Try Ubuntu Inside Windows – Uninstall If You Don’t Like It
By on October 12th, 2010

wubi-installer-icon Do you want to try the newest operating system for PCs? Ubuntu 11.04 has recently been released. Although many people would enjoy trying it, the need to make permanent changes to their computers may be stopping them.

There is a way to install Ubuntu inside of Windows using the Wubi installer. If you decide you have no use for it, it can always be easily uninstalled later. Below, I’ll show you the details of a typical Wubi/Ubuntu installation.

First, you’ll need to download the correct Wubi file.

*** Download Wubi for Ubuntu 11.04

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If the download goes well, you’ll have a wubi.exe file to run. When you launch it, you should see a setup screen like the one shown below. It should show the version at the top.

wubi-setup

You can choose the Desktop Environmentusing the pull-down menu. In it you’ll get a choice of different versions of Ubuntu, such as Ubuntu (Desktop), Ubuntu Netbook, Kubuntu, Kubuntu Netbook, Xubuntu or Mythbuntu.

The rest of the settings are fairly obvious, but I was a bit confused when I entered my password and got an error. I didn’t notice that I had to enter the password twice.

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Once you hit the Installbutton, you should see this next image. The download is fairly large. It took about 25 minutes on my DSL connection.

Twubi-downloading

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Once it finishes, you’ll be prompted to reboot.

wubi-reboot

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Once the reboot has started, you will now have a new boot option in your Windows boot menu. Just select Ubuntu and it will finish installing. Here you can see a short video showing you basically what you’ll see as Ubuntu finishes up.

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I won’t spend any time telling you how to customize Ubuntu once it’s finished installing. If you need help, there’s plenty of help available at Ubunutu forums.

When you return to Windows, you can find a new folder at C:\ubuntu, which contains the entire installation. This copy of Ubuntu can be uninstalled using the Add/Remove applet in Windows, or by launching the uninstall-wubi.exefile in the install folder as shown below.

wubi-files

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Techie Buzz Verdict:

Wubi is a good solution for people who aren’t sure that they’ll like Ubuntu. If they decide they don’t like it, it’s easy to remove. A free operating system and an easy way to remove it are a winning combination in my opinion. Wubi with Ubuntu has my recommendation.

techiebuzzrecommendedsoftware1

Techie Buzz Rating: (4/5) Excellent

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Author: Clif Sipe Google Profile for Clif Sipe
Promoting Freeware and Free information since 2004. Owner of FreewareWiki.com with over 2000 pages of freebies. Please subscribe to my Google Feed or follow me on Twitter @clifnotes.

Clif Sipe has written and can be contacted at clif@techie-buzz.com.
  • Tarun

    Hi Clif,

    I am a newbee and thus asking you this silly question………

    If I install ubuntu as instructed by you…will it work as full functional ubuntu as installed in other systems as a primary booting OS?

    What I mean is….. is there any difference between ubuntu installed as software and full installation?

    • http://clif-notes.blogspot.com Clif Sipe

      Hi Tarun – there is no difference, except that it may run just a bit slower than what it would normally run. You may not even notice it.

      • hdonnell

        Good information if I could read it!!!
        There is a large Nissan ad covering the text and it will not go away.

  • Lj

    onthe video….you choose “erase and use the entire disc” ???
    WHY?
    why not to be “instaled alongside other OS”?

    • http://clif-notes.blogspot.com Clif Sipe

      Hi Lj – in that video, ignore everything that happens for the first 2 minutes and 14 seconds. You will not see any options to erase and use the entire disk. In the case of a Wubi install, there is no “real” disk. It’s a virtual disk that’s contained in a single Windows file. Therefore it’s easy to “uninstall” it by deleting it.

      The link I used for the video should have fast-forwarded up to the 2:14 point so that nobody got confused. I guess it didn’t work for you.

