HOWTO: migrate wubi install to partition

[SimpleWater]

Do "dir D:\" instead.

"The volume does not contain a recognized file system.
Please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted."

should i go back to NTFS?

[bcbc]

"The volume does not contain a recognized file system.
Please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted."

should i go back to NTFS?

Go back to the Disk Management, right click on D: and select Format. That should return it to NTFS and then allow your Wubi to boot again.

[SimpleWater]

Go back to the Disk Management, right click on D: and select Format. That should return it to NTFS and then allow your Wubi to boot again.

no i think you misunderstood me. I meant the linux dedicated partition should i be switching that back to NTFS? the pc recognizes it as unknown with ext3. Don't know if that is a concern.

Strangely enough D drive is unformatted which i'm certain is what formatted before but cant recall the original format.

switch both or just D drive?

Edit: it seams i cannot access the D drive while it is unformatted

[bcbc]

no i think you misunderstood me. I meant the linux dedicated partition should i be switching that back to NTFS? the pc recognizes it as unknown with ext3. Don't know if that is a concern.

Strangely enough D drive is unformatted which i'm certain is what formatted before but cant recall the original format.

switch both or just D drive?

You said you migrated to /dev/sda1 - that's what Windows sees as D:

[SimpleWater]

You said you migrated to /dev/sda1 - that's what Windows sees as D:

are you sure? on ubuntu's disk utility the 30g partition said it was /dev/sda1

so have I been doing it wrong the whole time?

[bcbc]

I'm trying to figure out how to do this on XP. There is a "diskpart" program.

C:\>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565

Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: INSPIRON

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status      Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  ----------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online        73 GB  2636 MB

DISKPART> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> list partition

  Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset
  -------------  ----------------  -------  -------
  Partition 1    OEM                 47 MB    32 KB
  Partition 2    Primary             39 GB    47 MB
  Partition 3    Primary             20 GB    39 GB
  Partition 4    Extended            14 GB    59 GB
  Partition 5    Logical             10 GB    59 GB
  Partition 6    Logical           2048 MB    71 GB

DISKPART>exit

I've shown you how I listed my partitions (commands in blue). Do the same on yours and post back.

[SimpleWater]

I'm trying to figure out how to do this on XP. There is a "diskpart" program.

I've shown you how I listed my partitions (commands in blue). Do the same on yours and post back.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Joel>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565

Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: MICASA

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status      Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  ----------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online        75 GB      0 B

DISKPART> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> list partition

  Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset
  -------------  ----------------  -------  -------
  Partition 1    Primary           5146 MB    32 KB
  Partition 2    Primary             39 GB  5154 MB
  Partition 3    Unknown             31 GB    44 GB

DISKPART>

c:\>diskpart did not happen to work but just simply "diskpart" did

[bcbc]

Partition 1 Primary 5146 MB 32 KB

That's /dev/sda1 and it's 5GB == D:

[SimpleWater]

That's /dev/sda1 and it's 5GB == D:

well thats just unfortunate isn't? so i guess that means that D: with all its contents is gone.

If i want to try this again should i uninstall ubuntu and reinstall with wubi and try again and repeat the steps that i did on this guide with /dev/sda1

also do you know what format D: was in before. And if want to do this on the 31GB partition is that /dev/sda3 and NTFS format and 4k cluster size? or is there anything i'm missing

[bcbc]

well thats just unfortunate isn't? so i guess that means that D: with all its contents is gone.

If i want to try this again should i uninstall ubuntu and reinstall with wubi and try again and repeat the steps that i did on this guide with /dev/sda1

also do you know what format D: was in before. And if want to do this on the 31GB partition is that /dev/sda3 and NTFS format and 4k cluster size? or is there anything i'm missing

It is unfortunate. You know there is a warning about using the manual migration - the script won't allow you to format a non-empty partition and also checks the size of the partition (5GB is a hard minimum and most Wubi installs will be bigger than that).

You do not need to uninstall Wubi Ubuntu and reinstall - it will delete your existing Wubi install which will likely boot normally as long as you clear out that ext4 file system from /dev/sda1. If you don't reformat /dev/sda1 then reinstalling Wubi won't boot for the same reason your current one is not booting.

I have no idea what is in /dev/sda3 (the 31GB partition) or what /dev/sda1 looked like prior to the format.

This migration howto is provided to enable Wubi users to migrate to a partition install if they wish, and the script provides a lot of protection (I've also spent a lot of time testing it and making sure it's safe). But the job of partitioning is left up to the user, and when you choose to do the manual migration - you assume those risks.

I tried to be clear on the first post:

Please don't use the manual migration unless you fully understand what you are doing. The automated migration has many additional safeguards and will protect you from errors.

...

2. Format new partition if not done so already - make sure it's empty, large enough and unmounted
WARNING -- the next command will wipe all existing data on /dev/sda5
Code:
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda5

I have been considering removing the manual migration instructions. I think the risk is too high versus the benefit (and curious people can just review the script).