Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

[DogTired]

Using UNetBootin, I'm trying to install Ubuntu on an old Vaio laptop with no CD-Rom. Windows XP is installed and it has network connectivity.

For the first installation, I installed over the network. Everything went fine - I was met with several prompts and it installed on a new partition that the Ubuntu installation created. I played around with Ubuntu for a while and shut down. After a reboot into Windows I was prompted to remove UNetBootin, which I did. Subsequent reboots went directly into Windows, with no boot options. For whatever reason, it seems that Grub did not install.

I tried installing two more times with the same results. (Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.) I then downloaded ISO's of both Ubuntu & Xubuntu and tried installing them. Same result.

Now, subsequent installs only install a virtual copy, with no prompts. Between each installation I have removed UNetBootin when prompted. My guess is there must be a configuration file left somewhere on C:, but I cannot find it.

This seems to be the same problem that Leefmc was having (posts #385 #391 in this thread). I haven't seen any others reporting this problem, nor have I seen a response to Leefmc. Does anyone know why, when using UNetBootin, Ubuntu automatically installs the virtual version and does not allow for a full install? Might an earlier version of Ubuntu behave differently?

[tuxcantfly]

Using UNetBootin, I'm trying to install Ubuntu on an old Vaio laptop with no CD-Rom. Windows XP is installed and it has network connectivity.

For the first installation, I installed over the network. Everything went fine - I was met with several prompts and it installed on a new partition that the Ubuntu installation created. I played around with Ubuntu for a while and shut down. After a reboot into Windows I was prompted to remove UNetBootin, which I did. Subsequent reboots went directly into Windows, with no boot options. For whatever reason, it seems that Grub did not install.

I tried installing two more times with the same results. (Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.) I then downloaded ISO's of both Ubuntu & Xubuntu and tried installing them. Same result.

Now, subsequent installs only install a virtual copy, with no prompts. Between each installation I have removed UNetBootin when prompted. My guess is there must be a configuration file left somewhere on C:, but I cannot find it.

This seems to be the same problem that Leefmc was having (posts #385 #391 in this thread). I haven't seen any others reporting this problem, nor have I seen a response to Leefmc. Does anyone know why, when using UNetBootin, Ubuntu automatically installs the virtual version and does not allow for a full install? Might an earlier version of Ubuntu behave differently?

You can't resize the partition you booted in live mode from. To do an actual installation to your hard drive rather than booting in live mode, you will have to do one of the following:

* Use the LiveUSB install mode, and boot from the liveUSB drive to perform the installation: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=811397
* Resize your partitions, using the "Parted Magic" option, prior to installing the Ubuntu live boot mode: http://www.howtoforge.com/unetbootin...untu_fedora_p4
* Select the "Netboot" version under the distribution version selector: http://www.howtoforge.com/unetbootin..._ubuntu_fedora

[tuxcantfly]

This may have been covered already, but searching the thread didn't turn up anything, so here goes...

I'm attempting to install Debian testing (i386) on my laptop with UNetbootin; I use wireless exclusively on this box, yet the installer doesn't allow for wireless connectivity at the outset. Predictably, DHCP probing fails, and I'm not able to continue.

Is there any way -- or some other tool -- to get the job done, short of burning a DVD? I already tried downloading the full 4GB iso and using that with UNetbootin, but I'm essentially told to insert the DVD into my optical drive.

Alternatively, is there a distro readily installable with UNetbootin that will optionally connect to a wireless network _before_ an FTP install?

Thanks!

Harry

I'm attempting to install Debian testing (i386) on my laptop with UNetbootin; I use wireless exclusively on this box, yet the installer doesn't allow for wireless connectivity at the outset. Predictably, DHCP probing fails, and I'm not able to continue.

Is there any way -- or some other tool -- to get the job done, short of burning a DVD? I already tried downloading the full 4GB iso and using that with UNetbootin, but I'm essentially told to insert the DVD into my optical drive.

First, use UNetbootin to boot into Parted Magic, and use it to resize your partitions: http://www.howtoforge.com/unetbootin...untu_fedora_p4

Then, use a predownloaded liveCD ISO file to install, this way you don't have to connect to the internet for installation. Ubuntu (desktop/livecd version, not alternate/install) would work fine; Debian-Live at http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ should also work (I haven't tried Debian-Live with UNetbootin, but given that it boot mechanism is a modified version of casper, which is essentially the same as Ubuntu's, it should also work).

