This is not so much a problem, but more of an announcement for those who are interested in Linux, but don't want the hassle of repartioning their hard disk.

Wubi is a way of installing Ubuntu Linux on your PC, but saves you the hassle altogether of repartioning your hard disk (as stated). It does this by creating an image on your hard disk, and then writes to the bootloader (XP or Vista) to boot from that image instead of the hard disk. There are advantages and disadvantages below:

Advantages:
  • Easy to install and uninstall Ubuntu
  • Feels almost like a proper install with a partitioned hard drive
  • This is not emulated: It uses all your current hardware, so you get the real performance of the OS like you would with the normal installer.


Disadvantages:
  • Hibernation doesn't work (and even if it does, you don't want to use it)
  • Access to hard disk files is slightly slower
  • Does not make learning the actual OS any more easier (OK, you managed to bypass the partitioning stage, now wait for the command line attacks )


I've tried this myself, and I have to say, it really is as simple as it sounds, but I would prefer partitioning the HDD and being able to readily access the ext3 partition (through 3rd party drivers) in Windows.