10) Alpha Image Release. If this is not right, click here to return to the previous page.

In this section you will learn how to:

• Download Ubuntu ISO
• "Burn" Ubuntu ISO to a CD/DVD, USB or mount it to Virtual Machine Hard Disk or virtual CD-ROM drive
• Install Ubuntu

Step 1: Getting Ubuntu Quantal Quetzal Alpah Image ISO

What is an ISO?

The ISO is an "image" file. It can be burned to a CD, DVD or USB portable drive (like a pen drive, USB Stick, etc).

Where are the ISOs?

• "Standard" ISOs are at http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/

• "Alternate" ISOs are at http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily/current/. Alternate ISOs use a different installer and allow for some different install tasks, such as installing to systems with very low ram (less than 384MB, implementing RAID and LVM, among other.

Should I pick the "standard" or the "alternate"?

• If you know and use the features mentioned in the previous topic (RAID, LVM) or have previously used the Alternate ISO to overcome some particular issue in your setup, choose the Alternate ISO.

• If you don't use or are not familiar with the features mentioned and have never needed to use the alternate ISO, choose the Standard ISO.

Note: By the time of the writing of this article, the URL addresses mentioned above are correct. They may change in the upcoming hours. If so, this Wiki will be updated to reflect those changes.

Which ISO "architecture" should I download?

Your system can probably run a 64-Bit version of Ubuntu if you have a modern computer. If you are not sure, just download the 32-Bit version.

Downloading Ubuntu Quantal Quetzal (12.10) Alpha Image ISO

There are many possible ways to get it. It's just an ordinary download from the web. Let's explore two main methods of download:

• Browser: Simply point your browser to the ISO download site and download the desired ISO to any folder in your current operating system. ~/Downloads is a good choice. If you are using Windows or other operating system, save the file to the usual download location.

• ZSync: ZSync allows you to quickly update a local ISO file to a version that is available Online. We use it to keep up with daily changes (and not have to re-download the entire ISO everyday). But it's smart to use it even if you don't have an outdated ISO because ZSync can continue a download from where it stopped (in case you loose your Internet connection during the download). ZSync will only be available if you're using Ubuntu (or other Linux distribution).

Example 1: Downloading Ubuntu Quantal Quetzal Alpha Image 64-Bit standard ISO to your Downloads folder with ZSync:

• 1.Click on the Dash
  2.Open a Gnome-Terminal
  3.Type in (or paste) the following into the Gnome-Terminal window:
  

Tip: To paste into the terminal, use the keys Ctrl+Shift+V or right click anywhere inside the terminal and select "Paste"

   1 cd $HOME/Downloads
   2 zsync http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/quantal-desktop-amd64.iso.zsync 

Example 2: Downloading Ubuntu Quantal Quetzal Alpha Image 32-Bit standard ISO to your Downloads folder with ZSync:

• 1.Click on the Dash
  2.Open a Gnome-Terminal
  3.Type in (or paste) the following into the Gnome-Terminal window:
  

Tip: To paste into the terminal, use the keys Ctrl+Shift+V or right click anywhere inside the terminal and select "Paste"

   1 cd $HOME/Downloads
   2 zsync http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/quantal-desktop-i386.iso.zsync 

ZSync will show the download status and completion percentage on the terminal. It will exit when it reaches 100%. After that, if you browse to your Downloads folder, you'll see the ISO there.

ZSync: Command not found
If you see this message, it means you don't have ZSync installed in your system. Don't worry, it's a very small and fast download. Just type in (or paste) the following into the Gnome-Terminal window:
Tip: To paste into the terminal, use the keys Ctrl+Shift+V or right click anywhere inside the terminal and select "Paste"

   1 sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install zsync 

Enter your password in Gnome-Terminal and wait a few seconds for the installation to finish. Now use one of the two examples above to download a 32-Bit or 64-Bit Ubuntu ISO using your recently installed ZSync.

