<s>
Wubi	B-Language
(	O
"	O
Windows-based	B-Language
Ubuntu	I-Language
Installer	I-Language
"	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
installer	O
,	O
that	O
was	O
the	O
official	O
Windows-based	O
software	O
,	O
from	O
2008	O
until	O
2013	O
,	O
to	O
install	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
from	O
within	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
file	O
within	O
an	O
existing	O
Windows	B-Application
partition	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
installation	O
,	O
it	O
added	O
a	O
new	O
"	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
"	O
option	O
to	O
the	O
existing	O
Windows	B-Application
boot	O
menu	O
which	O
allowed	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
choose	O
between	O
running	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
or	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
and	O
avoided	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
re-partition	O
the	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
was	O
born	O
as	O
an	O
independent	O
project	O
and	O
as	O
such	O
versions	O
7.04	O
and	O
7.10	O
were	O
unofficial	O
releases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
8.04	O
the	O
code	O
was	O
merged	O
into	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
and	O
for	O
8.04	O
alpha	O
5	O
,	O
Wubi	B-Language
was	O
also	O
on	O
the	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
Live	O
CD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
's	O
aim	O
was	O
to	O
enable	O
existing	O
Windows	B-Application
users	O
,	O
unacquainted	O
with	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
to	O
try	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
without	O
risking	O
any	O
data	O
loss	O
(	O
due	O
to	O
disk	B-Application
formatting	I-Application
or	O
partitioning	B-Application
mistakes	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
could	O
also	O
safely	O
uninstall	B-Application
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
from	O
within	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
virtual	B-Architecture
machine	I-Architecture
,	O
but	O
creates	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
installation	O
within	O
a	O
loopmounted	B-Application
device	I-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
disk	B-Application
image	I-Application
,	O
like	O
Topologilinux	O
does	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
of	O
its	O
own	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
an	O
installer	O
for	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Wubi	B-Language
does	O
not	O
install	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
directly	O
to	O
its	O
own	O
partition	B-Application
this	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
accomplished	O
by	O
using	O
LVPM	B-Language
,	O
the	O
Loopmounted	B-Language
Virtual	I-Language
Partition	I-Language
Manager	I-Language
,	O
to	O
transfer	O
the	O
Wubi-generated	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
installation	O
to	O
a	O
dedicated	O
real	O
partition	B-Application
,	O
including	O
a	O
bootable	O
USB	O
keydrive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
setup	O
is	O
that	O
users	O
can	O
test	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
and	O
install	O
the	O
drivers	O
before	O
they	O
install	O
it	O
to	O
a	O
dedicated	O
partition	B-Application
(	O
and	O
avoid	O
booting	O
and	O
functioning	O
risks	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
adds	O
an	O
entry	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
boot	O
menu	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
run	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
is	O
installed	O
within	O
a	O
file	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
file	O
system	O
(	O
c:\ubuntu\disks\root.disk	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
being	O
installed	O
within	O
its	O
own	O
partition	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
file	O
is	O
seen	O
by	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
real	O
hard	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
also	O
creates	O
a	O
swap	O
file	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
file	O
system	O
(	O
c:\ubuntu\disks\swap.disk	O
)	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
memory	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
host	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
file	O
is	O
seen	O
by	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
as	O
additional	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
related	O
project	O
,	O
Lubi	B-Language
,	O
used	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
as	O
the	O
host	O
system	O
instead	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
this	O
project	O
has	O
not	O
been	O
worked	O
on	O
since	O
2007	O
and	O
only	O
works	O
on	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
7.04	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
was	O
removed	O
as	O
an	O
installation	O
option	O
in	O
the	O
official	O
download	O
page	O
from	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
13.04	O
onward	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Wubi	B-Language
installers	I-Language
were	O
still	O
provided	O
for	O
versions	O
up	O
to	O
and	O
including	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
14.10	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
unofficial	O
fork	O
of	O
Wubi	B-Language
,	O
called	O
,	O
supports	O
UEFI	O
and	O
legacy	O
BIOS	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
newer	O
versions	O
of	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
(	O
as	O
of	O
2022-04-03	O
,	O
version	O
20.04.4	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
select	O
the	O
desktop	O
environment	O
within	O
Wubi	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
,	O
because	O
each	O
desktop	O
environment	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
as	O
an	O
application	O
package	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
recommended	O
that	O
users	O
install	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
(	O
default	O
option	O
)	O
and	O
from	O
there	O
install	O
the	O
other	O
desktop	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
with	O
a	O
regular	O
installation	O
,	O
a	O
Wubi	B-Language
installation	O
faces	O
some	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
drive	O
is	O
unmounted	O
uncleanly	O
(	O
Windows	B-Application
crash	O
,	O
power	O
failure	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
)	O
,	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
will	O
