Ubuntu - via USB Flash Drive or Wubi

TeaLeaf · May 30, 2011, 10:55:50 AM

I installed Wubi on my Toshiba NB250 to play with Ubuntu and Libre Office and to form an opinion as to whether I wanted to dual boot by W7 Starter Edition or just hose the entire Windows install and totally replace it with Ubuntu.

I tried to download the USB flash drive version but when I connected my 16GB Sandisk U3 flash drive the installer kept refusing to accept it saying 'you need a USB drive bigger than 6.4GB'! The free space is 14.9GB atm, is it the U3 bit getting in the way? (ie does it need a plain vanilla flash drive instead of a U3)

So I downloaded Wubi to dual boot. Wubi downloaded 11.04 and the install went fine right up until the very end where absolutely nothing happens. The instructions (Install It>Show Me How) show a nice boot option on reboot - but I am not getting this despite the installation completing fine with no errors.

Any clues here folks? Getting rather annoyed.

T-Bag · May 30, 2011, 11:25:32 AM

I never used the official Ubuntu flash drive method. I've used UNetbootin which has worked well on my regular pen drive and I've use a couple of others I can't find right now. If that one doesn't work with Ubuntu I guess it's the picking up the secret partition on the pen drive and you'll have to use a different stick.

As for Wubi, I've never used it as the regular installer can put the boot loader on (I thought you could just run it straight from windows if you mount it?).

Liberator · May 30, 2011, 11:39:50 AM

A lot of people don't like the new interface with Ubuntu 11, I have the MINT 10 variation running on one of my little servers, it recognises a lot of the netbook stuff out of the box and has a proper startbar type interface. MINT 11 has just been released which has the same Kernel at Ubuntu 11 but again it has a standard interface.

I've always used a standard FAT32 plain USB stick, I removed the U3 elements off my Cruzers when I got them and stuck to 'PortableApps' which now has better update features.

But I used "Universal USB Installer" and it worked fine, best to get the latest version every time as it catalogues the Linux versions out there, I had some quirky issues with one version where it wouldn't show the ISO in the file menu, but that was easy to get around.

TeaLeaf · May 30, 2011, 11:42:38 AM

Quote from: Liberator;325944But I used "Universal USB Installer" and it worked fine, best to get the latest version every time as it catalogues the Linux versions out there, I had some quirky issues with one version where it wouldn't show the ISO in the file menu, but that was easy to get around.

That's what I used too, but it kept telling me it wanted my 16GB pen drive to be 'more than 6.4GB' and would not accept it. Perhaps it is the U3 that is causing the issue. I'd really like to get the dual booting working though, dead annoying it has not.

smilodon · May 30, 2011, 11:53:29 AM

Quote from: TeaLeaf;325938is it the U3 bit getting in the way? (ie does it need a plain vanilla flash drive instead of a U3)

Bingo!

For what it's worth when you install Ubuntu in the normal way (without Wubi) it should give you the option to install along side any existing OS it finds (it will repartition your HDD and install GRUB so that you can select which OS to run with each time you boot the Net-book up. For this reason I have never used WUBI, although I imagine it's pretty straight forward when you jump to a bog standard USB stick

Eggbloke · May 30, 2011, 10:47:59 PM

I'm a bit late to the party here but I used the Universal USB Installer on a 4GB stick with no problems. I did read somewhere that U3 causes issues and it is useless anyway.

I would recommend dual booting, the Ubuntu installer is very straight forward. If you don't need the Windows partition for any Windows specific applications then just having Ubuntu would be the best option. (in my opinion)

TeaLeaf · May 31, 2011, 08:06:43 AM

It all went in fine in the end - it was a W7 update sitting waiting to be installed that seemed to stop the final boot option from installing. once that was cleared the boot option appeared fine. Dropbox, Lastpass, Chromium and a few other bits and pieces are installed and I'm starting to play with Libre Office to see which bits of formatting I would lose. I've found a couple of things in a Powerpoint that do not convert and likewise in a Word file that uses the Equation Editor, but most stuff seems fine.

smilodon · May 31, 2011, 08:49:28 AM

If you do settle down with Ubuntu on the net-book and/or go 100% Ubuntu have a look at Gnome 3. Last night I dropped it on my net-book as frankly I've come to hate the Unity UI with a passion. Also Gnome 2 which is the other option for Ubuntu 11.04, is now looking very old. While it works it's not a pleasing visual experience at all. Gnome 3 really is a smart UI and works fine on a smaller 10" screen. It's also very light on resources and makes my Atom 1.6 fly along in ways that Unity simply couldn't.

The only down side is that as soon as Gnome 3 is installed I loose access to Unity so there's no switching back and forward between the two for comparisons. To get Unity back Gnome 3 has to be completely uninstalled which is a bit of a command line nightmare. Still I doubt very much that I will go anywhere near Unity any time soon either here on my net-book or on the desktop, so it's not an issue for me.

www.gnome3.org

TeaLeaf · May 31, 2011, 11:33:36 AM

And then Ubuntu disappeared. No more dual boot option on start up........errr how on earth did that happen? :frusty:

smilodon · May 31, 2011, 02:32:11 PM

I imagine that your net-book is looking at the Windows boot loader rather than the grub or wubi one. Windows won't give the option to boot Ubuntu hence it's vanished. You need to get the net-book to read the right MBR with the menu for both OS's.

Did the PC ever allow you to cold boot into the boot loader and then into Ubuntu? Did the problem happen only after you booted into Windows?

TeaLeaf · May 31, 2011, 02:44:33 PM

Nah Ubuntu hung (probably a Chromium issue) and when I did the hard boot the bootloader had disappeared and I went straight into W7. Prior to the Ubuntu hang when I cold booted I got the grub/wubi boot loader and the option to go to Windows or Ubuntu. Any clues as to how to get it back or shall I just go redo the install?

smilodon · May 31, 2011, 08:12:08 PM

This is where I start to get very uncertain as I haven't duel booted Ubuntu and Window since about 2007. Unless you can get into the boot-loader and edit the file I think you're going to have to re-install.

If you have an option as to where Ubuntu writes it's start up boot manager files make sure to select the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the primary (first) drive or it won't work properly.

Eggbloke · May 31, 2011, 08:38:27 PM

There is a way to repair GRUB with a live CD but I have never tried. The last time I needed to do it was very much a novice and just reinstalled.

smilodon would you say that it is worth going from Gnome 2 to Gnome 3? Gnome 3 looked very similar to Unity to me and Unity was pretty awful.

smilodon · May 31, 2011, 10:04:05 PM

Gnome 3 is not like Unity other than they both have a vertical dock down the left hand side. Gnome 3 is vastly better than Unity IMHO although UI is down to personal preferences. Nice new multiple desktops, give it a try.

TeaLeaf · June 01, 2011, 04:09:19 PM

ROFL :frusty:

It appeared again. The answer to the was remarkably simple:

"do not leave the computer to make a cup of tea during boot up as the Ubuntu menu option times out and the PC auto-boots into W7 after 10 seconds."

I feel like an idiot, I'll go hang my head in shame......... :roflmao: