How to download on computer with no OS? [duplicate]

Question

If I buy or build a computer with no OS, how do I get Ubuntu?

I am looking at building a PC with a tight budget and don't want to blow US$100 on Windows 10.

Answer 1

You can buy a live USB here.

Another option is to download the .iso file on a friend's PC. You would then be able to burn that .iso file to a dvd, which would make it a live/installation DVD. There would also be the option to make a live USB instead using a program such as unetbootin (Mac, Linux or Windows), Rufus (Windows) or Startup Disk Creator (Ubuntu).

If you don't have access to another PC, it looks like buying the live USB from the Canonical store is your best bet. There are several places to buy live DVD/CD packages such as thelinuxshop.co.uk, but you can't necessarily guarantee that it's not been maliciously modified.

Answer 2

You will need another computer to create a boot DVD or USB stick.

DOWNLOADING
From the PC you're using to create the disk or USB, go to http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and click the download link. Here you have an opportunity to donate to Ubuntu before downloading, or, click on "Not now, take me to the download" to just start downloading. There's also alternative downloads such as through torrents here : http://www.ubuntu.com/download/alternative-downloads

CREATE USB/DVD
If you have access to a Windows machine, I suggest you download the ISO you want, and a program called Rufus to make the image into a bootable USB, or create a DVD. Creating a bootable USB is easy. Run Rufus, leave all options as they are, but next to "Create a bootable disk using", change the drop down menu to ISO Image. Then click on Browse, and find and select your ISO file that you downloaded earlier.

You can also create the boot USB with unetbootin on a Linux machine, but I find Rufus works much better. If the computer you're using is a Linux machine, run unetbootin. If it's not installed, install it with sudo apt-get install unetbootin.

From the main screen of unetbootin, select the option button next to "Diskimage", make sure the dropdown menu says "ISO", and click the button with the 3 dots to find and select the ISO file you downloaded. Now at the bottom, ensure you've selected the disk you want to make bootable and click "Ok".

PURCHASING
Canonical sells bootable sticks which you can buy from them directly here: http://shop.canonical.com/index.php?cPath=17

INSTALLING

Now, no matter which method you used to create the disk or bootable USB, put the media into the computer that has no OS. Consult your computer's manual, or online documentation, to see if you need to make any changes in your BIOS in order to boot from a DVD or USB stick. There should also be an option where you can press a key during bootup to select which device you would like to boot from.

From here, once you've booted, it's very well guided. When it comes to the installer asking where to install Ubuntu, select "Use Entire Disk", or "Erase disk and install Ubuntu", whichever one is presented to you. The rest of the installation is fairly straightforward and guided.