Is there any tool like wubi to Install Opensuse inside widows?

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Currently I am using Kubuntu 10.04 LTS installed inside windows using wubi but seriously I didn’t like Kubuntu at all. I want to install Opensuse without dedicating a separate partition because I have a total of 120 gb in my hard disk, with windows XP and Windows 7 installed as dual boot. Last time I used Opensuse in this combination of these three, when Opensuse crashed my dual boot setting also got lost and I had to remove One of those windows OS. I felt Opensuse as crash prone, whenever I installed it in VirtualBox or in particular partition.

So I am serching for a tool like Wubi to install opensuse, because I cannot risk my current OS combination.

ANY Solution…?

please help…

2

Not that I’m aware of.

120GB is not much these days though. Maybe buy a secondary HD? Less hassle dual booting when the OSes don’t have to share the primary HD. I believe you can use Windows bootloader to chain to GRUB and not have to install GRUB on the primary HD.

3

Today when I was searching for this tool, I read a post in Ubuntu forum that to use wubi to install opensuse,

  1. we have to download the source code of wubi.
  2. then change change the isolist.ini in it whith the information about opensuse.
    3 and to recompile it.

What do u think, will these steps work?

by the way thanks for replying…

4

With all the problems users have with wubi, let us hope it never comes here. Sorry. But it sucks. IMO it’s child’s play.
Real installations using Grub work perfectly.

5

Different people have different perspectives.

Thanks any way…

6

Wubi is a second-best solution because the Linux filesystem is contained inside a Windows file, which is then mounted loopback by the Linux kernel. (BTW, it follows that the initrd of the kernel booted has to be able to mount NTFS filesystems RW.) There are at least two problems with the Wubi approach. One is performance: you lose some going through another filesystem. The second is data security: your data is hostage to any Windows problems that may lose or corrupt the image file.

Wubi is really only for people wanting to dip their toes. I would not use for anything serious.

7

On 12/04/2010 03:36 AM, ken yap wrote:
>
> Wubi is a second-best solution because the Linux filesystem is contained
> inside a Windows file, which is then mounted loopback by the Linux
> kernel. (BTW, it follows that the initrd of the kernel booted has to be
> able to mount NTFS filesystems RW.) There are at least two problems with
> the Wubi approach. One is performance: you lose some going through
> another filesystem. The second is data security: your data is hostage to
> any Windows problems that may lose or corrupt the image file.
>
> Wubi is really only for people wanting to dip their toes. I would not
> use for anything serious.

I know nothing of wubi, but if you want to play with Linux without any disk
repartitioning, etc. use VirtualBox. The full version is available at
www.virtualbox.org for Windows hosts.

8

I second this advice. Never heard about wubi either but it doesn’t sound right. VirtualBox is all you need. the OSE version is directly available from the standard repo. You can install the PUEL version from the oracle repo after adding that repo. See here how to install the PUEL version: Help with Dual Boot

9

On 12/04/2010 08:36 AM, please try again wrote:
>
> lwfinger;2261649 Wrote:
>>
>> I know nothing of wubi, but if you want to play with Linux without any
>> disk
>> repartitioning, etc. use VirtualBox. The full version is available at
>> ‘VirtualBox’ (http://www.virtualbox.org) for Windows hosts.
>
> I second this advice. Never heard about wubi either but it doesn’t
> sound right. VirtualBox is all you need. the OSE version is directly
> available from the standard repo. You can install the PUEL version from
> the oracle repo after adding that repo. See here how to install the
> PUEL version: ‘Help with Dual Boot’ (http://tinyurl.com/2d5v475)

To the OP. the repo instructions are only if you will be installing openSUSE as
a host. If only as a guest, get the code from the VirtualBox site.

10

I also had not heard of Wubi, and no wonder… It’s strictly an Ubuntu project

Wikipedia Wubi entry

I also had not heard of a loop device (which is different than a loopback device), but after reading up on it, it’s really not different than a lot of things that commonly exist… By definition (Wikipedia loop device entry) a loop device isn’t too much different than mounting an optical device (CDROM, DVDROM, etc), or the filesystem for any virtual technology (eg VMware, Virtualbox, Xen, etc).

So, unlike previous opinions in this thread I can’t agree in general about file permissions performance, it probably won’t be that noticeable on typical Workstations which typically run only one main program at a time anyway.

Totally not described in the Wikipedia entries is what really distinguishes Wubi from paravirtualized systems, but that should be relatively easy to figure out… Whereas paravirtualized systems (eg VMware, Xen, Virtualbox, etc) run in their own isolated space separated from the Host by a hypervisor, Wubi runs in the standard virtual application (User) memory space of the Host machine.

Considering the implications, as I noted before I can’t see any real problem doing that aside from noting the <very> busy processing as all process calls within the wubi VM (again, it’s a standard application VM, not a paravirtualized VM) would be made through the Ubuntu OS, then to the Windows OS, then to the hardware (CPU, RAM, Peripherals).

