Ubuntu installs soon even MORE newbie friendly

[Shagbag]

I'm ambivalent about Ubuntu.  I think it's slow, buggy and ndiswrapper is broken in Edgy (shame).  I have it installed on my HDD but I rarely run it, instead I prefer another distro.  But that's entirely my choice.  Anyway, I always keep an eye on what the Ubuntu community is up to because Ubuntu is the vanguard of wholesale desktop linux adoption.  This latest effort is v. impressive.  I haven't tried it myself but it looks really useful for those windoze users who want to try it out but don't know how to even burn an iso:

Screenies
The URL in the screenies.

Key features:
1.  It doesn't touch the MBR, ie. if for some reason it all goes pear-shaped, you can still boot and run windoze;
2.  It doesn't repartition your hard drive, ie. no risk of data loss.

So how does it work?

Firstly, it uses WINGRUB instead of GRUB so the MBR doesn't need to be overwritten - only the c:\boot.ini needs to be amended (which the installer does for you).  In effect, WINGRUB 'piggy-backs' off NTLDR.
Secondly, it uses a loopmounted file for the filesystem and creates a swap file, so you don't have to repartition your harddrive at all.  When you boot into Ubuntu those two files are mounted as if they were drive partitions and subsequent writes - eg. data, downloaded apps, etc. - are contained within those files.

While this technology is not exactly new, it has been the recent ability to reliably write to NTFS that has made it possible.  Great news for those wanting to try linux but were too afraid to risk hosing their windoze install.

[hydran]

this does look interesting.  So you will be able to use an installer in XP to format and install linux partitions ready for Ubuntu?  nice!

I think you know this, but having something user-friendly, albeit slower, is what is needed to introduce Linux to the wider world.  Once people build their skills they will no doubt move onto other distributions.

[Shagbag]

I've edited my original post.

[SoloMalee]

I really feel sadistically inclined and keep trying (And failing) to install Ubuntu on my setup...

Asus P5W DH Deluxe
 - Intel ICH7 SATA Controller
 - 4 x Samsung 400Gb HDD in RAID5 configuration

I keep getting a GRUB error 2 then give up and go back to Windows XP...Ho-Hum

- I tried it first with a pair of Mirrored 160Gb disks on the Asus EZBackup 'RAID' controller
- Now I've ditched those and gone pure 'RAID5'...same problem

Will this windows install help me out at all, or is the whole Fake RAID thing just too much to contend with...remember I'm just a sadistically inclined newbie!

I can write a resume of my Linux skills on the back of a postage stamp with a graffiti marker ;-)

[Shagbag]

Well, there's good news and bad news.  The bad news is that I've never had the need to use RAID so I can't help you out there.  The good news is twofold:

1.  RAID works on linux and has done since the 1990s (RAID is a UNIX construct, after all).

2.  GRUB is a bootloader.  Like any bootloader, its execution precedes the loading of a kernel.  Therefore, the GRUB error you are experiencing technically has nothing to do with your linux install as it has not even been loaded yet.  The error you are getting is probably due to the MBR pointing to the wrong partition.  GRUB is a 3 stage process.  Stage 1 is the MBR code.  Its sole purpose is to read the read the Partition Table, find the CHS address of the Bootable partition and go to that address and load the Volume Boot Record (VBR) located there.  The VBR points to the CHS address of an image that becomes the second stage of GRUB.  That image is, for historical reasons, called Stage 1.5. Stage 1.5 simply contains code about the type of filesystem used on the partition (remember we haven't loaded a kernel yet so the PC has very little idea about where it is and what it's doing). Once Stage 1.5 has been read the third stage (Stage 2) is loaded.  Stage 2 is what most people think of as GRUB - the text menu that allows you to choose the OS you want to load.  Each entry in the menu is taken from the menu.lst configuration file which contains the filename of and path to the kernel image.  Once a menu has been selected, that kernel is loaded and it takes control eventually resulting in your desktop.  So there you have it: a simplified version of the GRUB boot process.  You should now have some clues as to what has gone wrong with your install, viz. it's probably pointing to the wrong harddrive and/or partition.

To fix things, just wait until the error times out and drops you into the GRUB command line.  At the prompt run

Code:

find /boot/grub/menu.lst

It should report back with something like (hdx,y) where x and y are numbers, eg. (hd0,1).  You then need to run

Code:

root (hdx,y)

substituting your result for x and y.  Then run

Code:

setup (hdx)

again, substituting your result for x.  This should now have fixed things so you just need to reboot.