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I've installed Ubuntu a lot over the years, and with my OCD I like things to be just right. I have it down to a fine art now, updated with the new features of 16.04:

Pure Clean Default Install, no network, no encryption - wipe disk and start from scratch, all my stuff is either in the cloud or on external media so it's all good.

I install without network so that I can remove unwanted apps before any unnecessary updates are detected, downloaded and installed.

On first boot after install I do the same things each time...

Settings:

  • Security & Privacy > turn all off
  • Time and Date > Clock > Weekday & Seconds
  • Brightness and Lock > 30 minutes
  • Text Entry > Keyboard Icon > Num Lock a couple of times until green is set
  • Bluetooth > Off
  • FOR SSD LAPTOP: Power > When lid is closed - do nothing

Uninstall unused apps that are not needed but are pending update:

With the new 16.04 (super fast) Ubuntu Software app, you can easily see ahead of time what updates the OS wants to install - use this tool to determine if you actually need those apps it's about to update. Up to now my default apps to remove are:

sudo apt-get purge libreoffice* thunderbird unity-webapps-common gnome-calendar.

(ps. I remove libreoffice as I use Google Drive, the choice is yours, same for client email Thunderbird vs webmail of any flavour)

Autoremove:

sudo apt-get autoremove`

Clean apt in readiness for first update and upgrade:

sudo apt-get clean

Enable and configure firewall before connecting to the internet:

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing

Connect to Network > Update & Upgrade:

  • Plug in Ethernet or connect to wifi as normal (search for answers if you need help on this)
  • sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Reboot

Install additional apps as required:

sudo apt-get install chromium-browser vlc gimp

(only install ubuntu-restricted-extras if you know you need all the included apps) - otherwise install the bits you need when you need them. For example Flash seems to be on it's way out, but if you need it install it:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer

So, to my question... can this configuration, or something like it, be done ahead of time, so that, other than the dist-upgrade everything else is set as I'm aiming for?

Also, if I've missed any obvious, beneficial, efficiency or symmetry related configurations please let me know.

amc
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Broadsworde
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  • Take a look at http://askubuntu.com/questions/759020/ubuntu-installation-using-preseed . Does the answer there answer your question? – chaskes Jun 14 '16 at 15:40
  • OCD #1 - Settings: Time & Date > Clock > Weekday + Date & Month + Seconds – Broadsworde Jun 14 '16 at 15:45
  • Thanks chaskes, I had a look at that link, but I don't think it gives me the control and customisation I'm looking for. – Broadsworde Jun 14 '16 at 15:50
  • Most of this can be put into a script , but purging some of the programs might not be possible since unity desktop may or may not depend on them – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy Jun 14 '16 at 15:58
  • Using preseeds should accomplish almost everything you wish. The other option is to do a custom iso. – Brian Sizemore Jun 14 '16 at 16:17
  • Thanks Serg, can you please point me to a recommended resource to learn how to script quickly and efficiently - with a reasonably good technical background – Broadsworde Jun 14 '16 at 16:22
  • Thanks Brian, can you share some more please... custom iso sounds like the kind of thing I was thinking of. – Broadsworde Jun 14 '16 at 16:22
  • Start here : http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO.html Basically , what i would do is install OS first, then boot , login, run the script, reboot if necessary – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy Jun 14 '16 at 16:24
  • Thanks again Brian, preseeds I've never heard of, but will certainly investigate – Broadsworde Jun 14 '16 at 16:24

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https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomization https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomizationFromScratch

These two links should walk you through most of the steps necessary for creating a custom LiveCD. The LiveCD is created by first creating a custom iso with all of your desired settings preset. You can install/remove packages and modify the contents of the filesystem and persist those across installs. It's quite a bit of work but it accomplishes everything that you want.

Brian Sizemore
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  • Thanks Brian, that's a lot to chew on, so let me chew and I'll come back! – Broadsworde Jun 14 '16 at 16:27
  • Sounds good, Just to note this can be combined with Preseeds that were mentioned above to create automated installers. This is something that we used at my University to build images for the computer science labs. It is also something I used in a research lab to do PXE booting with automated installers. It's a bunch of work but applications in the end are great. – Brian Sizemore Jun 14 '16 at 16:29