  • Michael

    I tried to use the links but security advisories for both and did not continue just in case there was, in fact, security problem with the two links. Your article did not indicate what the current version of Wubi is supposed to be. I went to the Wubi download site and I see that the version is v10.04. So … what is the current version of Wubi?

    • http://clif-notes.blogspot.com Clif Sipe

      The current version of Wubi is not important. What’s important is getting Wubi to download the correct version of Ubuntu. If you want to install the latest Ubunut 10.10, use the links I provided and ignore the security warning. Bit.ly always gives you a security warning if it points to an exe file.

  • Yasser Ameen

    thnx for this post. If i install ubuntu 10.10 inside windows 7 using Wubi, then will ubuntu delete my all data from my hard disk or there will be no changes ??? waiting for ur reply.

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/clif.notes Clif Sipe

      You will see no obvious change to Windows. However, you will now have a new boot menu that you will see when you turn on the computer.

  • James R. Skinner

    How do I get the 10.10 Wubi installer? The link you give is for the 10.04 version.

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/clif.notes Clif Sipe

      Hi James, sorry about that. Go back up to the article. I’ve updated the link to a different location. I don’t know why Ubuntu hasn’t updated yet.

  • Clay

    Strangely enought, I downloaded the wubi installer… then opened it – and it does exactly what the CD wants me to do… reboot and format. why is this?

  • tejas

    Hi . i have original 10.10 cd .. i tired installing with “install inside windows ” option but after first reboot , when ubuntu boot chosen nothing comes but only a blinking _ .
    cd works well inside virtualbox .
    what to do ?
    how much time does it take while installing in first reboot ?

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/clif.notes Clif Sipe

      Sorry tejas – please try the Ubuntu Forums for help.
      http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=331

      There is one thing to try. Boot into Windows, put in your Ubuntu CD. Now look for wubi.exe on the CD and run it.

  • althaf p.k

    Start typing your comment here

  • Manesh

    It’s a very OS I like it. But 1st i cnufuse about some option that how to opreate. if u any guideline plz sent it. I told my friends about the OS. They also want a OS CD.

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/clif.notes Clif Sipe

      Go to ubuntu.com for help. You can get free CDs shipped to you or you can download them.

  • Steve

    Installed 10.10 using wubi and uninstalled it a week later. Reason? could not adjust screen brightness. Tried Fn keys, gnome power management, plus no end of workarounds in the terminal. Great pity as everything else was good to go, but I value my eyesight more.

  • Siddharth

    I am tried installing Ubuntu 10.10 using Wubi. But, I had selected a Portable HDD as the place to install it.

    It starts off. But, after sometime it says that the “The Harddisk doesnt have enough place. Please refer the log…”

    I tried installing it on 80GB portable HDD & it had some 73GB free space.

    Tell me what to do in this scenario?

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/clif.notes Clif Sipe

      Hi Siddharth – I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer. However, you might find the answer to your question in the Wubi project pages.

      > https://answers.launchpad.net/wubi

      Good luck!

  • Etobian

    The wubi.exe downloaded from you link asks for the CD when you run it.

    When I run wubi.exe from the Ubuntu 10.10 DVD in Windows 7, I get a permission denied error, even if I run in compatibility mode as an administrator.

  • http://www.samvrit.tk samvrit

    i have windows 7 and i wanted to install ubuntu. when i try to install ubuntu through wubi, after the window which gives the choice which drive to install ubuntu in(which i chose d drive because c drive doesn’t have enough space), it starts to copy files. Then it says extracting from kernel and almost immediately shows an error and says installation failed. But this works on my friend’s vista. I dont know what the problem is. Please help.

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/clif.notes Clif Sipe

      Hi Samvrit – You should not be seeing any choice of drives to install Ubuntu on if you are using Wubi. After Wubi is run, it will ask you to reboot and Ubuntu will be installed automatically with almost no questions asked.

      I recommend that you consult the Wubi forums if you need to make any progress on this. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=396526

 
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