Wubi paranoid friendly?

[Boggess Rod]

On 12/07/2010 01:15 PM, Richard Owlett wrote:
> I date from the era of vacuum tubes and 026's.
> Though I've programed, I'm a user not a programmer.
> I am a Windows(tm) user who wishes to be a *nix user.
>
> I wish to try Ubuntu.
>
> Full install OBVIOUSLY *NOT* acceptable ;/
>
> Dual boot *NOT* acceptable as it requires repartitioning my hard
> drive. I've had bad experiences with repartitioning.
>
> I've already gone the "live" CD/USB route which proves that my
> hardware is minimally compliant
>
> !!! *BUT* !!!
>
> I'm looking for something indistinguishable from a full install,
> think equivalent of "Turing Test" ;/
>
> Basic question is:
> "How does Wubi mess with my hard drive?"
>
> I've searched multiple Wubi related pages without an adequate answer.
>
>
Wubi is about as full proof as you can get.  I ran several systems under

WUBI for almost a year before I took the plunge and blew out Windows 
completely.  If it "breaks", it's a simple matter of going into the 
control panel and deleting it just like you would any other program. 
You can run the full range of back-up options, so any files you create 
in Ubuntu [WUBI] can be saved for later use.

One issue I wasn't prepared for at the time I did it for the first time 
was the move to OpenOffice.org.  I just didn't give my Word processing 
requirements a second thought. I'd gotten so used to the Windows mindset

that MS Office is always there, that I was a little shocked to learn I'd

have to learn something new.   OOo is a piece of cake, and in my mind 
superior to Word, Excel, etc.  The "except" you hear coming in that 
statement deals with "impress"; it doesn't always like to work with 
PowerPoint files; but even that is not a big deal for basic 
presentations.  I found problems creeping in on slides with boxes of 
text, some special effects, and most embedded music.

The on-line community was great getting me started off, and has proved 
outstanding since.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with WUBI.

I'll be happy to offer my [limited] help.  The beauty of UBUNTU is that 
you don't have to be a power user to use the software.

-- 
Mark C. Miller
mmiller at millermc.net
Indianapolis, Indiana

------------------------------

I have no problem with the Windows-Ubuntu Installer (Wubi), but I'd
recommend caution. It creates a large (inaccessible by Windows) file on
your drive that, as I understand it, is like a virtual partition.
Uninstall is squeaky clean. It does create a dual boot, though. That is,
you have to reboot to get from Windows to Ubuntu.

My caution is this: Ubuntu is a bit addictive. Once you decide you like
it, there isn't a clean path to get from a Wubi install to a full
install. And it will sneak up on you. Without realizing it, all your
kewl stuff will be on that inaccessible virtual partition and you'll
have no easy way to get to it.

Instead, get Paragon Backup & Recovery or PartImage and clone your
disk/partitions. Whatever you decide to do, it's not a bad idea to have
a fallback. Run a chkdsk /r /f and reboot. Then, if you don't have room
for a second drive, and aren't willing to go with the partition, at
least use some external media to create a /usr mount point for your
stuff. (A VM of Linux running on Windows just feels backwards.)