Ubuntu Linux Help

Earlier this week we were discussing if Ubuntu Linux needed antivirus software. (If you missed the post, it is here: Does Ubuntu Linux Really Need Antivirus Software?) During the course of the discussion, one of our readers (from TechCollective) suggested we try out “Wubi”.

If you’ve never heard about it:

“Wubi is an unofficial Ubuntu installer for Windows users that will bring you into the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other application. If you heard about Linux and Ubuntu, if you wanted to try them but you were afraid, this is for you.”

So I booted up my old Win 2000 box (which is pretty dusty now - forgot the password, good thing I wrote it somewhere), and downloaded the Wubi package from here: http://wubi-installer.org/index.php (Click the download button just under the site header).

Don’t forget to create your (Windows) Emergency Repair disk in case something goes wrong, and of course always backup any valuable data before installing Wubi.

I double clicked to install and followed along. Easy. The first thing I noticed is a choice as to which flavour: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubunto or UbuntuStudio; I’d like to install. I didn’t expect that, and I think it’s a great feature for you Windows fans who’d like to see what the different types of Ubuntu in operation.

After selecting Ubuntu, I noticed that the distribution being downloaded was ubuntu-7.04-alternative-i386.iso

The install is easy and pretty much automated… Download’s the package, creates the virtual disks. Just so you know, the “Creating Virtual Disks” section took so incredibly long that I thought the install had failed. I was just about to kill the process (I was just moving to click on “End Task” ) when the install completed and I had the option to reboot. So, remember to give the install extra time at this stage.

After the reboot, it installed hardware, performed some configurations, finished and the I was able to reboot into Ubuntu. It was simple, easy and automated. And I think, a great way for Windows users to get some exposure to Ubuntu, before diving into a fully loaded Ubuntu based PC.

One thing I noticed is that the system ran so painfully slow. After viewing the forum here: http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=234, I assumed it might be because I had a very fragmented Windows drive? Reboot to Windows……….. Yes. Extremely fragmented. So this is caused by my Windows system not Wubi/Ubuntu.

I wanted to see how the uninstall worked, so I could go through that process. The site said to uninstall (in Windows): d:\wubi\uninstaller.exe Nope! That gives an error message. If I surf to the directory, I see it’s really “d:\wubi\wubi-uninstall.exe” And… it completed in less time you can say “completed”.

A couple parting thoughts…

1) I thought it a very nice feature that NTFS support was enabled and I could see all the Windows based files.

2) I’ll certainly recommend this to my Windows friends who are interested in seeing Ubuntu before considering a full migration.

In my opinion, Wubi is a great idea and (even thought it’s still in Beta) is a great tool!