Ubuntu 11.04 and Win7 switch without reboot

[wiskeyplm]

Hi,
Is there a way of switching between Ubuntu 11.04 and Win7 without the need of a restart?
I am running both of the operating systems on a laptop: Quad core 1.8 ghz and 4gb RAM, 64bit. I have installed Ubuntu using Wubi and reinstalling Windows is not an option because it came preinstalled on the laptop.

Thank you

[kurt18947]

I think a virtual machine would do what you want but AFAIK you'd need Win7 install media if you made Win7 the guest OS. You can download certain legit versions of Win7 but you'd need a means to activate. If you have a legit serial # and the version was the same, you might be able to do that. For instance, if your installed OS is Win7 home premium, you couldn't install Win7 pro and activate using a home premium serial #.

Even if you don't do dual boot or a virtual machine, I'd recommend cloning your hard drive or create a boot CD/DVD is that's an option. That way if your hard drive dies or gets corrupted you can reinstall the image. Many people have used Clonezilla and seem happy with it.
www.clonezilla.org (http://www.clonezilla.org)
People have had their hard drive die and because they didn't have any sort of restore media they had to buy a retail copy of Windows even though their machine came with Windows preinstalled.

[XSaenen]

People have had their hard drive die and because they didn't have any sort of restore media they had to buy a retail copy of Windows even though their machine came with Windows preinstalled.

That's why it never hurts to make the installer discs. On any new PC with a pre-installed Windows, you are offered to burn the install discs, so even if the HDD dies you can re-install Windows.

Also, on a PC/laptop that came with Windows on it, the serial number is usually on the bottom or back. That serial number can be used with any Windows DVD of the same type.
I keep DVDs and images of all common OEM Windows versions, so when I need to fix a PC and the OS is too messed up, I can always do a fresh install even if the owner doesn't have the DVDs. I'll always make sure that I know which version it is before I actually go there, so I can download it if I don't have it already.
Worst-case scenario is that the new install doesn't accept the activation right away, but a call to Microsoft's automated phone system always sorts that out.