You may not believe, but it is true: Ubuntu 8.04 - the Hardy Heron, released in April 2008 can be mixed with the Windows XP operating system, without the need to install anything. The result is obvious: the native performance of an Ubuntu Linux distribution obtained on top of Windows XP desktop. Practically, the Ubuntu Linux and Windows coexist on the same computer by sharing the same desktop. The users are able to run Windows and Linux based applications in the same time, edit an existing file from both operating systems simultaneously, switch between opened Windows and Linux programs windows with the Alt+Tab shortcut and more. The next screenshot speaks for itself:

This compatible mixture between Windows XP and Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron can be performed with the help of a portable image of Ubuntu capable to run in Windows natively, as any other win32 application. The Portable Ubuntu for Windows executable will allow you to run Ubuntu 8.04 inside Windows XP, without actually performing an installation of the Linux distribution on your computer.

Portable Ubuntu For Windows will integrate Ubuntu into your existing Windows XP operating system with the help of Colinux Kernel, Xming X server and Pulseaudio server for Windows.

In order to use Ubuntu 8.04 natively on Windows, you just have to download the Portable Ubuntu For Windows executable, double click on it and the distribution archive will be self extracted in the specified folder. To start Ubuntu 8.04, just double click run_portable_ubuntu.bat file existing into the folder where you have extracted the article content.

Portable Ubuntu For Windows can run directly from a hard drive partition or from a USB drive. The default administration password is 123456, useful when you need to install software, drivers or codecs for example.

The computer settings could be specified both from Ubuntu as well as Windows XP (such as the display settings). If the Ubuntu portable image was extracted on a hard drive partition, the partition is mounted automatically and can be accessed by selecting from the main menu Places – Computer – Filesystem – mnt.

In this way, you will be able to share files between Windows and Linux: for example a document could be opened in the same time with the appropriate Windows XP and Ubuntu application or a file edited in Linux could be reopened in Windows and reverse. The main advantage is that all of these file sharing operations do not require a third party software (the memory consumption is very low).

Portable Ubuntu For Windows is definitely a must have application for any Windows user. Besides the fact it could be taken on the road on a USB drive, for beginners, as well as advanced users, it provides an unique opportunity to obtain the native performance of a Linux distribution while Windows runs and in the same time offers a rapid method to deploy Ubuntu in Windows.

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron On Windows XP Desktop

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 4:59 am and is filed under Linux Tutorials, Operating Systems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.