Most people who want to try Linux give up that idea as soon as they read online guides. Most online guides (like this one)will tell you to partition drive, do some thing with grub, boot loader, restart 10 times, create a partition called gccx, do this do that pooh! No wonder the myth that Linux is only for geeks continues. Finally some time in 2007 situation changed, you could install Linux (Ubuntu) along side your Windows (XP or Vista) thanks to a miracle called Wubi. With Wubi, installing Linux is a child's play.
Wubi allows Ubuntu and Windows to coexist on the same computer. Wubi provides a complete Ubuntu installer that can be run in Windows from the Ubuntu Live CD. It installs Ubuntu into a folder on the Windows file system and sets up a boot menu so that users can choose between Windows and Ubuntu when the computer starts.
Unlike a regular dual-boot configuration, Wubi doesn't require users to create a partition on their hard drives for Ubuntu. When Ubuntu is installed with Wubi, it can be uninstalled directly from the Add/Remove Programs utility in Windows.
![[Image]](http://arstechnica.com/news.media/ubuntu_cd_menu.png)
The installer is trivially easy to use and works just like a regular Windows installation program. Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.
The difficulty of installing Linux is a big problem for Linux hopefuls. Wubi eliminates the challenges associated with installation and makes it possible for almost anybody to test Ubuntu in a dual-boot configuration without any risk or major commitment. Wubi doesn't work with with the 64-bit version of Ubuntu.
Some might say that other distro's had the same functionality before Ubuntu, that is true but Ubuntu is the most mainstream distro. Remember the password correctly, the installer takes about 20 min.
If you have around 256 MB RAM and Wubi gives you error saying 'atleast 256 MB required for the installer' use this trick:
Open a run box (Win+R), go into the folder that contains wubi.exe and run the path:
example- e:/wubi.exe –skipmemorycheck.
Done.
