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- schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+34Give them something lighter than that can download and install more quickly. http://goodbye-microsoft.com/ (Debian GNU/Linux)
- Aliarse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20A live CD isnt really that good for showing you what it's like to run ubuntu. Its slower then watching a snail race, its great to see what everything looks like, and to see if you need to find any drivers etc for any of your hardware, but actually using it to properly try out ubuntu, its just not what the Live CD is good for.
Wubi works well for people who truly want to try ubuntu out, get all their hardware working correctly, customize it, play with it, mess it up, and always have the option to remove it as easily as possible if they decide they don't like it. - atdigg, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23That's actually a great installer. Who said that Debian is hard to install? The only potentially tricky part is partitioning the system, but even that is doable by relative newbish people.
LOL, I just remembered the saying: Ubuntu is Swahili for "I can't install Debian" - xivulon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19Hi, I am one of wubi devs, so I'd like to answer a few questions. Please use the forum if you need further info (http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=234).
We started Wubi to overcome what we perceived were 3 major obstacles to Ubuntu installations:
1) CD burning: believe it or not several people have never seen an ISO file, and many have problems burning an ISO: because they have no burner, because the medium is of low quality, because they end up copying the ISO file on the CD, because they burn at too high speed... Of course there is https://shipit.ubuntu.com, but most people do not know about or do not want to wait, and not all Ubuntu versions/flavors are provided via ShipIt. Not to mention that not even ShipIt can solve BIOS problems...
2) Repartitioning: as soon as you mention the words "formatting" or "partitioning" you loose 80% of the users. It is as simple as that.
3) Uninstalling: users want to be able to go back to their system exactly as it was before they tried the new OS. You cannot do that with a normal installation. You can do that with a LiveCD or with a VM, but they do not offer the real thing.
Wubi is the only “real” installer to provide #1, #2, and #3. This means that Wubi is probably the first OS installer ever that allows you to install AND uninstall an OS as any other application.
Unlike a LiveCD or VM, it does not provide an environment with limited capabilities and/or limited HW access and/or limited performance. Wubi comes with no strings attached, the installation is almost identical to a real one, both in terms of performance and behaviour. You get a usual dual boot configuration, with full HW access, full speed (other than harddisk I/O which is slightly slower), you can save the files, upgrade the kernel, install anything you want, play 3D games (the ones available for Linux), access your windows partitions, have a 3D desktop (if supported by your videocard)...
Because with Wubi is easy and fast to install/uninstall there is no point in providing a "demo". You install it (it should take 10-20 minutes), you use it, if you do not like it you uninstall it. If you like it, you can just keep using it as it is. In the future we will try to create an application to make it possible to migrate wubi installations to a real partition.
“Netinstallers” only address #1. As to the "weight" of the download: netinstallers will download files during installation, while Wubi predownloads all files at once (it sources the packages from the alternate ISO and the kernel and initrd are bundled with the installer), but at the end of the day the bandwidth required will be very close...
Now the caveats: Wubi is still beta software so it should work in most cases but a smooth ride is not guaranteed, some of the features are disabled at the moment (migration-assistant, keyboard selector, network detection, fat32 size checks...) and/or lightly/tested and there are still some rough edges. That said we encourage beta testers to try it and report any issue on the forum. - cdmarcus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Although this is probably easier than a regular Ubuntu install, I just want to tell you that you don't have to wipe your Windows drive in order to install Ubuntu. The installer will offer to automatically resize your Windows partition for you, no wiping needed.
- spect3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13http://www.cutlersoftware.com/ubuntusetup/wubi/en-US/index.html
- Mythguy, on 10/12/2007, -10/+22This is ***** retarded.
What could be easier than a live CD. Put it in. Boot system. Dont like it. Reboot. - cdmarcus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10LiveCD's, unless you jump through hoops to get them to save changed data to a flash drive, lose everything you've done when you shut the computer down. This actually lets you install and use Ubuntu at pretty much full speed, without losing settings between sessions. This is COMPLETELY different from a LiveCD... this is meant for you to actually use.
- zenchess, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Another option is to run a virtual machine in a program like vmware, you can get speeds of around 80%, and run windows and linux at the same time. Or you can wipe everything, install ubuntu, and run Windows in a virtual machine. Add in a dual monitor setup and you've got full screen linux and windows running off of one machine. Computers are fun :)
- kingofpenguins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9why are you digging zenchess down? He's only telling you that YOU have the power to use YOUR computer any way YOU want to.
