Wubi (installer)

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Wubi
Ubuntu logo
Screenshot of Wubi in Windows Vista
Wubi, installing Ubuntu 8.04
Developer(s) Agostino Russo, Geza Kovacs, Oliver Mattos, Ecology2007
Initial release 2008-04-24; 14 months ago
Stable release 9.04 / 2009-04-21; 2 months ago
Written in NSIS script, C++, Python
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Size 1.5 MiB
Available in Over 50 Languages
Development status active development
Type Ubuntu installer
License GNU GPL [1]
Website wubi-installer.org
Free software portal

Wubi (Windows-based Ubuntu Installer) is an official Windows-based free software installer for Ubuntu.

Wubi was born as an independent project and as such versions 7.04 and 7.10 were unofficial releases.[2] Since 8.04 the code has been merged within Ubuntu and since 8.04 alpha 5, Wubi can also be found in the Ubuntu Live CD.[1]

The goal of the project is to assist a Windows user unacquainted with Linux in trying Ubuntu without risking any loss of information due to disk formatting or partitioning.[2] Wubi can also uninstall Ubuntu from within Windows.

It is not a virtual machine, but rather, it creates a stand-alone installation within a loopmounted device, also known as a disk image, like Topologilinux does. It is not a Linux distribution of its own, but rather an installer for Ubuntu.[1]

Users interested in directly installing to a dedicated partition, like a standard Ubuntu install does, without needing a CD should use UNetbootin instead.[3]

While Wubi does not install Ubuntu directly to its own partition (which the developers consider a feature) this can also be accomplished by using LVPM, the Loopmounted Virtual Partition Manager, to transfer the Wubi-generated Ubuntu installation to a dedicated real partition, including a bootable USB keydrive.[1] The advantage of this setup is that users can test the operating system and install the drivers before they install it to a dedicated partition (and avoid booting and functioning risks).

Wubi adds an entry to the Windows boot menu which allows the user to run Linux. Ubuntu is installed within a file in the Windows file system (c:\ubuntu\disks\root.disk), as opposed to being installed within its own partition. This file is seen by Linux as a real hard disk. [1] Wubi also creates a swap file in the Windows file system (c:\ubuntu\disks\swap.disk), in addition to the memory of the host machine. This file is seen by Ubuntu as additional RAM.[1]

A related project, Lubi, uses Linux as the host system instead of Windows.[1] A version for the Mac OS as host, Mubi, "will eventually be supported."[1]

Contents

[edit] Desktops

Users can select the desktop environment within Wubi. But, because each desktop environment is also available as an application package, it is recommended that users install Ubuntu (default option) and from there install the other desktop environments. When users log in, they can choose the desktop environment to use.[1]

[edit] Limitations

  • Hibernation is not supported. [1]
  • Wubi filesystem is more vulnerable to hard reboots (unplugging the power) than a normal filesystem.[1]

[edit] Influences

It relies on other open source projects: Debian installer, Migration-Assistant, Grub4Dos, NTFS-3G, NSIS and Metalink.[citation needed]

[edit] Development

The lead developers are Agostino Russo, Geza Kovacs, Oliver Mattos and Ecology2007.[1] The main development occurs at Launchpad and is led by the Lupin Team (Lupin is the loop-installer, handles everything that happens after reboot) [4] through the original Ubuntu blueprint page [5] and the new Wubi[6], Lubi[7], Lupin[8], and LVPM[9] project pages.[1]

[edit] Hardware support

Both the i386 (32-bit x86) and x86-64 releases of Ubuntu are supported by Wubi and Lubi, although this was a recent change.[1] In versions before 8.04, only the x86 release of Ubuntu was supported.

[edit] History

SuSE provided a very similar boot and install method using syslinux and loop-mounted disk images on FAT filesystems in the mid-1990s. There was also the ZipSlack method at that time. During the late 90's BeOS used a similar system to install the OS in a folder in Windows.

The idea for Wubi was drafted by Agostino Russo taking inspiration from Topologilinux, which provided a loopmounted installation, and Instlux, that provided a simple Windows frontend. The idea[10] was to merge the two concepts having a Windows installer that would loopmount an image of Ubuntu. Geza Kovacs later refined the spec[11] and provided the first prototypes[12] to show that the concept was sound. Oliver Mattos wrote the original user interface in NSIS.

Agostino Russo then refined the loop-installation concept, moving from a simple loopmounted pre-made image file to an image created on the fly using a dynamically patched version of the Debian installer, thus providing an experience which was closer to a real installation while addressing several other issues of the early prototypes. Lupin project was thus born and Agostino Russo wrote and implemented most of its code with some contributions from Geza Kovacs.

Agostino Russo and Ecology2007 later redesigned and rewrote the current Windows front-end. Hampus Wessman contributed the new downloader and the translation scripts. Bean123 and Tinybit also helped to debug and fix bootloader issues. Lubi and LVPM were subsequently created by Geza Kovacs.[1]

The project has inspired the creation of other Windows-based Linux installers, such as Win32-loader, and Mint4Win, which is based on Wubi for installing Linux Mint.

[edit] Similar projects

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Wubi - FAQ". Wubi. http://wubi-installer.org/faq.php. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  2. ^ a b Broida, Rick (2007-05-09). "Take Ubuntu for a non-invasive test drive with Wubi". Lifehacker. http://lifehacker.com/software/featured-windows-download/take-ubuntu-for-a-non+invasive-test-drive-with-wubi-258936.php. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  3. ^ Geza Kovacs (tuxcantfly) (2007-04-29). "Install Ubuntu without a CD". Ubuntu. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=427540. Retrieved on 2007-07-31. 
  4. ^ "The Lupin Team in Launchpad". Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/~lupin-team. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  5. ^ "Windows installer for ubuntu using loopmounted EXT3 filesystem on NTFS". Launchpad. https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/windows-installer. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  6. ^ "Wubi, Windows Ubuntu Installer in Launchpad". Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/wubi. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  7. ^ "Linux-based Ubuntu Installer in Launchpad". Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/lubi. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  8. ^ "Lupin, the loop installer in Launchpad". Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/lupin. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  9. ^ "Loopmounted Virtual Partition Manager in Launchpad". Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/lvpm. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. 
  10. ^ Agostino Russo (ago). "Ubuntu setup executable for windows users". Launchpad. https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/ubuntu-setup.exe. Retrieved on 2007-09-02. 
  11. ^ Geza Kovacs (tuxcantfly). "Windows installer for ubuntu using loopmounted EXT3 filesystem on NTFS". Launchpad. https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/windows-installer. Retrieved on 2007-09-02. 
  12. ^ Geza Kovacs (tuxcantfly). "Idea: Install via windows on loopmounted ntfs?". Ubuntuforums. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=305109. Retrieved on 2007-08-02. 
  13. ^ Instlux - openSUSE

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