So, as noted this isn’t suitable for probably even moderate multi-tasking but if you’re interested in doing something relatively small, quick or a relatively light load… It looks OK for me.

That all said, it’s an Ubuntu technology, and understandably highly customized to run Ubuntu. Someone would have to be very motivated to try to modify it for any other distro.

Tony

11

As for recommending options to the OP,

I agree that a paravirtualized technology should be considered,
But unless you need to run both Windows and Linux at the same time, I’d recommend a LiveCD instead…

Tony

12

Well, no you didn’t really understand the Wikipedia entry you pointed to. It’s not running on top of Windows. It’s only running on top of a Windows filesystem. And it’s not “Ubuntu technology”. It could be made to work with any Linux OS. However it is beyond your average person’s ability to arrange for openSUSE.

Something similar was done in the Lin’N’Win Puppy Linux in a Windows filesystem installer.

The Lin’N’WinNewB Project Contents List

The thing to take away from this digression is that if there is some crazy way to do something, some OSS enthusiast will explore it. :slight_smile:

13

I am using Sun’s(now oracle’s) virtualbox for quite a long time and am using it in present also, but I feel that the performance of ubuntu(wubi) or linux Mint(mint4win (I think)) will be higher than the virtualised OSs…

14

Well, no you didn’t really understand the Wikipedia entry you pointed to. It’s not running on top of Windows. It’s only running on top of a Windows filesystem. And it’s not “Ubuntu technology”. It could be made to work with any Linux OS. However it is beyond your average person’s ability to arrange for openSUSE.

Something similar was done in the Lin’N’Win Puppy Linux in a Windows filesystem installer.

The Lin’N’WinNewB Project Contents List

The thing to take away from this digression is that if there is some crazy way to do something, some OSS enthusiast will explore it.

Looks like you’re right
Screenshot and description at the WubiWiki

So, it’s simply placing a live image in a file, then pointing the Windows boot app to the file as a mount point.

In that case, I’d say that performance shouldn’t be worse and may be better than a paravirtualized VM.

In fact, it seems so simple that it looks like someone could probably create a non-Ubuntu version in a weekend.

Anyone interested? If I can find some time over the Xmas/New Year holidays, I might just do it.

Tony

15

In fact, it seems so simple that it looks like someone could probably create a non-Ubuntu version in a weekend.

Anyone interested? If I can find some time over the Xmas/New Year holidays, I might just do it.

But why ? A proper install to hard disk, or use vbox, simple !

16

This “wubi” install method is nothing new, I recall installing mandrake linux to a fat32 file on win 98, Is’t ok to see how a distro runs, but we have liveCD’s now !!

17

It’s a bit more than that. You have to conceptually separate the two phases, install and booting.

For install, a wubi.exe mounts the image and installs from that.It creates a file to hold the filesystem image, another to be the swap file, and some files representing the kernel, initrd and other config files.

For booting, the bootloader loads the kernel with the initrd. The init scripts in the initrd mount the filesystem image using loop mount. This is where the initrd has to have NTFS RW modules loaded.

It might be educational for oneself to try to replicate for another Linux distro but Wubi serves the same purpose as a LiveCD image, for trying things out. It has the advantage that Windows users don’t have to step out of their comfort zone of a Windows desktop. Some people get scared when you ask them to edit the BIOS to boot another OS, one on a CD. (“Will it damage my computer, etc. etc.”)

LiveCD isn’t very new either, it’s an old idea that has gradually improved over the years, with compressed images and such. Fortunately Open Source doesn’t have to concern itself with priority for inventing ideas; they are available to share and reuse.

18

On 2010-12-04 10:06, gauravsinghfzd wrote:
>
> Today when I was searching for this tool, I read a post in Ubuntu forum
> that to use wubi to install opensuse,
> 1. we have to download the source code of wubi.
> 2. then change change the isolist.ini in it whith the information about
> opensuse.
> 3 and to recompile it.
>
> What do u think, will these steps work?

Dunno, and I’m not interested. Sorry.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

19

I don’t think you’re helping the person who opened the ticket but the read has been very interesting indeed :slight_smile: Anyone knows how the Wubi approach relates to Asus Express Gate ?

Best regards,
Greg

20

glistwan wrote:
> Anyone knows how the Wubi approach relates to Asus Express Gate ?

since Wubi is a Ubuntu product it is unlikely many here will have much
if any experience with it (i had never heard of it before your
question, though i’ve used nothing but Linux since 2002)…

i’d say it a likely place to start looking for Wubi gurus is here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/windows-installer

and, that page says this is the Wubi forum:
here: http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=331

one thing i’ll note is that it seems Wubi is a Ubuntu product designed
for Windows users to install Ubuntu…as far as i can see it was not
designed to be used with openSUSE in any way…

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [posted via NNTP w/openSUSE 10.3]