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wubi: Best Thing Since LiveCD

linuxhaxor.net — Installing Linux is a snap with wubi.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 7, 2008

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  • shifty2, on 10/07/2008, -0/+43I am a part-time TA for a "intro" to computers course at a university.
    We talked about the different OS's out there, Windows, OS X and Linux.
    I demo-ed my Ubuntu 8.10 w/ Compiz and all other apps. The jaws hitting the floor was a good feeling. I burned about 20 CD's of 8.10 that has the Wubi installer to give away. I encouraged the students to try it as Wubi makes it easy to install and un-install.

    That was a killer selling point. All my CD's were taken and the emails won't stop coming in on how easy it was to install it and use Ubuntu. I did have to field some questions, but the few who ended up not liking it actually complimented on how easy it was to un-install Ubuntu.

    Right now, I am talking to the IT staff to allow me to upload the ISO files to the school's public FTP site and become an official mirror for Ubuntu.

    As someone mentioned above, it would be nice if more and more distro's would include Wubi. It would help convert more people over. not everyone can setup a dual boot as easily and successfully as some of us.
  • aComa, on 10/07/2008, -1/+43Voila?
  • mojo8472, on 10/07/2008, -9/+38Wallah!
  • obsaysditto, on 10/07/2008, -0/+26it really is as simple as they say. Its a great, safe way to test drive ubuntu.
  • TheDreadDiggerD, on 10/07/2008, -2/+27"IE7..."

    There's your problem.
  • jikuty, on 10/07/2008, -0/+19Actually, the performance of the wubi install rivals the performance you'd get if you installed Ubuntu normally (unless your Windows disk is really fragmented). A LiveCD doesn't compare.
  • broncotrolley, on 10/07/2008, -2/+20Why all the comment hate? Wubi is, besides a being just plain nifty, a great way for me to easily triple boot and virtualize both linux and windows on my macbook pro. I can still use boot camp's pretty little bootloader and I dont have to go through any other the other steps necessary to triple boot a MBP. Furthermore, VMWare can virtualize an existing boot camp partition out of the box, which means with Wubi it can virtualize my Ubuntu partition too- no extra steps needed!

    I suppose the only caveat is that I have to choose Windows from the boot camp bootloader, and then ubuntu from the windows bootloader...but really, I can live with that.

    On a side note, who else hates people who write "100s" and "1000s" instead of using the actual words?
  • TheScogg, on 10/07/2008, -0/+17Don't worry - the only dumb questions are the one's my ex-girlfriend used to ask.

    To answer your questions, yes you can absolutely install any and all programs that you would normally be able to install under Ubuntu Linux. As a matter of fact, there is actually a package manager within Ubuntu which will allow you to search for software based on need (Music, Video, Games, Word Processing, etc. etc.) and automatically install it and any dependencies with a few mouse clicks.

    And, yes, if you save something it will still be there in the same spot after a reboot or, a year in the closet for that matter.

    If you have any questions at all about Ubuntu, the community at http://ubuntuforums.org/ is very knowledgeable and helpful. There are a lot of diehard fans there who want to see Linux use grow, so they do anything they can to help you keep using Linux productively instead of switching back over to the "dark side".
  • dkoon, on 10/07/2008, -2/+15"This is not a problem with the system, but a problem with the user. :) "

