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How to Run OnTrack with Ubuntu on an External SSD

Requirements

  • A PC with Windows 10 installed.
  • An external SSD with at least 64GB of storage.
  • A USB drive with at least 8GB of storage. (Recommended)

1. Download Ubuntu and Rufus

  • Download Ubuntu from the official website.
  • Download Rufus.

2. Create a Bootable USB Drive

  1. Open Rufus.

  2. Select the USB drive from the ‘Device’ dropdown.

  3. Click the ‘SELECT’ button to choose the Ubuntu ISO (should be in your downloads folder).

  4. Click the ‘START’ button at the bottom.

    Rufus Start

3. Prepare Booting

  1. Plug the USB or SSD into your PC.

  2. Restart your PC and continually hit the boot menu key to open BIOS settings.

    Boot Keys

  3. There should be a list of boot options including Windows Boot Manager. Select the bootable USB with the Ubuntu ISO.

  4. The Ubuntu OS will load in portable mode from the USB.

4. Install Ubuntu on External SSD

  1. After booting into Ubuntu you should be provided with the option to Try Ubuntu or Install Ubuntu. Select Install Ubuntu.

    Ubuntu Boot Options

  2. If not prompted, open the “Install Ubuntu” application from the desktop.

    Ubuntu Desktop

  3. Proceed through the initial steps until you reach the “Installation type” step.

  4. Choose the “Something else” option to manually configure partitions.

  5. Identify the external SSD as a device like /dev/sdb.

    Installation Type

5. Partitioning

  1. Create the root partition:

    • Use as: Ext4 journaling file system.
    • Mount point: /
    • Tick the box to format.

    Root Partition

  2. Click OK to start the installation.

  3. Select your timezone.

7. Deakin WiFi Setup (Optional)

  1. Connect to the Deakin Setup WiFi network.

  2. It should launch this webpage in your browser.

    Deakin Setup Page

  3. Click the JoinNow button to download the setup wizard.

  4. Change directory into the Downloads folder in the terminal.

    Terminal window
    cd Downloads

  5. Enter the following command in the terminal to connect to the wifi network and follow the prompts to enter your Deakin username and password.

    Terminal window
     sh SecureW2_JoinNow.run

    Deakin Setup Terminal

6. Install Additional Software

  1. After installation, open a terminal.

  2. Install Git:

    Terminal window
    sudo apt install git

  3. Install Docker

    Terminal window
    sudo apt install docker.io

  4. Install vscode

    Terminal window
    sudo snap install --classic code

7. Clone OnTrack Repository

  1. Clone the OnTrack repository (change YOUR_USERNAME to your GitHub username):

    Terminal window
    git clone --recurse-submodules git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/doubtfire-deploy

  2. Open the doubtfire-deploy folder in vscode:

    Terminal window
    cd doubtfire-deploy
    code .

  3. Run change remotes script in the integrated terminal to change the remote to your own repository.

    Terminal window
    ./change-remotes.sh

    and follow the prompts to enter your GitHub username.

8. Run OnTrack

  1. After re-opening vscode, the script should automatically run and open the OnTrack application in your browser.
  2. Happy coding!