- JoshuaH, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Well thats always a fun time.
Super grub FTW
http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/?section=home - antdude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9And DuggMirror: http://duggmirror.com/linux_unix/Wubi_Ubuntu_Linux_Installed_Through_Windows/
- macgyber, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I'd love this. But I don't. When I installed, grub broke my mbr and I couldn't boot into anything. Pfft.
- theWrkncacnter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Whoa, it installs ubuntu IN A FILE on your windows partition? How does that work? But besides that, windows based installers are great, especially if you have an old compaq or something with crappy bios that won't boot the ubuntu cd.
- remccain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8This is Old News.
BeOS ran in a folder under Windows years ago.
... I miss BeOS. - gldfshnpcklejar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9insert windows cd
select repair
type either fixmbr
or fdisk /mbr
depending on the version
hit enter
wala mbr fixed. I've installed ubuntu 3x and uninstalled it twice. I ***** up grub like that every time. I don't do anything that is easier to do in ubuntu. I recently reinstalled it so I could run mythtv :)
then you can install something like super grub. - DontEatTheFish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7this is good, it doesn't alter your partitions at all, it just makes a filesystem UNDER windows. also this is a crazy alternative and has got me installing Xubuntu(installing now) and Ubuntu(already installed)*.
well think of this positive feature, all you need to uninstall is delete a file off your windows hard drive.(kinda a joke?)
*side note: now thats 4 operating systems(well 4 if you separate the Ubuntu's): Vista(only for new games), XP(old games), Ubuntu(for mostly everything), SUSE(What?, i cant have 2 brands of linux?) and Xubuntu(just testing it, it might replace Ubuntu). - cdmarcus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@mythguy: No it ***** isn't. LiveCD's, unless you jump through hoops to get them to save changed data to a flash drive, lose everything you've done when you shut the computer down. This actually lets you install and use Ubuntu at pretty much full speed, without losing settings between sessions.
- scalebane, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6With a little bit of work, and either WINE or Cedega, you sure can.
- shuffle2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5copy2ram loves you
- Ratteler, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Vista came out and now were united to toss it's evil into the fiery depths of Mt. Redmond where it was forged. We're the "Fellowship of the DRM."
- LethaLImpuLse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yep.
- gfnw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@donteatthefish
You don't have to install both Ubuntu and Xubuntu as seperate operating systems. Just install one and do either apt-get install xubuntu-desktop, apt-get install ubuntu-desktop or apt-get install kubuntu-desktop. - amfr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Its the same thing
- z00k, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5This is an easy way to just plop the install file on your USB... Then bring it to friends and not have to worry about the CD breaking etc.
Other then that... I don't know. - raynevandunem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@macgyber (#6587189)
I tried this, and mine never got any further than the splash screen.
For that matter, my free Kubuntu LiveCDs never got any further on here either.
This is a 2006 HP Pavilion Laptop that I got for Christmas, btw. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This looks really cool. I could use this to help spread Ubuntu some more since it does not edit the system partition scheme.
- BrandonPerry, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9This is great for anyone who is too scared to wipe there windows partition. Great job.
- macgyber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes, I know how to fix it, how do you think I'm here again?! Unfortantly, no matter what I do, grub always trashes my mbr.
- 23Tomcat23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have been beta testing Wubi, and it's a great way to try out a ubuntu install. I don't know what the current release does, but up through beta3 it will install to the windows partition with the most free space. The install/uninstall via windows is very well done.
- tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@zook
http:www.ipodlinux.org - GonnaEatThat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3hey guys thanks for the diggs im switching to a dedicated server now :)
overloaded it - PhattyMcGee27, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've wanted to try some flavor of Linux for a while. I'm a somewhat knowledgeable computer user, not on the level of some here, definitely above the level of many I know, but never wanted to "commit" to partitioning the drive, and whatever else might be involved, without actually being sure that it's something I would be able to use on a regular basis.
After the install, and figuring out the command line commands to configure the correct video card (that was the most difficult part, nothing a little Googling doesn't help, and it's almost a good thing that it didn't "just work", because I got to learn a little command line stuff), I've been sitting here somewhat in awe. I should have been sleeping at least 5 hours ago, but I can't stop! After a lifetime of using Windows, this really is a breath of fresh air. So many possibilities.
I'm hooked. And finding that, like many say, there are alternatives to everything you would ever need. And I'm not really a PC gamer, so that doesn't much matter. This is a perfect way to get the word out to people like me, who have wanted to try Linux, but were unsure.
