BANGALORE, INDIA: Wanted to try out Lucid Lynx a.k.a Ubuntu 10.04 Linux on Windows, but were worried  to wipe-off a drive partition? Fear no more! In fact, even if you have a single partition on your Windows machine,  you can still try out this

Linux distro without any worry. The tool called Wubi makes this possible. It's an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users, allowing them to install Ubuntu within their Windows OS as an application. It keeps most files in one folder, and if after trying Ubuntu you want to remove it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.

Even though a Live CD of Ubuntu is another alternative,  you still have to reboot your machine. Plus, Live CDs are read-only, and generally meant for trouble-shooting or demonstration. Wubi installs Ubuntu just like any other application on Windows. It simply creates an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Plus, it does not install any special drivers on your Windows installation, and requires only around 4 GB of your hard drive space to install. 

So with Wubi, even the basic users can try out Ubuntu. The ISO for Wubi can be downloaded from the link given in the box above. The software has been distributed with last month's DVD. In case you don't have that, send us a request mail at pcquest@cybermedia. co.in, and we'll be glad to send you a complimentary copy of the DVD.

Burn the Wubi/Ubuntu ISO on a CD/DVD, mount it, and follow the steps mentioned below to install and run Ubuntu 10.04 on Windows.

With autoplay enabled, once you insert the Ubuntu CD or mount the ISO, Ubuntu's umenu loader pops up. From the three options, select 'Install inside Windows' option to proceed.

When you get the Wubi installer, select the installation drive, set username and password and verify the desktop environment.

Once you have selected the drive partition with enough free space for Ubuntu's installation, you can allocate the amount of free space to Ubuntu.

You can set the accessibility settings like Braille terminal or mobility settings that allow sticky keys or on-screen keyboard

After you have set the username and password and allocated the installation space for Ubuntu, click on the Install button.

Once the Ubuntu setup wizard completes, you just need to reboot the system. Windows Boot Manager will now offer you Windows as well as Ubuntu, as options. Select Ubuntu.

During Ubuntu configuration, the update packages also gets downloaded, if connected to Internet. After login, you can download from Ubuntu Software Center.

Wubi is an uninstaller too. If you want to remove Windows, just go to Control Panel > Programs and Features and select Ubuntu for uninstallation