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There are various reasons why people don’t try out Linux. The most common reason, is that they can’t bring themselves to remove the familiar Windows system and replace it with a totally new environment. While there are ways to boot into a Linux environment without uninstalling Windows, most people either don’t have the patience or the time to learn how.

With Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron”, Windows users will be able to install Ubuntu onto their systems without having to worry about affecting their Windows installation. The Hardy Heron beta includes an install option for Windows users to install and uninstall Ubuntu just like your normal Windows app.

No need for a dedicated partition, you can just install Ubuntu like any other app and you can then opt to boot to Linux or Windows each time you start your computer. All you need is Ubuntu 8.04 on a cd or an .iso file that’s mounted, and 4 gigs of space on your hard drive.

For those who don’t want to leave anything to chance, just create a restore point before starting the installation process.

When you load the install menu, just select the “Install inside Windows” option.

Choosing to install inside Windows will launch the Wubi installer where you select the language of your choice, how much space to devote to the installation, which drive you want to install to, and create a username and password for the account.

After that just click on “Install” and you’re all set. Once you reboot your computer, you’ll be given a choice of which operating system you want to boot into.

If you find that you don’t like Linux after trying it out, you can just uninstall it without worrying about messing up your Windows installation.

I’ve always wanted to try Linux and with this option, I think I just might give it a spin. How about you?

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Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).

It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.