    This should be the slogan of Linux.
  • Greengoo, on 10/08/2008, -1/+13Ok, I'm actually giving it an install. Here goes my first LInux experience ever.
  • GarrettGrimsley, on 10/07/2008, -4/+16If you don't know how to burn a CD how likely is it that you will want to use something called "Linux".
  • DeathfireD, on 10/07/2008, -0/+10no the disorganized threads are a feature.
  • frostbit3, on 10/07/2008, -0/+9This is a great way to install Ubuntu to test it out. I have used this to show many of my friends Ubuntu, and many of them switched to Ubuntu. To everyone who bashes on Linux because you think it sucks, Actually use it before you bash on it, and not for 5 minutes and say "This Sucks". wubi is a great thing, but its definitely not intended for long term use.
  • ausfahrt, on 10/07/2008, -1/+10Ooh-ee-ooh-ah-ah, ting-tang-walla-walla-bang-bang?
  • xivulon, on 10/07/2008, -0/+9If you tried to install KDE-4, the URL have been changed server-side after the release of Wubi, so the Wubi link are now broken. That is fixed in Wubi 8.10. Also note that proxies are not supported. In other cases it might be that the server is down or that there are connection problems. You can always download the Desktop Live CD ISO of the matching version manually and place it in the same folder as Wubi.exe. Then Wubi will use that file.
  • cheeseplease, on 10/08/2008, -0/+9... and with that, his journey began. He did not yet know about the adventures that lay ahead, but he sensed that the cool night's breeze had a scent of suspense to it. Soon, unknown worlds would be opening to him, days of fear, nights of joy, but for now, all he saw was Downloads - Ubuntu 8.04 LTS i386, 62%...
  • benaa, on 10/08/2008, -0/+8good effort promoting wubi and ubuntu!
  • jxfallout, on 10/07/2008, -1/+9Dumb question, but if I go about installing this, can I install and run Linux-based programs through it? Also, assuming "yes" is the answer to the previous question, say I install Open Office through it, and save a document, will I be able to access it later (latter = turning off computer several times).

    I'm new to all this (not to Ubuntu, or Linux in general), so cut me a little slack. :D
  • ethana2, on 10/08/2008, -0/+8Number 27 on the list of reasons to use linux:
    You will get xkcd jokes.
  • sliggy, on 10/07/2008, -0/+8http://getfirefox.com http://apple.com/safari http://opera.com

    Problem solved without getting into any browser wars
  • jxfallout, on 10/07/2008, -0/+8Burn a CD? What's wrong with floppy disks?!?!
  • harisund, on 10/07/2008, -1/+9I want wubi with FC9
  • Sabin, on 10/08/2008, -0/+8Holy *****, now I finally get the SUDO xkcd joke. I haven't had a linux install on any of my computers since 2001 when I have a slackware install take my computer for a joyride. This is awesome!
  • cleaton, on 10/08/2008, -0/+7You could at least be kind and do their hardware check guide, to send information to them on what didn't work for you so they have a chance to fix it.
  • jlimon, on 10/07/2008, -2/+9I was going to say something smart ass like, "Is the digg reply system broken?" after seeing your @Garret, but then I realized we're on digg so it probably IS broken.
  • nanostream, on 10/08/2008, -0/+7holy cow, why would you give them beta/alpha software? Or did they know it wasn't the final Intrepid release?
  • mynameistux, on 10/07/2008, -1/+8yay for helpful peoples.
  • notwizt, on 10/07/2008, -1/+8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallah_%28arabic%29
    By Allah (Arabic: Wallah, والله) is Arabic expression meaning "[I promise] by God" used to make a promise or express great credibility on an expression.
  • Enisity, on 10/07/2008, -0/+7Heres a tutorial on how to install Wubi...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjJl3p0-YMs
  • GarrettGrimsley, on 10/07/2008, -1/+8Please insert disk 3845 of 8486
  • cyb3rdemon, on 10/07/2008, -3/+9Allah?
  • runiteking1, on 10/07/2008, -3/+9Didn't try out it yet, but LiveCDs ARE amazingly ssssssllllllooooowww...
  • lmbb20, on 10/07/2008, -0/+6This is clutch, a great achievement for the Linux community. I think it's great that it automatically dual boots w/ your previous windows installation. Now, any person that wanted to try linux will be not limited by the slightly more involved installation!
  • jxfallout, on 10/07/2008, -1/+7Thanks dude! I know what I'll be installing tonight...

