SuperNewman
Face-Melting F2Per
This is a legitimate how to on how to install Linux for the Tux item, not a hack.
1. Obtain a separate hard drive, either a USB drive, or a SATA drive. Do not listen to those who say "you can install Ubuntu over Windows!" or "Just make a separate partition on the same drive, and then install Ubuntu!" They are wrong. If you do not use a separate drive for the install, you will break your boot sector of your drive when you remove your temporary Ubuntu install and you will have to reformat the drive, and reinstall Windows. I learned this the hard way, and am passing this info/time savings onto you, fellow Skial members. :)
2. Go here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and grab the 12.04 LTS release of Ubuntu, 64 bit if you have 4 gigs or more of Ram, 32 bit if you have less. Be forewarned, there is some extra stuff that you will need to install if you get the 64 bit version, but it goes fairly smoothly if you follow the directions.
3. Burn your .iso onto a CD or DVD to make your live CD.
4. Make sure that the drive that you want to install Ubuntu on is connected to the computer, make sure your computer BIOS is setup to boot off of your CD drive, and reboot the computer. Before rebooting the computer, I would recommend disconnecting your Windows OS drive from your Motherboard, or disabling it in the bios so the Live CD will not load the GRUB loader onto the Windows drive. You can skip this step, but if you remove Ubuntu from your second drive, you will be "stuck" with the GRUB OS loader on your Windows drive, not necessarily a bad thing, but it will add about 8 seconds to your boot times, so for simplicities sake, and to save possible future headaches, disconnect your Windows OS drive before you run the live CD.
5. Okay, so now that you have your live CD up and running, follow the instructions on screen to format your Linux drive, and install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to that drive. This will take about as long as a Windows install, so now you get to play the waiting game as it installs the OS and necessary updates.
6. Install over, the system reboots, and now you are running Ubuntu, now it is time to install Steam. For the love of all that is holy, go to this page, and follow the instructions!
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Valve
Ubuntu is an opensource OS, so if you encounter a hang up, googling your problem will more than likely get you a solution to get you up and running. I am not an Ubuntu expert, I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express one night and got really hammered at the bar while watching a Red Wings game.
7. Okay, so you have followed the instructions, installed the correct Video drivers, and now have Steam running on your Ubunto OS, now you need Team Fortress 2. Now the fun part, yes you will have to re-download TF2 from the Steam servers, which will take at least a day, or a couple of nights if you break it up (this is based off of my slow 2mb connection, faster connections will get the files faster, and those with a slower connection should probably reflect on their choice for their ISP.) There are instructions out there for how to move your TF2 install from your Windows drive onto your linux drive, but I'll just save you the trouble, just download it from Steam, it will save you the frustration of why your install fails to work, and lots of TF2 downtime trouble shooting a broken install on a foreign OS.
8. Now that you most likely have a whole weekend invested into getting a Tux, swear at the assholes who used the hack to obtain him the "easy" way. :D
9. If you do not like Ubuntu, now you can just blast the Ubuntu drive, no harm no foul, and re-point your BIOS to boot to your Windows drive. Alternatively, if you have Ubuntu/Steam/TF2 on an external you can pass it around to your friends for a relatively easy Tux grab, just be sure to reset your video drivers to the generic drivers before you do this, because Ubuntu is only as smart as the guy behind the screen, as in, it will not switch back to the generic drivers if it sees hardware different from the last boot, and will boot up with a black screen.
It seems fairly involved, but it is pretty easy to install Ubuntu and Steam, just follow the directions, and do not install Ubuntu on the same physical drive as your Windows OS, and you should be good to go.
1. Obtain a separate hard drive, either a USB drive, or a SATA drive. Do not listen to those who say "you can install Ubuntu over Windows!" or "Just make a separate partition on the same drive, and then install Ubuntu!" They are wrong. If you do not use a separate drive for the install, you will break your boot sector of your drive when you remove your temporary Ubuntu install and you will have to reformat the drive, and reinstall Windows. I learned this the hard way, and am passing this info/time savings onto you, fellow Skial members. :)
2. Go here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and grab the 12.04 LTS release of Ubuntu, 64 bit if you have 4 gigs or more of Ram, 32 bit if you have less. Be forewarned, there is some extra stuff that you will need to install if you get the 64 bit version, but it goes fairly smoothly if you follow the directions.
3. Burn your .iso onto a CD or DVD to make your live CD.
4. Make sure that the drive that you want to install Ubuntu on is connected to the computer, make sure your computer BIOS is setup to boot off of your CD drive, and reboot the computer. Before rebooting the computer, I would recommend disconnecting your Windows OS drive from your Motherboard, or disabling it in the bios so the Live CD will not load the GRUB loader onto the Windows drive. You can skip this step, but if you remove Ubuntu from your second drive, you will be "stuck" with the GRUB OS loader on your Windows drive, not necessarily a bad thing, but it will add about 8 seconds to your boot times, so for simplicities sake, and to save possible future headaches, disconnect your Windows OS drive before you run the live CD.
5. Okay, so now that you have your live CD up and running, follow the instructions on screen to format your Linux drive, and install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to that drive. This will take about as long as a Windows install, so now you get to play the waiting game as it installs the OS and necessary updates.
6. Install over, the system reboots, and now you are running Ubuntu, now it is time to install Steam. For the love of all that is holy, go to this page, and follow the instructions!
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Valve
Ubuntu is an opensource OS, so if you encounter a hang up, googling your problem will more than likely get you a solution to get you up and running. I am not an Ubuntu expert, I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express one night and got really hammered at the bar while watching a Red Wings game.
7. Okay, so you have followed the instructions, installed the correct Video drivers, and now have Steam running on your Ubunto OS, now you need Team Fortress 2. Now the fun part, yes you will have to re-download TF2 from the Steam servers, which will take at least a day, or a couple of nights if you break it up (this is based off of my slow 2mb connection, faster connections will get the files faster, and those with a slower connection should probably reflect on their choice for their ISP.) There are instructions out there for how to move your TF2 install from your Windows drive onto your linux drive, but I'll just save you the trouble, just download it from Steam, it will save you the frustration of why your install fails to work, and lots of TF2 downtime trouble shooting a broken install on a foreign OS.
8. Now that you most likely have a whole weekend invested into getting a Tux, swear at the assholes who used the hack to obtain him the "easy" way. :D
9. If you do not like Ubuntu, now you can just blast the Ubuntu drive, no harm no foul, and re-point your BIOS to boot to your Windows drive. Alternatively, if you have Ubuntu/Steam/TF2 on an external you can pass it around to your friends for a relatively easy Tux grab, just be sure to reset your video drivers to the generic drivers before you do this, because Ubuntu is only as smart as the guy behind the screen, as in, it will not switch back to the generic drivers if it sees hardware different from the last boot, and will boot up with a black screen.
It seems fairly involved, but it is pretty easy to install Ubuntu and Steam, just follow the directions, and do not install Ubuntu on the same physical drive as your Windows OS, and you should be good to go.
