create Linux filesystem within NTFS partition?

By choosing to install Ubuntu Inside Windows, the Wubi installer actually creates a virtual Linux filesystem inside your NTFS partition in Windows. This is done "inside Windows" where you insert the Ubuntu installation CD, select the autorun and execute the installation.

  On 9/9/2010 9:08 PM, JeanAustinR wrote:
> Your question #124819 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/124819
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> JeanAustinR proposed the following answer:
> By choosing to install Ubuntu Inside Windows, the Wubi installer
> actually creates a virtual Linux filesystem inside your NTFS partition
> in Windows. This is done "inside Windows" where you insert the Ubuntu
> installation CD, select the autorun and execute the installation.

Ah. Thanks. Is this procedure documented somewhere? I'm now reading
through the HTML documentation on the install disk, and haven't come
across a description of this method of installation. Maybe I just
haven't gotten to it yet.

Here you go : http://wubi-installer.org/

Here's how the installation inside Windows works: http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/152/how-to-install-ubuntu-inside-windows More information at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide

Thanks for the pointers to online documentation that explain how to do what I want. Perhaps the procedure would have been more obvious if I had begun on the Windoze side. (I read the install disk from within a Knoppix system.) I do think, though, that perhaps the documentation for installation could be linked to from the Ubuntu home page, or at least made more obvious.

Now I have more serious problems, which I'll detail in a separate posting. I installed Ubuntu (Kubuntu, actually) to an external USB drive, and the installer seems to have wiped out the Windoze bootloader on the laptop's internal drive, which I had no way (that I know of, at least) to protect during the installation. Now when I try to reboot, with or without the drive plugged in, I get an error message about not being able to find the device (I assume it's looking for the USB drive).

If it ain't one thing, it's another! :-(

Thanks again to all who replied.

Turns out I was wrong to sign off on this one. The documentation I was referred to do not describe current reality. There is no "Install Inside Windows" option presented when one runs wubi.exe. Only the first and last options shown in the graphic on the page at http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/152/how-to-install-ubuntu-inside-windows are available - the middle selection button is not shown. Booting into the live-CD mode only permits one to enter the installer, which provides no "install inside Windows" option.

Am I missing something?

Hi Gary,

WUBI is a Windows executable oki ? So you need to have windows running first, then run wubi from 'within' windows and the install inside windows option should show...

1 -Please start windows as the operating system
2 - Downlaod wubi here : http://wubi-installer.org/latest.php

run wubi and follow instructions...

Well, there's a "wubi.exe" on the 10.4 (or is it 10.04?) AMD64 Kubuntu install disk. After getting a previous tip (yesterday), I did in fact execute that program from within Windoze. However, I got a popup window with menu choices which did not include what is shown in the old article (http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/152/how-to-install-ubuntu-inside-windows) suggested to me. Instead, there were only two choices - the first offers a reboot to go into "live" mode, which just runs the regular installer, and the second offers more information, which sends a URL to one's web browser. There is not an "install inside windows" option provided.

I went to the #ubuntu IRC channel at Freenode last night, and got what sounded like advice that it is not possible for the default ext4 filesystem to live within an NTFS partition, which I take to be an explanation for why the installer option is no longer provided. Unless there is something different about the wubi.exe available from http://wubi-installer.org/latest.php than the one on the installer disk (why would there be?), I think what I want to do is not possible.

All the above having been said, perhaps the matter has now become moot. I had already begun to read about various ways to run Linux and Windoze simultaneously (VMware, Linux KVM and VirtualBox, with the last of these seeming to be the easiest to install and use), an idea that was strengthened by hearing from several of the partipants in last night's IRC exchange. Based on that conversation, I've decided the best route might be to simply "bite the bullet" and defrag my internal drive, do a fuil Windoze backup and go through the somewhat scary repartitioning exercise, so I can install Linux in its own separate partition, which I think is necessary in order to use VirtualBox - and it results, from what I've read and what my intuition tells me, in a more efficient setup anyway (since it's not necessary to go through two layers of filesystem operations to deal with the Linux virtualised filesystem, assuming such a thing is even possible with ext4 or other modern Linux filesystem types).