I'll definitely not be formatting or partitioning tomorrow, still need to play around a bit with all the new stuff I've installed, and make sure it's right for me and not just a "new toy", but I'm thoroughly impressed, and can definitely see myself changing over in the near future.
Good stuff. - Lizard381, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Wubi is also great for people like me that had all intention of installing ubuntu...until my laptop's dvd drive stopped working completely 5 days after I got it. No bios settings to boot from usb, and I'm currently out of the US and I do computer science so I can't send in my laptop and wait two months for them to replace the drive...so i've been stuck with Windows, and trust me, i was ecstatic when I heard about this! I'm trying it out as soon as I finish my last project...
- daviddiaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I definitely have to agree. I used to use an old PowerMac as my main computer, and i partitioned it to screw around with Ubuntu (version 5.10 at the time). It wasn't until i moved on to a new computer (a dell) on which i installed nothing but Ubuntu, that i really got to know the OS well, and i must say that I truly love it!
- shanesemler, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Direct link: http://www.cutlersoftware.com/ubuntusetup/wubi/en-US/index.html
- adolfojp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@mythguy (#6587269)
I like to keep my CDs in images on a hard drive instead of in many physical CDs. I use the images by mounting them. For install CDs like Ubuntu this is great. - atrais, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ok GonnaEatThat, your account is suspended.
- gr3yn3t, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@theWrkcacwtf - You *could use say, partition magic to make an ext3 partition, then use VMWare's capability to install an OS to a physical disk, and then use GRUB to boot to Ubuntu, if you wanted to
- Aliarse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Thats the old wiki for it. They now have a FAQ on the site which lists most, if not all (and more) info then the wiki provides, so i dont think thats used much anymore.
- bone43, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2While not dual booting I've installed Ubuntu feisty several time lately along with many other Distros as part of my twice yearly cruise threw whats new in Linux
and I must say out of many this OS was the best at being easy to install and working with more hardware than the other distro's, In fact the only one that got most laptop xconfig's right from the start. - woody56292, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2yeah but some of us are idiots and mess up during the install, which completely wipes our windows partition. ( something about my computer wouldn't let me dual boot into xp, it would pop up with an error... Ubuntu ran like a charm though )
does anybody recommend this to an absolute noobie? is it safe enough where my windows partition won't be deleted ( again )
I have a relatively old dell dimension desktop and would like to make it ubuntu whenever I get a new laptop. - bherring, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7This is an interesting idea. But I think the only real way to get the experience is to commit, load the OS for real, and make it your primary OS. It is one thing to learn to play with it, it is a whole other experience to make your self actually have to learn the ins and outs to get things accomplished. Thats what it took for me to finally become 100% committed.
- someone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I know what im going to do tonight :)
Awesome idea - Aliarse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3AFAIK its not possible to get it to work with vista yet, you'd have to check the wubi forum on ubuntuforums though as i haven't been keeping as up-to-date on it as i'd like to have been
- EnderTheThird, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think it'd be awesome if they did something like this via Qemu. I can run a LiveCD under Qemu at work, but unfortunately I don't have the necessary privileges to get hardware acceleration running, so it runs terribly slow. Having a persistent virtual Ubuntu install through Windows could be convenient for a lot of people who want to try Ubuntu. You might run into a little trouble with people blaming Ubuntu for something going wrong when it's really something wrong with the emulation, but I find it interesting as far as the technology and proof of concept go.
- screwballl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the digg is down... account has been suspended
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It automatically resizes your partition... unless you have a bad journal, or your trying to resize over a specific node number that isn't supported, or the slightest error on the file system (really need a working version ntfsfix, ie one that doesn't fix the errors then flag the diskcheck setting so that windows has to be booted anyway.
Also if you using Vista, the Ubuntu install will apparently nuke your Windows partition, so you need to resize using the windows partitioner.
Running off a windows partition might make Linux a lot easier to use. - cawpin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@macgyber - So don't install it to the MBR then. Get the alternate CD and install it to the boot partition of Ubuntu and then edit the boot.ini of Windows to be able to load it. Look it up before you install because its easier to do while still in Linux.
@raynevandunem - For some reason the 7.04 CDs won't fully boot on my system either It gets to the splash screen and just stops, full system halt. I think Ubuntu has phucked up the last two releases this way; 6.10 did the same thing on some of my systems. -
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