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[PLUG] Ubuntu Hardy and Wubi on Windows
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The latest Ubuntu just released (8.04 "Hardy") is able to use something
called wubi, which:
* Installs Ubuntu from within Windows just like it was a Windows app
* Does NOT require hard drive partioning
* Is a dual-boot solution, not virtualized, though the loopbacked
virtual disk does incur a slight performance hit (I can't notice it)
* Adds an "Ubuntu" option to the native NT bootloader
* Allows you to remove Ubuntu from Add/Remove Programs, just like it was
a Windows app
* Adds a /host directory on the Ubuntu side with read-write access to
the NTFS file system
It basically creates a big file inside the NTFS partition, sized at
install-time, and puts all the Linux stuff inside that virtual disk. So
you end up with 2 Ubuntu files, a tweak to boot.ini and a c:\ubuntu
directory on the Windows/NTFS side. My stock install uses about 2.2G
and since you can store and access files in the NTFS side, you probably
don't have to worry too much about the Ubuntu disk size. I'll probably
try to create a symlink from ~/MyDocs to '/host/Documents and
Settings/jp/My Documents' or something.
I just installed it on my new Dell Latitude D630 and it works great.
Once it installed on the Windows side and rebooted I did have to hit
ESCAPE and use the "safe graphics mode" option, to finish the install on
the Ubuntu side, as the built-in video otherwise won't work. After the
second phase install and reboot the screen came up in 800x600 mode, but
almost immediately informed me that restricted drivers were available.
I installed those and the updates and restarted and it's working
GREAT!!! I haven't tested all the hardware yet, and IIRC suspend and/or
hibernate don't work in Ubuntu under wubi. But still...
One catch; if the NTFS side gets the dirty-bit set, Ubuntu won't boot
and the error message is not very clear: something about being unable to
mount the NTFS partition. The solution is to simply allow a Windows
boot to complete and optionally but recommended: run a scandisk. This
situation can and will occur when you restart and are not paying
attention, so you miss the NT Boot loader prompt and start booting
Windows, then hard-power-off to save time (can you guess how I know
this?). I bet this is going to be a really F.A.Q. with Wubi. I plan to
file a bug report on this; it seems like it would be possible for a
little shim to detect this and provide a useful error.
Later,
JP
PS--I plan on using this machine to do my 2008-05-12 preso for PLUG
West, if anyone wants to see it in action.
----------------------------|:::======|-------------------------------
JP Vossen, CISSP |:::======| jp{at}jpsdomain{dot}org
My Account, My Opinions |=========| http://www.jpsdomain.org/
----------------------------|=========|-------------------------------
"Microsoft Tax" = the additional hardware & yearly fees for the add-on
software required to protect Windows from its own poorly designed and
implemented self, while the overhead incidentally flattens Moore's Law.
___________________________________________________________________________
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Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
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