    :D
  • ha3er0, on 06/16/2009, -1/+7http://aolsvc.merriam-webster.aol.com/dictionary/w ...
  • netzdamon, on 10/07/2008, -1/+7I don't like Ubuntu personally but I think this is a great way to get more people trying out linux. Looks well done to me. Great job guys.
  • minorgods, on 10/07/2008, -0/+6uhh... does sourceforge have a mirror? /smirk/
  • courtjester555, on 10/08/2008, -0/+6How else would you boot the OS?
  • theaceoffire, on 10/07/2008, -0/+5I tested it back when it was in beta, and let me give this advice:
    Do not upgrade it from within Wubi. Uninstall the old copy, then make a new one.

    >.< They might have fixed it since I tried the beta, but if you upgrade Ubuntu from inside Wubi, you have a small chance of hosing your Windows Partition.

    That said, I liked it a lot. It installed easily, and was also easy to remove when I was done.
  • weizbox, on 10/08/2008, -0/+5I believe he was writing it phonetically :P
  • IVIrMP3, on 10/07/2008, -0/+5Wubi is awesome and has no commitment. And it can be removed from Add/Remove Programs.

    Except by using Wubi you can't run Steam games due to a problem with the NTFS virtual disks.
  • weizbox, on 10/08/2008, -0/+5so... now you'll probably want to dedicate a partition to it right? :P
  • booyahbitch, on 10/07/2008, -3/+8***** great...I think you just dugg sourceforge to death!!!
  • xivulon, on 10/07/2008, -0/+5Wubi 8.10 beta is available if you want to try it: http://wubi-installer.org/devel/minefield/Wubi-8.1 ...

    And no, you cannot install Wubi 8.10 and 8.04 simultaneously, but you can back up 8.04 (by copying the root.disk file), or alternatively you can upgrade 8.04 to 8.10.

    If you have troubles please post in: http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=234

    Windows files are available from within Ubuntu under /host.

    Hope it helps
  • str3ama, on 10/07/2008, -0/+5the reason a live cd is not better then this is because a live cd is slower because all data is being read off your cd and then put in to memory, so it runs a bit slower and the performance depends heavily on your cd read speed and the memory you have. Also with a live cd you can't read cds unless you have multiple cd drives. Live cds are great, but they are limiting. This seems like a relatively painless way to try out Linux.

    I have only 1 question for any Diggers more knowledgeable about this, it says that if you don't shutdown properly you can't boot to Linux. What happens exactly? Like if I shutdown improperly, then turn it on and boot to windows and shutdown - will I get back access to boot in to Linux or will the Linux configuration be messed up and require reinstalling? I didn't quite understand their explanation, I'm assuming it has something to do with Windows Recovery which tries to resolve problems that came about because of improper shutdowns.
  • MWeather, on 10/08/2008, -0/+5I'd hate to think what you'll do if you ever need to install windows without the OEM drivers built in to the CD.
  • ha3er0, on 06/16/2009, -0/+5Nothing will be messed up. It just means that it won't boot to linux, there will be some sort of error message. This is because windows try to use it's recovery boot menu instead of the "regular" boot menu. The reason it was mentioned because some people get scared of it and thinks something got messed up and blames ubuntu and as a result uninstalls it. The problem was the user for not properly shutting down the computer.

    After the improper shutdown, just boot to windows and reboot to use linux. This will happen only onthe rare cases when you decide to pull the plug on your computer.
  • ethana2, on 10/08/2008, -0/+5In some cases, that's true- but when I bought my Ubuntu Dell, I bought the guarantee that all that would Just Work, and it does.

    Suspend is /amazing/! I use it all the time-- it uses a trivial amount of power on my laptop, and essentially gives me 3 second boot times :)
  • cleaton, on 10/08/2008, -0/+4congrats :) glad you liked it =)
  • shifty2, on 10/08/2008, -1/+5Sorry, didn't mention that I was giving away the 8.04 Hardy version. . I am running the beta version of 8.10. On my laptop, it does boot up and down a lot faster than 8.04 with most of the services and apps removed from the boot process.

    I got one girl (yes, girl) to install it and use it full time. Funny thing is that she only really liked it because of the default Heron wallpaper. She's really cute too... Linux + girl = the sex?
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