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Preston Gralla

Seeing Through Windows

Old Windows hand: Wubi installer needs some help

10 comments

TAGS:Linux, Windows, wubi
IT TOPICS:Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems, Software, Windows & Microsoft

I'm a long-time Windows user interested in Linux, and based on several recommendations, gave Wubi a whirl. I finally finished the installation, and I must say it's been much flakier than installing Windows. If Linux wants to beat out Windows, it'll have to do better than this.

At first installation seemed straightfoward. I downloaded the Wubi installation file, and it in turn downloaded a 694.5 MB file. After that file downloaded, in an extremely short amount of time, the installation program told me it needed to rebot. I told it to go ahead.

For some reason, though, my Thinkpad T41 didn't reboot. So I chose to reboot from the Start menu. It refused to reboot again. I tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del twice. Again, no go. Eventually, I had to unplug the power cord, and take out the battery, then put the battery back in again and plug the power cord back in, to force a reboot.

At that point, I thought I was in business. A dual-boot screen appeared. I chose Ubuntu, and figured I was on my way.

Wrong. I booted into a screen that looked something like this:

BusyBox v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-3ubuntu3) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built in commands.
(initramfs)

That can't be right, I figured. So I rebooted (this time it worked), and chose Ubuntu from the dual-boot screen.

Once again the mysterious screen appeared. I typed help at the prompt to find the list of commands. It was no help.

I rebooted yet again. And this time, for reasons known only to the Linux Gods, I booted into a Ubuntu GUI that began configuring my system. But then, after about ten minutes, Ubuntu seemed to crash and then rebooted.

But this time, things seemed to work. It now appears that Ubuntu is finally installed on my system as a dual-boot option and seems to be working.

I've installed lots of different versions of Windows and lots of different betas, and I have to say that so far I'm very unimpressed. I can't believe, though, that this is the standard installation routine. Can someone out there help --- what went wrong? What should have happened?

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Wubi installer & Linux mindset in general

Submitted by Allen Meyers on September 12, 2008 - 8:10 A.M.

I am 76 and Linux curiousity and ones experiences can be quite different given ones attitude and how strong ones curiousity about linux is.
Before I tried wubi I went the puppy linux route because it loaded from ram and partitioning scared me silly.
I gradualed to wubi and installed ubuntu 8.04 with no hitches. Let me add here that I do not believe any Linux distro was ever intentionally designed to be a windows file. Wubi was and is a way to look Linux over.
I am more fortunate then you as I live near NTLUG so I can interact in real time with real linux users. I eventually partitioned loaded 8.04 made the desktop switch to kubuntu and I seldom use windows any longer. Finally the programs available to me on Linux exceed in quanitity and quality. Try the partitioning and dual boot.

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OK. You want something dirt simple

Submitted by Anonymous on August 13, 2008 - 12:56 A.M.

You want to see a Linux that requires no systems knowledge. Order Linspire. Now built on Ubuntu.
Multimedia tutorials can walk any newbie into understanding the apps. They are pretty good. Then
there is the CNR (click n run) warehouse. Costs about
$50 a year to have one-click installation access to over 20,000 apps and extensions. It worked great and was really worth it. My $50 was well spent. After the first year,
I had pretty much everything I wanted and needed. I paid for another year just because I was so satisfied
with everything and just-in-case I wanted to upgrade something. It was only $50 for another year. So, for the first two years of using Linux I built up a collection of software that does the fun things I like.
And in the two year since, I've been using Linux to do everything I want or need to do. I have more games than I have time to master and all my other computer needs have been met, for over 4 years, on Linux.

Linspire and CNR is what you want if you want a Window like experience.

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Screen-res problem with Ubuntu install

Submitted by jmacg on August 12, 2008 - 6:15 P.M.

I’ve had a different problem installing Ubuntu on my desktop via Wubi. The installation went OK, but when Ubuntu started up, it didn’t recognise my monitor (AOC 416Va) and gave me a screen resolution of only 800x600. I figured out where to change this, but the only alternatives given to me were even lower resolution! This is NOT a way to impress someone whose finely tuned XP system displays at 1920x1200 on a 24 inch monitor!

Google searching turned up some suggested solutions involving the command line. Again not a way to impress a Windows user.

One solution (reached by hitting alt-F2, then typing gksudo displayconfig-gtk) did let me choose an over-ride screen resolution for a generic monitor. I chose 1920x1200 and ticked the wide-screen box. I assumed that I should, because the screen does have a wider aspect ratio than standard desktop monitors.

Next I had to restart Ubuntu, but when I did, all I got, after the boot sequence, was an apparently magnified version of the Hardy Heron screen wallpaper, with apartly obscured Ubuntu graphic off to the right hand side. The system is stuck at this point and I don’t even know how to get back in and change the resolution settings. If it were Windows, I’d boot into safe mode and fix it, but I have no idea if there’s an equivalent in Ubuntu.

I guess I could do some more Google searching, ask some questions on the Ubuntu Forums, or uninstall Ubuntu and start again, but can I really be bothered?

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Here's how to get back to normal

Submitted by Shannon VanWagner on August 12, 2008 - 9:34 P.M.

So from what you're talking about, it sounds like you need to go into "recovery mode" and try to "fix the X server".