[eddo189]

hi. I am trying to install ubuntu to a second hard drive. I would like to use Unetbootin to do so. However, when I tell it to put in on a hard disk, it only lets me select C:\ (my main hard drive), and not H:\ (a second hard drive).

My end goal is to remove my first hard drive altogether, and tuck it away somewhere for safe keeping, and make the H:\ drive my new primary hard drive. Is this even possible? Thanks.

[cacycleworks]

hi. I am trying to install ubuntu to a second hard drive. I would like to use Unetbootin to do so. However, when I tell it to put in on a hard disk, it only lets me select C:\ (my main hard drive), and not H:\ (a second hard drive).

My end goal is to remove my first hard drive altogether, and tuck it away somewhere for safe keeping, and make the H:\ drive my new primary hard drive. Is this even possible? Thanks.

My first thought is to just disconnect the 1st drive now and re-try. Would that work?

[eddo189]

My first thought is to just disconnect the 1st drive now and re-try. Would that work?

Well.. Since the second hard drive is blank, and i am trying to do this without a CD, i am kinda doubting that option...

[mendieta]

hi. I am trying to install ubuntu to a second hard drive. I would like to use Unetbootin to do so. However, when I tell it to put in on a hard disk, it only lets me select C:\ (my main hard drive), and not H:\ (a second hard drive).

My end goal is to remove my first hard drive altogether, and tuck it away somewhere for safe keeping, and make the H:\ drive my new primary hard drive. Is this even possible? Thanks.

Yes, this is confusing. I am sure netbootin will keep improving and smooth out these little things. Geza (the author of unetbootin) clarified this same question for me (see a few posts above). When you choose hardrive install, it only shows C:\. This will copy temporary files in C: , to allow you to boot from there, and load the installer of the OS you are installing. Next, the installer will ask you where you want to install. At this point, you'll choose H:

Take this with a grain of salt, I only tried it (and worked like this) in a linux to linux install. But I don't see why this should depend on the host and target OS types.

Please do this with care. Cheers!

[DogTired]

You can't resize the partition you booted in live mode from. To do an actual installation to your hard drive rather than booting in live mode, you will have to do one of the following:

* Use the LiveUSB install mode, and boot from the liveUSB drive to perform the installation: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=811397
* Resize your partitions, using the "Parted Magic" option, prior to installing the Ubuntu live boot mode: http://www.howtoforge.com/unetbootin...untu_fedora_p4
* Select the "Netboot" version under the distribution version selector: http://www.howtoforge.com/unetbootin..._ubuntu_fedora

@Tuxcantfly - Thanks to your help I finally got Xubuntu installed on my very old laptop with no CD-Rom and minimal memory (128 MB). As I became more frustrated, I'm fairly certain that for the last 3 installation attempts I selected the Live network installation. Your response got me to slow down and make one more attempt.

It was a slow, tedious experience for a newb, but it's installed and updated. (It's surprising to me that Xubuntu is slower at everything than XP on this machine, but that's not an issue for this forum.)

Anyway, thanks for all your work and for all your help.

[quinthar]

(Sorry if this question has already been answered; this is a huge thread and I might have missed it.)

Is there any way to use UNetbootin to install Ubuntu 8.04 in a completely unattended manner by pre-specifying all installation options upfront?

I have a dedicated Fedora Core 4 server to which my only access is via SSH. (I can have an admin do basic console work, but anything fancy -- such as installing a new OS -- costs extra.) What I'd like to do is:

1) Install a command-line version of UNetbootin.

2) Configure Unetbootin to install Ubuntu 8.04

3) Pre-specify all the command-line options such that it'll completely blow away the entire system (reformat all partitions), install with a particular network config (IP, gateway, netmask, etc), install a particular root password, etc.

4) Reboot

5) Log in a while later using SSH and the new root password and find a clean Ubuntu install.

If something gets screwed up and the system dies that's fine as it doesn't cost anything to have an admin re-image the machine back to it's base (Fedora Core 4) specifications.

Any ideas? If not with Ubuntu, can this be done for Debian?

Thanks!

-david

----------------------------------------------------------

Edit: Ok, it looks like the way I would do this is to pass a boot parameter to the installer specifying a preseed file:

http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/en.i386/apbs02.html

So it would appear my questions really are:

1) Can I run unetbootin from the command line on a headless system? The webpage and screenshots look like it needs a GUI.

2) Can I specify additional boot options when installing a full distribution or disk ISO? Or do I need to remaster my own ISO?

