A useful start
with Linux.
Install with a plan. Learn what a command means. Keep a copy you can actually recover. Start here, then take it one job at a time.
Follow the setup pathDocumentation reviewed 2 November 2026
Four steps to a working routine.
Before the restart
Plan the installation and protect the files that need to survive.
Make the desktop yours
Update, check the hardware and choose a few useful settings.
Install what you need
Understand App Center, package sources and update routes.
Make a recoverable copy
Inspect a dry run, copy to a dated folder and test a restore.
Release details matter. These guides use current Ubuntu documentation. Another distribution, desktop or older release can have different screens and defaults. Check the version on your machine before applying a step.
Know what you are looking at.
Get comfortable in the terminal
A beginner's Ubuntu terminal guide to pwd, ls, cd, absolute and relative paths, quoting spaces, less and reading commands before running them.
Read the guideUnderstand Linux file permissions
Learn what read, write and execute mean for Linux files and directories, how 644 and 755 work, and when a chmod calculator cannot explain access.
Read the guideSchedule a small task with cron
Understand five-field Linux user crontabs, test a harmless job, and account for cron's environment, timezone, daylight saving and laptop downtime.
Read the guideFind useful evidence in Linux logs
A read-only Ubuntu journalctl workflow for current and previous boots, service logs, time windows, UTC, permissions and sharing a useful excerpt.
Read the guideThe terminal companion tools.
Prefer a desktop backup application?
Our separate personal-file backup guide explains the Ubuntu app workflow and a restore check.
Read the personal backup guide
# Then choose the next step.