Lubi

Introduction

Lubi, the Linux-based Ubuntu Installer, is a graphical user interface and backend that allows installation of Ubuntu Linux-based distros on a loopmounted filesystem (no partitioning required) on modern GNU/Linux distributions, without an installation CD. Lubi functions similarly to Wubi, however, Lubi uses GNU/Linux as the host system instead of Windows.

Requirements

This has been tested on Sabayon 3.3 32-bit, PCLinuxOS 2007 32-bit, openSUSE 10.2 32-bit, Gentoo 2007.0 32-bit, Fedora Core 6 32-bit, Debian Sid 32-bit, Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy 32-bit, Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty 32-bit, and Xubuntu 7.04 Feisty 32-bit as the host systems. Kubuntu 7.04 Feisty 32-bit, Xubuntu 7.04 Feisty 32-bit, and Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty 32-bit were tested as guest systems. Other Linux-based operating systems should work as hosts as well, just make sure you have the packages listed above installed. Lubi will not work on any systems using LVM, EVMS, or another logical volume manager, or filesystems other than ext2, ext3, reiserfs, vfat, ntfs, jfs, or xfs.

Guide

You can either follow my step-by-step video tutorial, follow the text-based guide/support thread, or follow the screenshot-based guide below:

Installing

First download the Lubi package at the download page, and install it.

Using

After installing, start Lubi, and provide the information asked by the installer, and wait as it installs. Afterwards, reboot and select the "Ubuntu" option in the menu.

Uninstalling

These instructions will not remove your loopmounted Ubuntu install, nor undo the changes to GRUB; they will only remove the Lubi installer tool. They are supposed to be used on the host system, not the guest Ubuntu install.

If using the deb version, remove the "lubi" package.

Or if you are using the self-extracting or tar.bz2 versions, enter these commands:

sudo rm /usr/bin/lubi
sudo rm -r /usr/share/lubi
sudo rm /usr/share/applications/lubi.desktop
sudo rm /usr/share/menu/lubi

If you want to remove your loopmounted Ubuntu install (and all the data within it) entirely, and undo the changes to your bootloader, enter these commands after performing the previous step:

sudo rm -r /wubi
sudo mv /boot/grub/menu.lst.bak /boot/grub/menu.lst

Transferring to a dedicated partition

To upgrade your Lubi/Wubi install to a real ubuntu install with a dedicated partition, see the LVPM page.

Forums

If you encounter errors with Lubi or need help troubleshooting, post a question at the Lubi Thread on Ubuntuforums.

Source Code and License

Lubi is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2 or above. Source code is available at the launchpad page.

Credits

Lubi was created and written by Geza Kovacs (Launchpad), contact info.