Installing Ubuntu

We officially support Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (noble) running natively, and only that. Dual-booting needs about 50 GB of free space (100 GB on Perception, for the NVIDIA packages).

If you already have Ubuntu 24.04 installed, or you’re setting up a Jetson (ships with its own NVIDIA-provided Ubuntu image), skip straight to Native ROS Installation.

Dual-Booting Ubuntu 24.04 LTS from Windows

Check for BitLocker:
- Right click the Windows icon → Disk Management, and look for “BitLocker encrypted” on your partitions (usually the largest one).
- If present, suspend it, or at least save your recovery key.
  - THIS IS IMPORTANT! WE HAD A MEMBER BRICK THEIR LAPTOP BEFORE
In Disk Management, shrink a partition by the space you want to give Ubuntu (50 GB min) to create unallocated space.
Disable Fast Boot:
- May require enabling/disabling hibernate first.
Disable Secure Boot.

Then follow this dual-boot tutorial, grabbing the 24.04 image instead and Rufus for the flash drive. We also have pre-flashed Ubuntu 24 USB drives on the team, if you’re around in person you can just ask for one instead.

After install, update your drivers:

Software Updater → Settings → Additional Drivers.
Apply a proprietary tested driver if one’s listed.
If audio doesn’t work, run sudo alsa force-reload.

Ensure Your Time and Date is Correct

Windows and Ubuntu handle the hardware clock differently, which breaks APT if left unfixed. Set the time manually (search “time” in the Windows settings). See this fix if you’re tired of switching it back and forth.