I might have to try this. I've already upgraded my machine to 3GB of memory and Vista is still killing me.

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I've just give it a whirl and it all works perfectly. Just be aware of a couple of gotcha's when installing it. Depending on how much space you allocate to it it can look like it's died during part way through the install, but it hasn't, it just takes quite a bit of time.
Also when it initially prompts you to 'reboot' it means reboot back into windows even though you'll see the Ubuntu boot option. Once you've rebooted back into windows you can then reboot into Ubuntu.

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Will this work on vista. I have 2gb momory. I have been wanting to try Ubuntu Linux for a long time. This would be great!

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Just so that everyone knows, WUBI is NOT supported by Ubuntu.
The kind fine folks at UbuntuForums.org will help as far as getting it INSTALLED, but that's about it.

I say, if you really want the full advantages of using Linux/Ubuntu, try the LiveCD, if you want more, try WUBI, if you want more still, consider a full transition to Linux, or do a dual-boot.
That's what I'm doing, have been for the past 5 months. In fact, the last time I logged into Windows was to make sure my Ubuntu and Windows could BOTH see access my FAT32 partition.

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Wubi doesn't seem to work with the 64 bit alternate disc.

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I couldn't get this to work, some error with the GRUB loader when I tried to boot into Ubuntu the first time. Maybe it's because I'm already triple booting XP, 2003 Server and Vista.
If you have to reboot all the time, why not create another partition and install it there? I guess I thought this could be used like a VM, which would be nice.

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This looks interesting, but for me, the Live CD was enough to sell the whole OS. I had a spare hard drive from an old computer, and dropped that into my case. Ubuntu had no problem formating the spare drive and installing. It automatically sets up a dual boot system for you, and nothing is lost or changed on you windows drive. After a few months with Ubuntu, I find that I rarely log into windows. Its still nice to have both when I need it.

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No, it wont work with Vista, according to the site. And I couldn't get it to work with my Vista machine. They say they're working on it though, and I look forward to them finishing...

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Thats a shame it won't work with vista. but then being a vista user i am starting to live with nothing working with it.

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It's a SHAME that this does not work with Apple BOOTCAMP. I've got Win XP installed with bootcamp and tried to install wubi... after reboot when choosing Ubuntu it can't locate the virtual disk image!!!!! WHAT A SHAME

Fakada

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To save some time download the the latest iso image, put it in the same directory as the wubi file and start installation. In this case wubu does not have to waste time downloading the iso.

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> To save some time download the the latest iso image, put it > in the same directory as the wubi file and start
> installation. In this case wubu does not have to waste time > downloading the iso.

Note that you have to use an ALTERNATE iso, such as:
http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu-releases/feisty/ubuntu-7.04-alternate-i386.iso

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Idiot proof install.
Fantastic except for the minor issue of screen resolution default.
What a Great Service the CutlerSoftware Linuxers have provided to us windoze procrastinators/fraidycats...

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I have been watching the Linux scene for years, waiting for the right time to jump out of Windows! That time is now, and I've happily had Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) installed for a month now. What pushed me? A determination never to go to VISTA (due to its bloat, and Microsoft's paranoia over piracy); an appreciation of the ethos of the Ubuntu project, and the reviews of the latest release, Feisty Fawn (7.04) for a start (and, I have to say, the VISTA reviews!) I am NOT a geek and regard my computer as a tool, not a toy, but I DO take an interest in this protean bit of kit, and have certainly reached the stage where the fascination outweighs the annoyances.

There were TWO advances in Feisty that encouraged me. Firstly, read AND WRITE ability with the NTFS file system, which means I have access to ALL my Windows files. Secondly, I came accross wubi.exe - beta software that puts Ubuntu into a FOLDER on the C drive without any repartitioning! I bought "The official Ubuntu book" and downloaded wubi.exe. It was a doddle to use, but I have to say that maybe I was lucky: being unsupported beta software I'd have been on my own and out of my depth if I had encountered any problems or inscrutable error messages.

So, I now have a splendid dual boot system. It really came of age for me when Outlook Express was playing up on XP and I had to reboot into Ubuntu. I have about 1/5 the error messages and crashes on XP that I had on the infamous Windows Me, and on Ubuntu I've only ever had one error message and one reboot needed on a month of usage. It won't take much more of this for me to regard Ubuntu as my default OS, and it'll be for the best of reasons – it does the job better. HOWEVER, I do have quite a few Windows programs which I will need to get up and running on Ubuntu – using WINE if necessary: Registax 4 (an astronomy imaging package); and Rosetta Stone language software are important to me, but perhaps the most critical is VueScan – I have not yet sorted out how to install it from a tgz package – and cannot use either of my ancient scanners satisfactorily at present on Linux. I also need to be able to switch between English and Cyrillic keyboards, mid-document sometimes. I guess this can be done, but haven't yet done the research.

I would hope and expect that the next Ubuntu release will incorporate the wubi.exe option officially – indeed as the recommended default - otherwise there are three more changes needed: firstly, the software installation tool need to incorporate tar.gz and tgz, and also rpm packages, and updated documentation for this. The first of these would makes sharing a Windows partition as easy as in Mandriva, and the second could make software installation almost as neat as Linspire's “Click 'n' Run”, and with much more scope. By the way, I'm NOT wanting or waiting for the currently optional non-default desktop enhancements, and hope that even when these are sorted out to have the required improved reliability, that the present 'classic' Gnome desktop will still be the default, but I guess this will be a marketting call! The third change is better printer support. At present I'm using Turboprint on my Epson R200, but it seems not to support all the maintenance tools and currently I have to reboot into Windows to do nozzle checks and cleaning cycles etc. and to change inks.

This is a crossroads for FOSS. So many people are hanging on to Windows XP (indeed I only upgraded from Me in January to avoid being forced to buy VISTA) and only then came across wubi.exe. I cannot emphasise too strongly how this was the clincher for me - together with the write-to-NTFS facility - non-geeks such as myself are very nervous about repartitioning and losing data.

My next computer I expect to buy without an OS installed, or with Ubuntu pre-installed. If I have to, I'll buy Microsoft and not accede to their licence, forcing a refund on the OS component of my purchase.

(By the way, I have to say that I will NOT use unlicensed software. My concern over MS's piracy measures in VISTA is chiefly that they are grossly OTT, and that one is guilty until proven innocent, if what I have read is true: that one can be locked out of the OS due to faults and glitches in the anti-piracy software even when one has properly acquired it).

John Kemp

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