# Ubuntu - Install from scratch > Install Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 from scratch with this easy, step-by-step guide. Learn how to turn off Bitlocker, create a bootable USB, and solve the NVIDIA driver installation bug. ---  **TL;DR** This article walks through a clean Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 install replacing Windows: disabling Bitlocker first, creating a bootable USB with balenaEtcher, booting from it, erasing the disk with LVM encryption, and a warning to skip the "install recommended proprietary software" option on NVIDIA cards to avoid a Secure Boot key bug. It ends with a list of essential post-install snap packages (Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, VSCode, Docker, GIMP). Today is a public holiday in Belgium, so I'm finally taking the time to install Ubuntu on my old PC. The idea is to remove Windows and install Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 on the computer. Let's go, you'll see, it's easy. ## Result  That's a working Ubuntu 24.04 install, ready to reboot into. Before you get there, one trap to avoid — it's the one that actually cost time during this install: > **IMPORTANT - DON'T INSTALL ADDITIONAL DRIVERS IF YOU'VE A NVIDIA GRAPHIC CARD:** > > The wizard will ask if you want to **Install recommended proprietary software**. The first time, I have answered Yes on both options. The installation had been running for nearly twenty minutes and then I got an error message *The Secure Boot key is not valid*. > > While looking on the **askubuntu.com** website, someone mentioned this was a bug and that we shouldn't install drivers during the installation of Ubuntu but can do this easily later on, referring to this bug: . > > So, I've abandoned the installation and start a new one. ## Turn off Bitlocker first If you're using Bitlocker on your computer, you must first deactivate it; if not, just skip this chapter. You can follow the official documentation here: [Turn Bitlocker off](https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop#13-additional-installing-ubuntu-alongside-windows-with-bitlocker). Shortly, still in your Windows session, start your **Control Panel**, search for **Bitlocker** and click on **Turn off Bitlocker**. Depending on the speed of your computer and the size of the hard disk, it'll take minutes.  > **Follow progression in the tray panel:** > > If, like me, you didn't see any progression on the screen, think to click on the tray panel icon (near the clock). You'll find there an icon about the decryption process. ## Download Ubuntu and create your bootable USB stick You'll need to get the ISO of Ubuntu; just go to and download it. Once the file **ubuntu-24.04-desktop-amd64.iso** is successfully downloaded, you'll need an additional software called [balenaEtcher](https://etcher.balena.io/). balenaEtcher has to be used to create the bootable USB stick. It couldn't be simpler: just select the downloaded ISO file, then the letter of the USB drive (D: for me) and confirm. After a few minutes, the USB stick will be ready. ## Think to plug an Ethernet cable before installing Ubuntu Even if it's optional, make sure to plug an Ethernet cable so, during the installation process, Ubuntu will be able to download additional software like your graphic card driver directly from Internet. ## Start the installation wizard Turn on your old computer and make sure to boot on the USB stick. For this, during the boot process (in my case, when I see the Dell logo), press the `F12` or `DEL` key to start the BIOS setup. There, make sure to select the option allowing you to boot on a USB stick; save your changes if any and quit. Your computer will now boot on the USB stick and start the installation process of Ubuntu.  Everything is nicely covered by the [official tutorial](https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop). A few notes: * Select the *interactive mode* so you can select the options that suit you best in more detail; * When asked, select *Extended selection* to be able to install additional software during the installation process (like desktop tools, utilities and a web browser); * When asked *Install recommended proprietary software?*, make sure checkboxes are **unchecked** (see below); * The wizard will ask *how to install Ubuntu*; alongside Windows (so with a dual boot) or alone. I'm going to opt for the latter. Personally, that's my goal and I'm going to ask to delete my entire current disk (Windows) and to do that, I'm going to click on *Erase disk and install Ubuntu* and click on the *Advanced features* button. I'm going to opt for *Use LVM and encryption* which will allow me to have encryption like I had with Bitlocker: someone who came to steal my hard disk wouldn't have access to my files without the decryption key. *Remember the NVIDIA/Secure Boot warning from the top of this article when the wizard asks about proprietary drivers.* You'll be asked to create your administrative account and to select your time zone. Then, once you've confirmed your choices, the wizard will start to prepare your machine then copy files on your computer. This process is, of course, the slowest one. It can take 10 minutes or more. > **The installation seems frozen:** > > For a few minutes, the screen seemed to be stuck on *Setting up the system...*. However, I could move the mouse pointer and, for example, view the menu (on the left). I kept waiting and everything *unblocked*. So be patient if you need to. > > You can start discovering the interface even before installation is complete! Just move the mouse cursor to the left side of your screen and you'll get access to some applications. > **See the progression in a console-mode:** > > In the bottom right of the installation screen, you'll find a small button. Click on it and you'll get a log window where you can follow which action is running. That's the completed installation shown at the top of this article. ## Reboot and enable Ubuntu Pro Once the installation is done, remove the USB stick and reboot. The post-installation wizard will welcome you and ask if you wish to enable the *Ubuntu Pro* service; just proceed. [Ubuntu Pro](https://ubuntu.com/pro) is a free (for personal use) service proposed by Canonical and will keep your computer up-to-date. As a very last step, run the **Software Updater** application to check for any additional software to install. If you're a pro of the console, it's the same as running `sudo apt update`. ## Time to add software * [Firefox](https://snapcraft.io/firefox) as browser (`sudo snap install firefox`), * [Thunderbird](https://snapcraft.io/thunderbird) for your email client (`sudo snap install thunderbird`), * [LibreOffice](https://snapcraft.io/libreoffice) to create documents, spreadsheets or slideshows (`sudo snap install libreoffice`), * [Visual Studio Code](https://snapcraft.io/code) to start coding (`sudo snap install code --classic`), * [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/#install-using-the-repository) to work with containers (see [Install Docker and play with PHP](/blog/install-docker)), * [Gimp](https://snapcraft.io/gimp) to edit images (`sudo snap install gimp`), And the very first thing I install on any fresh Linux, before anything else: [Oh-My-ZSH](/blog/zsh-install). Working in `bash` after having tasted ZSH autocompletion is painful. *Ubuntu isn't the only candidate for an old PC; I've also had a look at [Zorin](/blog/zorin), which is Ubuntu-based but ships a Windows-like desktop.*