How to Install Ubuntu Server (Step by Step for Beginners)

A Linux server sounds like something only big companies run, but an old PC, a mini PC or a Raspberry Pi in the corner of your house can host your files, your website, a VPN and a dozen other useful things. Ubuntu Server is the easiest place to start: it's free, well documented, and almost every tutorial on the internet assumes you're using it.

This guide takes you from an empty machine to a working server you can log in to.

Go to ubuntu.com/download/server and download the LTS version. LTS means long-term support — it gets security updates for five years, so you won't have to reinstall any time soon. Skip the non-LTS releases unless you enjoy upgrading every six months.

1. Plug in a USB stick. Everything on it will be erased.
2. Download Rufus (Windows) or balenaEtcher (Windows, Mac or Linux).
3. Open it, pick the Ubuntu ISO you downloaded and pick your USB stick.
4. Click Start (Rufus) or Flash (Etcher) and wait a couple of minutes.

1. Plug the USB stick, a keyboard and a monitor into the server.
2. Switch it on and tap the boot menu key as it starts — usually F12, F11, F8 or Esc (it flashes up on screen for a second).
3. Choose the USB stick from the list.

If it boots straight into an old operating system instead, go into the BIOS/UEFI settings (Del or F2 at startup) and move USB to the top of the boot order.

The installer is text-only. Use the arrow keys to move, Tab to jump between buttons and Enter to choose.

1. Language — English.
2. Keyboard — pick your layout. Choose English (UK) if your @ and " keys come out swapped later.
3. Type of install — Ubuntu Server (not the minimised version).
4. Network — leave it on DHCP for now; you'll set a fixed address later. Note the IP address it shows.
5. Proxy — leave blank.
6. Mirror — leave the default.
7. Storage — Use an entire disk. Untick Set up this disk as an LVM group unless you know you want it. Confirm when it warns you the disk will be wiped.
8. Profile — your name, the server's name (something short like homeserver), a username and a strong password. Write them down.
9. SSH — tick Install OpenSSH server. This is how you'll control the server from your normal computer.
10. Snaps — don't tick anything. You can install software properly later.

Wait for the install to finish, choose Reboot Now and pull the USB stick out when it asks.

Type your username, press Enter, type your password (nothing appears as you type — that's normal) and press Enter again. You'll see a prompt like:

john@homeserver:~$

That's it — you have a Linux server. Run these two commands to bring it up to date:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Then find its IP address with ip a so you can connect from your laptop in the next tutorial.

The USB stick doesn't show in the boot menu. Try a different USB port (the ones on the back of a desktop are more reliable), or remake the stick with the other tool.

"No bootable device" after the install. The server is still trying to boot from USB, or Secure Boot is blocking it. Unplug the stick and, if it still fails, turn Secure Boot off in the BIOS.

The screen is blank after reboot. Give it a minute, then press Enter. Some graphics cards show nothing until the login prompt is ready.

Download the LTS version, write it to a USB stick, boot from it and say yes to the OpenSSH server. Twenty minutes later you've got a machine that will quietly do jobs for you for years. Next: connecting to it from your own computer so you can unplug the keyboard and monitor for good.