If anyone either wants to insist that it is possible to use WUBI to do what I began wanting to do, I'd be willing to try an experiment (and I'll go to the http://wubi-installer.org/latest.php page in any case, which might in fact answer the question definitively), please let me know. At this point, I'm still open to a bit of experimenting, to make sure that I do things in what seems to be the best possible way (with an acceptable risk - I'm still nervous about the defrag/repartition route, though I do plan to do a backup prior to the defrag).

In any event, I have what I feel to be fairly clear evidence that at least the Ubuntu documentation leaves much to be desired. I feel that with better information at the outset, I could have avoided a lot of uncertainty and wouldn't have had to ask these sorts of questions - though I do certainly appreciate all the help I've gotten, both here and in the #Ubuntu channel.

There's also the matter of the Ubuntu installer overwriting the bootloader in the MBR of the laptop's internal drive, as well as that of the external drive where the installation was done, without asking (and it wasn't possible to boot from the internal drive anyway). After some thought, I've decided that I can probably do a new install to the internal drive, whether the WUBI way or in the way I described above, so I don't really need the Win7 loader. But still, it's the principle of the thing! (Someone in the IRC chat said that a brand new version of the installer does things differently in this respect - 10.4.1, perhaps?)

Anyway, thanks to Aruna and Jean for taking the time to reply. I'll report on what happens once I've made some progress or completed my installation. And if anyone is interested in my saga about the bootloader loss, it's at https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/124863 .

Thanks again!

Gary,

Linux is a far more capable and secure operating system than any other in existence today and with Ubuntu we finally have a graphical desktop environment that IS truly user configurable and customisable. There is also Linux Mint which is a spin off from Ubuntu another gui desktop os which is also very good.

I am sorry about the lack of documentation, there are people working on this right now.Try to understand the open source community does what we do not for financial gain or self recognition but simply because we all believe in the Ubuntu Philosophy, which is that Software should be FREE and source code available so the end user can do what he wishes with it - period !

Look at it from another perspective friend, at least now you are more knowledgeable right ? About many things you were not when you started out with trying to install wubi ?

My advice is this Gary:

- Make a complete back-up of ALL your existing data ( Preferably keep more than one back-up )
- Do a CLEAN install of Ubuntu ( I promise you will not be sorry or self-appointed by doing so..)
- If you must have access to windows then use Virtual Box or VMVare and you have the best of both worlds.

We are always here to provide support if you need it. And think about getting involved, if you see a lack in documentation nothing to stop you from joining the ubuntu manual team or any other team and start contributing ?

Good luck ! :-)

My apologies,

Typo -> I promise you will not be sorry or self-appointed by doing - meant NOT DISAPPOINTED and not self-appointed :-)

On Sat, 11 Sep 2010 13:14:10 -0000
Aruna Hewapathirane-අරැණ හේවාපතිරණ
<email address hidden> wrote:

> Your question #124819 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/124819
>
> Aruna Hewapathirane-අරැණ හේවාපතිරණ posted a new comment:
> My apologies,
>
> Typo -> I promise you will not be sorry or self-appointed by doing -
> meant NOT DISAPPOINTED and not self-appointed :-)

Thanks, Aruna, for this correction and all you wrote in your previous
message. Though I have resisted getting involved with Ubuntu for a
number of years, thinking Debian to be more "pure" somehow, I do want
to get experience with Ubuntu, and confront my prejudices head on. And
thanks for the tip on Mint also. I agree completely with what you say
about the virtues of free software, and would like to eventually become
a contributing member of the community. I know that my own passion and
skills could allow me to contribute substantially - once I can find the
time.

I have looked at the wubi page, and note it doesn't mention Win7,
perhaps only because that page hasn't been updated in a while. I've
been reading various things - about defragging and repartitioning and
the tradeoffs between ext4 and Reiserfs, etc. Now I'm ready to boot
into Windoze and start the operations - having spent time last night
transferring all but the original contents of the Win7 installation to
an external device, so that I can start with a minimal backup and the
defragger doesn't have to work very hard. I'll play with wubi when I
get a chance, just for the fun of it, but I think that the VirtualBox
way is probably the best for my purposes, so I have to go through the
repartitioning, etc.

I'm glad to be becoming a part of the Ubuntu community, and am very
pleased to know that it has within it people like yourself and
JeanAustinR and the folks with whom I was speaking on the #ubuntu IRC
channel last night who give of themselves so unselfishly for the
benefit of all of us!

Thanks again to you and the others for your gracious assistance.

Best regards,

Gary

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