Step 2: Selecting a media to burn the ISO

There are many possibilities: You can burn it to an optic media (CD-ROM/DVD-ROM), a USB Portable Drive (Pendrive, USB Stick, etc), an External USB/eSATA Hard Disk, etc. You can simply mount the ISO to a Virtual Machine Hard Disk or Virtual CD-ROM drive and even to a second partition in your PC Hard Disk. The following options explores standard and easier ways of testing.

Burning the ISO to a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

From Ubuntu

• 1.Right-click on the downloaded ISO file. A context-menu should appear.
  2.In this context-menu, you should see either a default or a 3rd part application option to burn the ISO to a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM
  3.It's a faily simple process, but if you need detailed instructions, read them here.
  

From Windows

• 1.Right-click on the downloaded ISO file. A context-menu should appear.
  2.In this context-menu, you should see either a default or a 3rd part windows program option to burn the ISO to a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM
  3.If you don't have this option as a default on Windows and also don't have a 3rd part application to burn CD-ROM/DVD-ROM installed, download and install InfraRecorder. It's a simple application, but if you need instructions, read them here.
  

Burning the ISO to a USB Removable Drive

From Ubuntu

• 1.Click on the Dash and open Startup Disk Creator'
  2.Click on "Other" and select the Ubuntu ISO you have downloaded previously.
  3.Select your PenDrive and create your Ubuntu ISO USB stick
  

From Windows

1. Insert a USB stick with at least 2GB in your PC.
   

2. Download and install PenDrive Linux
   

3. Run the program. On "Step 1", select "Local ISO". On "Step 2", select the Ubuntu ISO you have downloaded previously. On "Step 3", select your PenDrive unit and click on "Create". Your ISO will be recorded to the PenDrive.
   

Mounting the ISO to a Virtual Machine Hard Disk or virtual CD-ROM drive

In this basic tutorial, we will adopt VirtualBox as the virtualization software. If you already have vmware-player or other virtualization software installed and know how to use it, presumably you don't need help mounting the Ubuntu ISO as one of it's virtual drives. If that is the case, please proceed directly to Step 3 (Installing the Ubuntu ISO).

• If you have VirtualBox installed and know how to mount Ubuntu ISO on it, proceed directly to Step 3 (Choosing where to install Ubuntu Beta).

• If you would like to read instructions on how to install VirtualBox and mount Ubuntu ISO as one of its virtual drives, please click here.

Step 3: Choosing where to install Ubuntu Beta

Once again you have to make a choice:

Install Ubuntu Beta to a separate partition in your PC Hard Disk

Ubuntu installation will preserve your currently installed operating systems and install the Beta in a separate section of your hard disk. You will be able to select what operating system to load when starting ("booting") your PC.

Pros

• You can select which version of Ubuntu, or another Operating System (such as Windows) to use when starting the PC.
• If you have problems with the Beta, you can still use your previous Ubuntu install normally.

Cons

• In case you wish to continue using Ubuntu Beta, now as your default Operating, you will have to transfer your documents and data from your previous install to the new one and eventually delete the previous one to free space. Those procedures are easy though and you can find them explained in details in Ubuntu Wiki.
• The installer might need to resize other partitions in your Hard Disk (Used by Ubuntu or other operating system). This increases the install time slightly. If the process is interrupted during this phase, you might have corrupted your hard disk and will need support to restore it.

Install Ubuntu Beta to an external drive

You will configure your PC BIOS to boot from removable devices if any such device is connected to it. Once you plug this unit to your PC and start it, Ubuntu Beta will load.

Pros

• Absolutely no change is done to your PC hard disk and data. It's very safe.

Cons

• Depending on the type of device (USB, FireWire, eSata) you may feel a decrease in performance, when compared to operating systems installed to and ran from the PC hard disk.

• If you decide to keep this install, you will have to move it to the PC hard disk. This is not an immediate procedure and most users need support doing it.

