# Ubuntu 8.04 install from iso and unetbootin in windows



## vijayr (Mar 28, 2002)

Hi,

I have a AMD 1.8Ghz Sempron processor with 640MB Ram.
I am running Windows XP.
I have downloaded the ubuntu-8.04-server-i386.iso
I have downloaded the Unetbootin 
I have re-sized the Windows XP partition and left 15 GB free space for Ubuntu.
I have not formatted the free space for Ubuntu.

I double clicked Unetbootin and specified the ubuntu iso file location in my c:\ drive in windows.
(I think) The installation first extracted the ubuntu files from the iso .
then re-started the system.
after which the ubuntu installer started. (the text based ncurses installer).

I completed the region and keyboard settings.
after which it tried to find the ubuntu image on the cd drive.
it asked me to load the ubuntu cdrom .

I did not find any other option to complete the installation.
I tried using the ash shell , but did not know what to do.

Finally, I had to exit from the installation.
How should I complete this installation of Ubuntu 8.04?
Please help me.


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

I don't know anything about "unetbootin" but if it is a software that mounts an iso file to expand it then Ubuntu may not be bootable directly off an expanded iso.

Very few iso files can be booted this way because their installers may have been written to fetch the system files from the CDrom and there is nothing you can do to change their minds. ASAIK Ubuntu is one of them. You will have a better chance with Mepis and Slax as both can be installed directly from an iso file without burning in a CD first.

In you case I suggest to cut the loss and burn Ubuntu into a CD. Ubuntu can run as a Live CD which is extremely useful to rescue any Linux or itself.

You can mount any iso file in Linux by using the "mount" command.by selecting the file type iso9660.


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## vijayr (Mar 28, 2002)

Hi,

Thanks for the reply saikee.
I managed to solve the issue.

Here are the details for the benifit of others.

unetbootin is just a tool which opens any linux iso file and then extracts the initrd, vmlinuz to the windows c:\boot drive. then it installs grub for dos and adds the brub loader to the windows boot.ini file.

then it restarts the system. now grub loads.
from here the user selects the "install linux" option in grub.
This initiates the Ubuntu (or any other linux distro installer).

I my case, I realized that the ubuntu 8.04 iso I had was a wrong one.
meaning, there is another ubuntu 8.04 iso called the alternative image iso.
this allows you to select an iso file during an install.

although, I unearthed all this, I am still stuck with some partitoning problems.
I will get back if I am unable to solve it again today. (probably soon).

hope this helps others.
thanks again.


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

I am rather critical of Ubuntu's way or other software of installing a Linux inside a MS Windows or relying on its help. OK it is "a" solution and can help a great deal to the nervous Windows users wanting to try Linux.

The fact of the matter is that it is far better to learn how to install a Linux "normally". That is to run the Ubuntu CD as a Live CD. All the tools essential for the installation are inside. 

The best way to install any OS is to prepare the partition (or partitions) suitable for the OS so that its installer can seize it for the installation. 

Linux is a different operating system and should be learned as such in order to benefit from it. Learning a half-way house in fact can be counter-productive. 

It is therefore sad to see users trying so hard to learn a special form of installation and do not understand the fast, clean and proper way of a full Linux installation.

A Ubuntu normal installation should take about 15 minutes. All it takes is one swap partition about 1Gb large and another 10Gb partition for mounting the root filing system.

It is the same thing of learning Grub4Dos, which is a special version of Grub, and knowing very little about the real Grub.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

I'm with saikee on this. Great post. 

Peace...


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## vijayr (Mar 28, 2002)

Hi Saikee and tomdkat,

I think both of you either misunderstood my procedure or are not fully aware of the different possibilities. I am an old linux guy, I have installed unix/linux during the floppy times.

Let me explain the scenario.
I have created partitions manually for linux.
I dont have a cd rom drive or a flash drive. I have ubuntu iso downloaded from the net.

I can't boot to any prompt except windows, because I dont have a floppy drive on this system.
Now tell me what are the options.....?

you will be left with none but to manually edit your boot.ini in windows include a boot loader. and then have the boot loader to pick the iso file on your harddisk.

NOTE: this does not install linux on the windows os, like some emulators do.
this will initiate the ubuntu installer from the boot loader. 
Once you get linux installation started, you can pick your partition and then install LILO or GRUB from linux, which will overwrite the older windows bootloader in the MBR.

