Install Within Windows - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!


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I installed Ibex (Ubuntu 8.10) "within windows" and created a 10GB partition using Wubi. Now that it is fully upgraded and with 5GB to spare I have come across some problems. Pardon my grammar and spelling, I don't proof read much for online forums.

1. a)Random freezes. I am unsure why this happens and its only occasionally. I will click on the program, the window will half open and then I am unable to do anything else. I can move the mouse but thats about it. I don't know if this has something to do with Vista or my machine.

b) After resuming from Hibernate, the opposite happens. Mouse won't budge but everything else works. There is no solution for this as of yet. Some neowinians have given me several options before but none worked.

2. Placing a CD/DVD in the drive is out of the question. There will be a kernel panic.

3. Switching back to 8.04 is also out of the question. The latest batch of updates will crash Ubuntu and upon startup I will be greeted by kernel panic text. After this, Ubuntu needed to be re-installed.

Though I like the idea of dual-booting windows and linux since it will save me battery life (when in linux) and will provide me necessary productivity (in windows). I am unsure what the benefits of installing "within windows" really are. Can someone enlighten me with their own experiences and what you think of the above problems?

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No experience with Wubi but I have Ubuntu 8.10 working without a hitch under VirtualBox.

hmmm... I should try virtualization.

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Your 1a issue could be anything. RAM, incorrect driver or setting, bad install... Hard to tell

1b sounds likely to be an issue with hibernation. I don't hibernate/suspend, but some motherboard ACPI type hardware isn't exactly open specced, so there may be glitches on implementation in Linux where some things may not work. There may be workarounds, but this is not an area where I have experience.

2 sounds like it could only be one of two things: bad drive, or corrupted install. I can't imagine anything else causing kernel panics just from a media insertion.

3 sounds like a corrupted install.

As far as a WUBI install within Windows, it is a 100% real install, just without the partitioning. Linux just uses a loopback sort of mounting for a filesystem image, rather than a "real" partition. Other than that, you won't see any difference with a "traditional" install.

A virtual PC test might help work out whether the problem is the software install, or the hardware. That should take hardware out of the question, as virtual hardware is presented to the Linux guest OS. Might be worth doing for troubleshooting purposes.

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markjensen, for #3 its the same issue after countless installs (5 to be exact). I got ubuntu 8.10 in the mail so I did a fresh install. I have ordered kubuntu 8.10 from canonical and waiting for it to arrive, can't wait :p.

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Try turning off Compiz- I remember reading somewhere that the latest video drivers are not 100% compatible with 8.10 (just remember reading this though during beta testing worth a shot though)

That and please include your specs( and or model #).

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