3) Is there any way to have unetbootin download the ISO straight into RAM after rebooting such that it can blow away all partitions and reformat the entire hard drive? Or do I need to put some (possibly remastered) ISO into a partition that the preseed file is configured to not destroy?

Thanks!

-david

[tuxcantfly]

(Sorry if this question has already been answered; this is a huge thread and I might have missed it.)

Is there any way to use UNetbootin to install Ubuntu 8.04 in a completely unattended manner by pre-specifying all installation options upfront?

I have a dedicated Fedora Core 4 server to which my only access is via SSH. (I can have an admin do basic console work, but anything fancy -- such as installing a new OS -- costs extra.) What I'd like to do is:

1) Install a command-line version of UNetbootin.

2) Configure Unetbootin to install Ubuntu 8.04

3) Pre-specify all the command-line options such that it'll completely blow away the entire system (reformat all partitions), install with a particular network config (IP, gateway, netmask, etc), install a particular root password, etc.

4) Reboot

5) Log in a while later using SSH and the new root password and find a clean Ubuntu install.

If something gets screwed up and the system dies that's fine as it doesn't cost anything to have an admin re-image the machine back to it's base (Fedora Core 4) specifications.

Any ideas? If not with Ubuntu, can this be done for Debian?

Thanks!

-david

----------------------------------------------------------

Edit: Ok, it looks like the way I would do this is to pass a boot parameter to the installer specifying a preseed file:

http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/en.i386/apbs02.html

So it would appear my questions really are:

1) Can I run unetbootin from the command line on a headless system? The webpage and screenshots look like it needs a GUI.

2) Can I specify additional boot options when installing a full distribution or disk ISO? Or do I need to remaster my own ISO?

3) Is there any way to have unetbootin download the ISO straight into RAM after rebooting such that it can blow away all partitions and reformat the entire hard drive? Or do I need to put some (possibly remastered) ISO into a partition that the preseed file is configured to not destroy?

Thanks!

-david

I've answered question 1 at http://answers.launchpad.net/unetbootin/+question/37109 though I'll repeat it here for interested forum members:

My older version, located at http://lubi.sourceforge.net/unetbootin.html (direct downloads still available at http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...roup_id=198821 you want the .sh version of the package titled "UNetbootin Ubuntu 8.04") was actually capable of being run from command-line, though I scrapped that functionality since essentially all the users were using the GUI version. However, no I did not implement automatic installation for it, since that would mean different install mechanisms for each distro (preseed for debian-based, kickstart for redhat/fedora, etc). However, if all that's important for you is that you can do it remotely, wouldn't something like X tunneling over SSH or VNC do the job, or maybe virtualize your install environment via XEN or the like and SSH into that?

FYI, if you wanted to prepare your own script to automate this (shouldn't be that hard, all you need to do is add preseed generation functionality to my older .sh version) see http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~gezakov...y97hfajhph9-17 you'll probably be most interested in the "tohost" install mode section. As for info on generating preseed files (which you can automate the installation and pass username/password/etc configuration with) see http://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/installa...eed-using.html and http://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/Preseed

Also, since you're doing this on remote servers, I'd suggest simply setting up an FTP server and do a local FTP-install from that, rather than using an ISO file, you can find info about that at http://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LocalNet (you'll probably be most interested in the section titled "Advanced: Hands-Off, Preseeded Network Server Install")

As for question 2: edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and you can add kernel parameters after the line titled "kernel", under the UNetbootin section. FYI, on Windows, the file you want is c:\unetbtin\menu.lst, and on a USB drive, it would be the line beginning with "append" in syslinux.cfg.

As for question 3: when you reboot, the RAM is cleared, so I doubt that is possible. Of course, on MS-DOS and perhaps some other ancient operating systems, it was possible to load another OS in place with loadlin.exe, but no modern OS allows you to safely do this. Your best bet would be just automating the FTP install, perhaps on your own local FTP mirror if you have to automate this process on hundreds of computers, as mentioned above; that way you can avoid the partitioning issues you have when you want to reformat the partition you booted off of. I believe various linux distros (PCLinuxOS, Puppy, DSL, Slax, and a few others) have a "copy2ram" or "toram" option that basically does what you want (reboots, then loads ISO into RAM, rather than copying it directly into the RAM and retaining it after rebooting, though the effect is the same), but that functionality was broken in Ubuntu last time I checked. Again, though, if you're doing a massive deployment, setting up a local mirror and doing an FTP install would still likely be the safest bet.