The point is not about using unetbootin or whatever-boot-in,
it is the ability to go around a situation like this.
also note, this now gave me a clean proper installation of linux !!

What I learnt from this is, 
you dont always need a bootable floppy or bootable cd rom drive.
now you tell me guys, isn't this a life saving option, especially when you are stuck in some place and need to install linux?

Its actually sad to see people unable to give a solution because they are not aware of the real world scenarios. its not always the text-book method when you are in the field.
I hope you guys agree.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

vijayr said:


> I hope you guys agree.


Thanks for the information. Of course, it you would have stated *not* having access to bootable media was part of your situation, saikee's comments might have been different. I guess it was a bad assumption on my part, at least, to assume you had SOME kind of bootable device other than your hard drive available. Given your 'real world' scenario, I've got another 'real world' scenario for you. Your solution requires having Windows around. I've had to install Linux on a system that did *not* have a working Windows installation I could use as a starting point. What would you do then? 

I do agree that it's certainly good to think "outside the box" but I don't agree with most of the other stuff you posted simply because you neglected to provide relevant information in your initial and subsequent posts.

Take care!

Peace...


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

I may have misunderstood your question but that may due to the way you asked. I wasn't aware that you didn't have a floppy drive or couldn't have one. It is common for a PC owner with no bootable CD drive to hang onto a floppy drive which is dirt cheap and available as a bootable USB device too. It certainly save a lot of hair pulling.

Your situation is that you can only use Windows booted from a hard disk with no CD, floppy or USB support and want to install a Linux.

Grub4Dos and WinGrub are Grub on its own loadable into the PC in a Dos or Windows environment.

Once Grub is available, you can use it to boot any iso, suitably expanded, by replacing its isolinux boot loader with Grub. This just involves converting the isolinux.cfg into a menu.lst. The conversion is merely the syntax replacement of the command "LABEL" with "title", "KERNEL" with "kernel " and "initrd=" with "initrd ".

Thus technically

You need a Windows program to expand an iso file to a normal directory system.

Grub4Dos or Wingrub

Converting isolinux to Grub to boot the distro.

If you find a software that combines all the functionalities that is fine.

I can assure the above scheme works as it is a common trick to do away burning a CD and install the iso directly from a hard drive. This thread show how 7 iso can be booted from a DVD or a USB device. A USB memory drive is just an external hard disk as far as Linux is concerned. This links has the examples of converting 7 isolinux.cfg to a menu.lst.

It is also an excellent example to show some distros installable/bootable from a CD/DVD can fail to work if the same files are moved to a disk.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When it comes to questions and answers it is up to the original poster to explain his/her situation clearly so that members of the forum can formulate a solution. If the solution is inappropriate it isn't always their fault.

Nobody knows everything but there may be others who have done it before and are willing to offer their experience.

I have mentioned in Post #2 that Ubuntu iso may be unable to boot from a hard disk because its installer may keep going back to a CD device to fetch the files even though they are available in the hard disk. This may be the final brick wall.

I once wrote a script to boot every downloaded iso file from my hard disk, with a view to write a howto at the end. I found the iso files bootable this way are in the minority. I did not write down Ubuntu case but I am sure that I have tried it before. On my record none of the members from Debian family can do it. However newer versions may change that.

May be we have already answered your post. You just didn't believe Ubuntu installer has been written to fetch files from a CD drive regardless. I believe to alter Ubuntu's behaviour you have to hack its installer.

According to the above link you will find Slax, DSL and Mepis boot can be successfully installed if you try them. Then again you may regard this is not a solution because we don't know what you actually want.

Lastly if our effort has any value at all it is an independent confirmation that the current Ubuntu installer has been written to get the system files from the CD drive. You are therefore not alone.


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## vijayr (Mar 28, 2002)

Hi Guys,

My apologies for the incomplete question.
Thanks for all your help.

About ubuntu installers with harddisk support,
Here is the link from ubuntu to an alternate iso image which searches for the image on the hard disk. 
Its called hd-media image.
I used it to install mine. (like I mentioned before, I had no other option but to find something like this)

http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy/main/installer-i386/current/images/hd-media/

I hope now we can all now value our efforts.
thanks again.


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

Thanks for sharing with us. I know if there is a need people will make it in Linux. In this respect Ubuntu has more supports than others.

My prediction is more distro providers/maintainers will rearrange/update their installer to support booting without the CD drive, as they did to support to run the distro both a Live CD and an installable CD.


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