Portable Ubuntu for Windows tutorial

IMCOMPLETE!!

This tutorial explains how to make and run a Portable version of Ubuntu on Windows. It is made for Ubuntu 9.04.

Contents 1 System requirements 2 Downloads required 3 Part 1 4 Part 2 5 Part 3 6 Part 4 7 GDM 8 Credits 9 Feedback

System requirements

• 7 GB of free space
• MS Windows (should work on Windows XP/Vista/7)

Downloads required

• CoLinux
• Xming
• initrd.gz file (change "jaunty" to "hardy" or "intrepid" on the URL if you do not have Ubuntu 9.04/Jaunty)
• PulseAudio for Windows
• Ubuntu alternate install CD ("ubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso" in this case)

Part 1

Create a folder called "pubuntu" on C:\ (or use any other name you like on any location you like, this is just an example)

After downloading the programs above, install them to the "pubuntu" folder (un-check the option: “Root Filesystem image Download” when installing CoLinux)

Extract the PulseAudio archive to the "pubuntu" folder (make sure the Pulseaudio files are at "C:\pubuntu\pulseaudio-0.9.6\")

Now move the ubuntu iso the the C:\ drive

Part 2

Open the Windows terminal (cmd.exe)

Change into the working CoLinux dir (type: "cd C:\pubuntu\coLinux", in this case)

You now need to type these commands:

• md images
• cd images
• fsutil file createnew rootfs.img 5368709120 (this creates a root "partition" of 5 GB)
• fsutil file createnew swap.img 1073741824 (this creates a swap file of 1 GB)

Part 3

Now you need to rename the file "initrd.gz" to "initrd_install.gz" (we do this so that we do not replace the initrd.gz included in Colinux) and you need to copy "initrd_install.gz" to the folder where CoLinux is installed (C:\pubuntu\coLinux in this case)

Now you need to create a file named "install.conf" at C:\pubuntu\coLinux whith the following contents:

kernel=vmlinux

cobd0=images\rootfs.img

cobd1=images\swap.img

scsi0=cdrom,C:\ubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso (you can replace "C:\ubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso" you any other location of the iso)

root=/dev/ram0 vga=normal ramdisk_size=14409 rw --

initrd=initrd_install.gz

mem=256

eth0=slirp,00:ff:75:39:D3:C1

Part 4

Now go the the windows console again and change into the dir of CoLinux (type: "cd C:\pubuntu", in this case)

Now type:

colinux-daemon @install.conf -t nt

This text-mode installation of Ubuntu will now begin, just continue until a window about "no kernel modules found" appears, you now need to click "yes".

When the window “Configure the network” appears, type "Alt + F2" to go to another terminal.

In this new terminal, now type:

mkfs.ext3 /dev/cobd0

after the process is finished, type:

mkswap /dev/cobd1

Now press "Alt + F1" to go back to the installation process

Continue the installation...

GDM

FailsafeXServer=/bin/true

XKeepsCrashing=/bin/true

[xdmcp]

Enable=true

[servers]

0=Standard device=/dev/console

[server-Standard] name=Standard server command=/bin/true flexible=false

[server-Terminal]

command=/usr/bin/X -br -audit 0 -terminate

[server-Chooser]

command=/usr/bin/X -br -audit 0

Credits

This tutorial is based on a spanish tutorial by DemonCcC

Feedback

• Report error/mistake