Full Disk Installation

Full disk installation is the simplest and most straightforward method — Ubuntu erases all data on the entire disk and automatically handles partitioning and installation. It is suitable for brand-new drives or users who no longer need the existing system and data on the disk.

When to Use This

• New computer or new hard drive
• No need to keep any data on the disk
• No need to coexist with Windows or other systems
• Want the simplest, most hassle-free installation method

Warning: Full disk installation will erase all data on the target disk, including Windows, personal files, and all partitions. Be sure to back up important data before proceeding.

Installation Steps

When you reach the disk partitioning step in the Installation Walkthrough:

1. Select “Erase disk and install Ubuntu”

This is the first option in the installer and the recommended choice.

2. Select the Target Disk

If your computer has multiple disks, the installer will list all available disks. Make sure you select the correct one.

Common identifiers:

• NVMe SSD: Usually displayed as nvme0n1, with capacity and brand information shown alongside
• SATA SSD/HDD: Usually displayed as sda, sdb, etc.
• Be careful to distinguish between hard drives and USB drives — do not select the USB drive as the installation target

3. Advanced Options

Click “Advanced features” to see additional options:

LVM (Logical Volume Management)

• Uses LVM to manage disk space, making it easy to resize partitions later
• Recommended for most users

Full Disk Encryption (LUKS)

• Encrypts the entire disk; requires entering an unlock password at boot
• Suitable for laptop users or scenarios with data security requirements
• When enabled, an additional disk unlock password is required at each boot

ZFS

• Uses the ZFS file system, providing data checksumming, snapshots, and other advanced features
• Suitable for users with some Linux experience

Recommendation for regular users: Use the default ext4 file system + LVM — simple and reliable.

4. Confirm Installation

The installer will display a summary of the partition operations to be performed, including:

• The disk that will be erased
• The new partition scheme

Click Install after confirming everything is correct.

Automatic Partition Scheme

After selecting full disk installation, Ubuntu automatically creates the following partition structure (UEFI mode):

If LVM is enabled, the system partition will be created as an LVM logical volume, and a swap partition will also be included by default.

About Swap

Ubuntu 26.04 uses a swap file by default instead of a dedicated swap partition:

• The swap file is located in the root partition, typically 2 GB in size
• If you need hibernate functionality, the swap size should be at least equal to your physical RAM
• You can manually adjust the swap file size after installation:

# Check current swap status
swapon --show
 
# Disable existing swap
sudo swapoff /swap.img
 
# Resize the swap file (e.g., to 8 GB)
sudo fallocate -l 8G /swap.img
sudo chmod 600 /swap.img
sudo mkswap /swap.img
sudo swapon /swap.img

Notes for Installing to a Specific Disk

Multi-Disk Systems

If your computer has multiple disks (e.g., one SSD + one HDD):

• It is recommended to install Ubuntu on the SSD for better performance
• After installation, you can mount the HDD as a data disk

External Drives

While it is technically possible to install Ubuntu to an external USB drive, it is not recommended for daily use as performance and stability are inferior to an internal drive.

After completing the full disk installation, refer to Post-Installation Setup for system configuration.