not	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
repair	O
,	O
re-mount	O
,	O
and	O
boot	O
from	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
NTFS	B-Application
drive	O
until	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
has	O
successfully	O
booted	O
,	O
repaired	O
the	O
drive	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
shut	O
down	O
cleanly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
system	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
booted	O
after	O
the	O
corruption	O
to	O
repair	O
the	O
filesystem	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
would	O
also	O
not	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
boot	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Performance	O
related	O
to	O
hard-disk	O
access	O
is	O
also	O
slightly	O
slower	O
on	O
a	O
Wubi	B-Language
install	O
,	O
more	O
so	O
if	O
the	O
underlying	O
disk	B-Application
image	I-Application
file	O
is	O
fragmented	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
disk	B-Application
image	I-Application
file	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
filesystem	O
contains	O
a	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
filesystem	O
whereas	O
without	O
Wubi	B-Language
only	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
filesystem	O
is	O
used	O
that	O
has	O
direct	O
hardware	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
creates	O
the	O
root.disk	O
file	O
using	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
proprietary	O
NTFS	B-Application
file	I-Application
system	I-Application
while	O
running	O
under	O
the	O
MS	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
OS	O
and	O
then	O
while	O
the	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
is	O
running	O
it	O
accesses	O
that	O
file	O
using	O
an	O
alternative	O
file	O
system	O
driver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
differences	O
between	O
the	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
implementations	O
of	O
NTFS	B-Application
could	O
technically	O
result	O
in	O
corruption	O
of	O
the	O
root.disk	O
file	O
that	O
affects	O
the	O
NTFS	B-Application
filesystem	O
in	O
such	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
even	O
prevent	O
Windows	B-Application
from	O
booting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Running	O
chkdsk	O
/r	O
from	O
MS	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
to	O
fix	O
the	O
damaged	O
NTFS	B-Application
file	I-Application
system	I-Application
and	O
then	O
shutting	O
down	O
Windows	B-Application
cleanly	O
may	O
fix	O
any	O
corruptions	O
(	O
this	O
may	O
take	O
a	O
significant	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
to	O
run	O
as	O
root.disk	O
is	O
a	O
large	O
file	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
relies	O
on	O
other	O
open	O
source	O
projects	O
:	O
Debian	B-Language
installer	I-Language
,	O
Migration	B-Operating_System
Assistant	I-Operating_System
,	O
Grub4Dos	O
,	O
NTFS-3G	B-Application
,	O
NSIS	B-Language
,	O
Metalink	B-Application
and	O
Ubiquity	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
development	O
occurs	O
at	O
Launchpad	B-Protocol
and	O
is	O
led	O
by	O
the	O
Lupin	O
Team	O
(	O
Lupin	O
is	O
the	O
loop-installer	O
,	O
handles	O
everything	O
that	O
happens	O
after	O
reboot	O
)	O
through	O
the	O
original	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
blueprint	O
page	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
Wubi	B-Language
,	O
Lubi	B-Language
,	O
Lupin	O
,	O
and	O
LVPM	B-Language
project	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
i386	O
(	O
32-bit	O
x86	B-Operating_System
)	O
and	O
x86-64	B-Device
releases	O
of	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
are	O
supported	O
by	O
Wubi	B-Language
and	O
Lubi	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
versions	O
before	O
8.04	O
,	O
only	O
the	O
x86	B-Operating_System
release	O
of	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
was	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wubi	B-Language
UEFI	O
works	O
with	O
UEFI	O
boot	O
loaders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
,	O
including	O
Red	O
Hat	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
Slackware	O
's	O
ZipSlack	O
,	O
provided	O
a	O
similar	O
tool	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
,	O
using	O
syslinux	B-Application
and	O
the	O
UMSDOS	O
filesystem	O
driver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
SuSE	O
provided	O
something	O
similar	O
using	O
syslinux	B-Application
and	O
loop-mounted	O
disk	B-Application
images	I-Application
on	O
FAT	O
filesystems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
late	O
'	O
90s	O
BeOS	B-Application
used	O
a	O
similar	O
system	O
to	O
install	O
the	O
OS	O
in	O
a	O
folder	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
for	O
Wubi	B-Language
was	O
drafted	O
by	O
Agostino	O
Russo	O
taking	O
inspiration	O
from	O
Topologilinux	O
,	O
which	O
provided	O
a	O
loopmounted	O
installation	O
,	O
and	O
Instlux	B-Application
,	O
that	O
provided	O
a	O
simple	O
Windows	B-Application
frontend	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
was	O
to	O
merge	O
the	O
two	O
concepts	O
having	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
installer	O
that	O
would	O
loopmount	O
an	O
image	O
of	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Oliver	O
Mattos	O
wrote	O
the	O
original	O
user	O
interface	O
in	O
NSIS	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agostino	O
Russo	O
then	O
refined	O
the	O
loop-installation	O
concept	O
,	O
moving	O
from	O
a	O
simple	O
loopmounted	O
pre-made	O
image	O
file	O
to	O
an	O
image	O
created	O
on	O
the	O
fly	O
using	O
a	O
dynamically	O
patched	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Debian	B-Language
installer	I-Language
,	O
thus	O
providing	O
an	O
experience	O
which	O
was	O
closer	O
to	O
a	O
real	O
installation	O
while	O
addressing	O
several	O
other	O
issues	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
prototypes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agostino	O
Russo	O
and	O
Ecology2007	O
later	O
redesigned	O
and	O
rewrote	O
the	O
current	O
Windows	B-Application
front-end	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lubi	B-Language
and	O
LVPM	B-Language
were	O
subsequently	O
created	O
by	O
Geza	O
Kovacs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
has	O
inspired	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
other	O
Windows-based	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
installers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Win32-loader	B-Application
.	O
</s>