Install Ubuntu Beta to a Virtual Machine

You will mount Ubuntu ISO as a Virtual Drive in a Virtual Machine. As you start the Virtual Machine, the ISO will be loaded and you will be taken directly to Ubuntu setup.

Pros

• You will be able to use Ubuntu Beta from inside your current operating system install. It runs on a separate environment and so your default operating system is preserved.
• You can test Ubuntu Beta in a Virtual Machine Window, while working and doing your daily activities in the rest of the desktop.

Cons

• In VM setups, the Beta ("Guest") Operating System interacts with "Virtual Hardware". It's a good way to test applications, translations and many other aspects. However, since the VM won't interact with real hardware, it's not a valid test for the installer itself and hardware drivers (such as video cards, network interfaces, modems, etc).

• Both VirtualBox and VMware-Player allow for "hardware acceleration" of video, meaning you can use "accelerated" or "3D" composite desktops (such as Unity) in VMs. This feature, however, does not work for all users and video cards. A more powerful, properly setup and working VGA Card and adequate setup in the virtualization software is usually needed. However, know that if the "Guest" OS (Ubuntu Beta) fails to use a "3D" desktop in your setup, the "Unity 2D" session will load. Testing Unity 2D is also valuable.

Step 4: Installing Ubuntu Beta

From Ubuntu

"Graphical" Install (Ubiquity)

1. Simply insert your recently burned CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or USB Stick and you should automatically see the installer in a few moments
   

2. At this point you are already testing.
   

3. Remember to take notes of any interesting error, bug, misbehavior you see.
   

Console (text-mode, "Non-graphical") Install

1. Simply insert your recently burned CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or USB Stick to your PC and restart it.
   

2. If your PC still boots from the hard disk, loading your previous Ubuntu (or other operating system) and not the beta, it means you have to instruct it to boot from the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive or USB unit. If that is the case, restart the PC and, during POST (the usually black screen that appears right after you power on the PC), try to read what Key should be pressed to select the boot order or boot device. If this option is not present directly, you should press the key to enter the PC BIOS Setup. You can get detailed instruction on setting up the PC to boot from a CD/DVD here and, for booting from USB, check here.

3. At this point you are already testing.
   

4. Remember to take notes of any interesting error, bug, misbehavior you see.
   

From Windows

"Graphical" Install (Wubi)

1. Simply insert your recently burned CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or USB Stick and you will be prompted by Windows to execute it.
   

2. At this point you are already testing.
   

3. Remember to take notes of any interesting error, bug, misbehavior you see.
   

Console (text-mode, "Non-graphical") Install

1. Simply insert your recently burned CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or USB Stick to your PC and restart it.
   

2. If your PC still boots from the hard disk, loading your previous Ubuntu (or other operating system) and not the beta, it means you have to instruct it to boot from the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive or USB unit. If that is the case, restart the PC and, during POST (the usually black screen that appears right after you power on the PC), try to read what Key should be pressed to select the boot order or boot device. If this option is not present directly, you should press the key to enter the PC BIOS Setup. You can get detailed instruction on setting up the PC to boot from a CD/DVD here and, for booting from USB, check here.

3. At this point you are already testing.
   

4. Remember to take notes of any interesting error, bug, misbehavior you see.
   

On a VirtualBox Virtual Machine (Windows or Ubuntu "Host")

Follow the step by step procedures outlined here.

Step 6:Reporting Bugs

1. The first thing to do is create a new Launchpad account if you don't already have one.
   

2. If you are inside a working installation of Ubuntu Beta and you know the name of the package or program you want to report, you can do it easily by simultaneously pressing the Alt and F2 keys (the "Run Application" window will appear) and invoking apport-bug with the name of program or package. See this example for Rhythmbox:

   1 apport-bug rhythmbox 

3. If you don't know the name of the package, try to follow the procedures outlined here to determine it or ask for support at the UbuntuForums.