The easiest way to install Ubuntu on an encrypted partition

In this article I will show you what I find to be the easiest way to install Ubuntu on an encrypted partition using only the default installation GUI. No third party tools like GParted are required, and you don’t have to be an advanced user.

I’m using Ubuntu 20.04.2, but it should be very similar for other versions.

First, you need to run the installation GUI as usual.

Proceed with the installation until you reach the Installation type step. In order to be able to control which partition should be encrypted, you need to select Something else and continue.

In my example I’m using a new drive without a partition table. You can create a new partition table using New Partition Table button.

Now you have a free disc space that you can use. Please note that in my example there are no other partitions. In your case you can have other partitions with e.g. Windows installed.

Next, you need to create an unencrypted boot partition. It’s not as safe as a full disc encryption, but it’s much easier to configure and use with other systems, e.g. Windows.

In order to create an unencrypted boot partition, select free space and click on the + icon.

Next, select the partition size (in my case it will be 1024 MB). Choose the correct mount point /boot and confirm with OK button.

With the boot partition created, you can proceed with the encryption process. Select the remaining free space that you want to use for Ubuntu installation and click on the + icon.

This time, instead of creating a partition, you will create a physical volume for encryption. It is as simple as the previous step. You just need to select a different option from the Use as picker.

Next, enter your encryption password and decide if you want to override the empty disc space (more secure option). I would advise to save this password in a safe place, because recovery may not be easy (it may be even impossible).

After the encrypted volume is created, it will be automatically mounted and presented to you for more partitioning.

Now you can decide to create more partitions, but, to keep things simple, you can just mark the created one as root /. Thanks to that your private data and system files will end up on the encrypted partition.

The final result should look like on the screenshot below. The last step is to click Install Now and finalize the installation as usual.

That’s it! From now on each time you start your computer, you will be asked to provide your password to decrypt the partition.

I hope you’ve found this article helpful.