The way to do this is to reboot, then select to boot to Ubuntu, then push the 'esc' key when it shows the option on the screen. Then when you see options for boot selections, arrow down(probably 1 down) and select the kernel boot option that includes "recovery mode" in the text, you will then be presented with a menu where you can arrow down and select "try to fix the X server", select that one and it should repair your video, at least back to the 800x600 you mentioned previously.

After that, when you reboot, you will be able to login to ubuntu and then click applications>accessories>Terminal and you can run this command:
sudo lspci -v >>Desktop/lspci-output.txt
This will create a text file on your Desktop called lspci-output.txt. You will then be able to examine the text file to determine what type of video card and monitor the system thinks you have. You can then post this information on ubuntuforums.org along with your problem and you probably get a solution to your problem.

As for using GNU/Linux, is it worth it? You better believe it! Whether you end up like using Linux or not is not important, what is important is that you actually see the alternatives to only using Windows.

GNU/Linux is about freedom, and believe me, if you truly give Linux a chance, you will find that it will change the way you think about Computers as a whole.

Regards,

Shannon VanWagner
http://healthysystem.blogspot.com
http://digg.com/users/bicep

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Here's how to get back to normal

Submitted by jmacg on August 13, 2008 - 2:57 A.M.

Thanks very much for your advice. It's appreciated.

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Wubi puts Ubuntu on NTFS and it can't boot when Dirty

Submitted by Shannon VanWagner on August 12, 2008 - 5:18 P.M.

This is a dirty NTFS partition problem from what I can tell. I duplicated it on my work machine by: a.) booting into Windows, b.)hard powering-off the machine with the button, then c.) powered on and selected Ubuntu as the OS to start, then I get dropped to the busy box. After trying to boot into Ubuntu several times, I still get the busy box. To fix the problem I booted up into Windows XP(to the point where I have the login screen), then I clicked options>restart and upon selecting Ubuntu booted into it with no problems.

So I'm not sure why things got held up before you hard powered-off but that's what caused the NTFS filesystem to become dirty and therefore Ubuntu not being able to boot. Sounds like there are two bugs here that need to be addressed, 1.) the bug that caused you to get hung up and resulted in the hard power-off, and 2.) the bug that doesn't give us any output or further instructions for what to do when trying to boot into Ubuntu and getting dropped to the busy box when the NTFS partition is dirty.

I'll be checking on launchpad.net to see if there's already a bug submitted for the #2 scenario mentioned above.

Shannon V.
http://healthysystem.blogspot.com

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Thanks for the help

Submitted by Preston Gralla on August 12, 2008 - 5:27 P.M.

That sounds very much like that must be what happened. At the moment, Ubuntu is working fine, and I'm still trying to get my bearings. But the installation woes seem to be behind me for now.

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No Problem

Submitted by Shannon VanWagner on August 12, 2008 - 6:13 P.M.

No problem, glad to help.

So now you can get on with enjoying Ubuntu Linux.

Here's a few things I suggest you do first:
1.) Go to youtube, try to launch a video, then when prompted, click thru the steps to install the flash player.

2.) Checkout the Ubuntu guide at: http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy
Probably the first section to become familiar with is 1.8 How to install multimedia support on Hardy Heron

3.) From the Applications, checkout the vast list of software that is available for you to use. Note: be sure to change the "Show" selector to "All Available Applications" to get the bigger list.

That should be enough to get you started anyway.

Oh and if you experience any issues, I would checkout http://ubuntuforums.org for help.

Happy GNU/Linuxing! Congrats on your newfound Freedom!

Shannon V.

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My experience with Ubuntu

Submitted by Ben on August 12, 2008 - 4:33 P.M.

I have been wanting to jump onto the Linux bandwagon for a couple of years now, but have always had similar experiences to the one you described. I had an HP Pavilion DV6000 notebook that I tried putting Ubuntu on but it would always lock up during the initial boot, and I was never Linux-saavy enough to get it past that step. Now I have a Gateway FX gaming notebook that I am afraid to even try and install it on for fear of the same thing happening. The only luck I have ever really had with Linux has been with SUSE on older desktops, and even then I ran into all sorts of compatibility issues. I am still waiting for a distro that I can just pop a CD into my laptop's drive and it will just install and work with few or no hiccups, that's what Windows does, that's ultimately what Linux is going to need to do in order for it to catch on with the non-geeks out there IMO.

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Try a GNU/Linux LiveCD - you having nothing to lose

Submitted by Shannon VanWagner on August 12, 2008 - 6:25 P.M.

In response to:
"afraid to even try and install it on for fear of the same thing happening"

This is where the beauty of the Linux LiveCD will present itself to you. Because there is no danger in booting to a Linux LiveCD to see if your system will work with it. If you find that your system works well on the Linux LiveCD, then you will be safe to install that particular Distro on your system(backup important data first of course, this is par for the course for installation of any Operating System).

For older systems I would suggest you try out the Xubuntu Linux LiveCD but you can find all types of Linux LiveCDs (i.e., Fedora, PCLOS, Mint, Puppy, etc.) here:
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

No reason to miss out on the freedom you can experience ;*)

Regards,

Shannon V.
http://healthysystem.blogspot.com
http://digg.com/users/bicep

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