Wubi (Ubuntu)

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Wubi

Wubi logo
Screenshot of Wubi on Windows Vista
Wubi before installing Ubuntu 11.10
Basic data

Publishing year 2008
Current  version 12.10
(October 2012)
operating system Windows
programming language NSIS -Script, C ++ , Python
category Ubuntu installation program
License GPL
wubi.sourceforge.net

Wubi ( Windows-based Ubuntu Installer ) was an official Windows- based free installation program from 2008 to 2015 that installed the Linux distribution Ubuntu and its derivatives within a Windows partition . With Ubuntu version 14.04, it was discontinued because the increasingly popular computers with UEFI are not supported.

Both the Ubuntu releases for the i386 (32-bit x86 ) and the x86-64 platform are supported by Wubi, the latter being introduced with version 8.04 (in April 2008).

Among other things, Wubi is also offered for download on the SourceForge.net website , where over 1.3 million downloads were recorded (as of June 2010).

target

The goal of the project is to let Windows users with no Linux experience try Ubuntu without risking data loss through formatting or partitioning. In general, this method is considered a safe way to try Ubuntu and is often recommended as an installation method for people with no experience with partitioning. Ubuntu can be installed and removed again with Wubi via the Windows software management.

technology

Wubi is not a Linux distribution of its own, but an installation program for Ubuntu and its derivatives. It does not install the operating system in a partition on the hard disk as usual, but in a single file in the Windows file system (C: \ ubuntu \ disks \ root.disk). It is not a virtual machine , but creates a stand-alone installation in a loop device .

The file system contained in the file is viewed by Linux as a whole hard disk. Wubi also creates a swap file in the Windows file system (C: \ ubuntu \ disks \ swap.disk) as an addition to the computer's RAM. The system is started by an additional entry in the Windows boot loader. The system can subsequently be transferred to a partition or a bootable USB stick .

Compared to a normal installation, there are a number of restrictions, such as the lack of an idle state or insufficient compensation for hardware resets .

development

The main developers are Agostino Russo, Geza Kovacs, Oliver Mattos and Ecology2007. The development takes place mainly on Launchpad and is under the direction of the Lupine team (Lupine is the loop installer that takes care of all operations after a restart) on the original Ubuntu blueprint page and the new project pages from Wubi, Lubi, Lupine and LVPM advanced.

history

In the mid-1990s, SuSE already offered a very similar boot and installation method that used SYSLINUX and loop-mounted disk image files on FAT file systems. The ZipSlack method also currently existed . During the late 1990s, BeOS used a similar system to install the system into a directory in Windows.

Wubi itself uses other free software such as the Debian Installer , Migration Assistant , Grub4Dos , NTFS-3G , NSIS and Metalink .

The idea for Wubi was formulated by Agostino Russo and was inspired by Topologilinux , which offered an installation in a loop device, as well as by Instlux, a simple Windows front-end. The idea was to combine both concepts. Geza Kovacs later developed the specification and created the first prototypes to prove the suitability of the concept. Oliver Mattos wrote the original user interface in NSIS .

The first public version appeared in April 2007. Wubi was founded independently of Ubuntu, so versions 7.04 and 7.10 were not official. Since April 2008 the code has been adopted in Ubuntu and since Ubuntu version 8.04 Alpha 5, Wubi has also been included in Ubuntu's Live CD .

Wubi has inspired the creation of other Windows-based Linux installers like win32-loader . The Linux Mint distribution uses a fork called Mint4Win. Mubi, a version for Mac OS as the host system, has not yet been officially adopted by Ubuntu.

Similar programs

  • Lubi is a related project that uses Linux as the host system instead of Windows.
  • Cooperative Linux runs Linux within Windows and is used by Topologilinux (Slackware-based) and andLinux .
  • mint4win , a similar program to install Linux Mint .
  • Instlux , included in openSUSE from version 10.3.
  • win32-loader uses a similar chain-booting technique to install Debian without a CD.
  • UNetbootin uses a similar approach to initiate a normal Linux installation without a CD (or to create a live system on removable USB media).
  • Xandros Presto is a commercial "instant-on" Linux distribution that, like Wubi, installs itself within Windows.

Web links

Commons : Wubi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Agostino Russo: Wubi FAQ Accessed on January 24, 2015 (English).
  2. ↑ ubuntu-forum.de: Installation / Wubi
  3. ↑ Wubi download page. In: SourceForge.net. Geeknet, Inc., accessed February 18, 2010 .
  4. ^ A b Rick Broida: Take Ubuntu for a non-invasive test drive with Wubi. In: Lifehacker. Gawker Media, May 9, 2007, accessed May 30, 2008 .
  5. ↑ Barzan Antal: Wubi: Windows-based Ubuntu Installer. In: Dev Shed. Developer Shed Inc., Jan. 27, 2009, p. 4 , archived from the original on April 16, 2009 ; accessed on February 18, 2010 (English).
  6. ↑ Manuel Schreiber: Wubi: Install Ubuntu on Windows. In: CHIP-Online -Linux-Blog. CHIP Xonio Online GmbH, November 2, 2007, archived from the original on July 23, 2010 ; Retrieved February 18, 2010 .
  7. ^ The Lupine Team. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed June 23, 2007 .
  8. ↑ Geza Kovacs: Windows installer for Ubuntu using loopmounted EXT3 filesystem on NTFS. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed June 23, 2007 .
  9. ↑ Ubuntu Installer Team: Wubi, Windows Ubuntu Installer. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed June 23, 2007 .
  10. ↑ Geza Kovacs: Linux-based Ubuntu Installer. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed June 23, 2007 .
  11. ↑ Ubuntu Installer Team: Lupine, the loop installer. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed June 23, 2007 .
  12. ↑ Geza Kovacs: Loopmounted Virtual Partition Manager. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed June 23, 2007 .
  13. ↑ Ubuntu setup executable for windows users. In: Launchpad. Canonical Ltd., accessed September 2, 2007 .
  14. ↑ Geza Kovacs (tuxcantfly): Windows installer for ubuntu using loopmounted EXT3 filesystem on NTFS . Launchpad. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  15. ↑ Geza Kovacs (tuxcantfly): Idea: Install via windows on loopmounted ntfs? . Ubuntu forums. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
  16. ↑ Instlux at openSUSE