UNetbootin allows for the installation of Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, OpenSuse, Arch Linux, or Debian to a real partition, so it's no different from a standard install, only it has the advantage that it needs no CD. This is meant for people who want to install Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, OpenSuse, Arch Linux, or Debian but don't have a CD-R to burn, lack a CD writer, or they want to install on a computer that doesn't have a CD-ROM drive, like an ultra-portable laptop.
UNetbootin uses a Windows or Linux-based installer to install a small modification to the bootloader (grldr and boot.ini for NT-based systems, grub.exe and config.sys for Win9x, or grub on Linux), uses the bootloader to boot the netboot initrd and kernel, then uses that to download and install Ubuntu directly from the internet, no CD required. After Linux is installed, the modification to the bootloader is then undone.
Requirements
- Linux, or Microsoft Windows 95-XP (Vista support is in the works, though a temporary workaround can be found in the "Known Issues" section at the bottom of this page)
- A broadband internet connection (dial-up will take way too long to download)
- 3GB or more of spare hard drive space to install Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, OpenSuse, Arch Linux, or Debian in
Installation Instructions
HowtoForge has a guide for installing Ubuntu or Fedora using UNetbootin.
Before installing, remember to back up all your data, in case you do something wrong in the partitioning stage of the installer.
- Download the appropriate file for the distro and version you want to install; if using Windows, use the exe files, if using Ubuntu, Debian, or a deb-based distro, use the deb files, if using Fedora, Suse, or an rpm-based distro, use the rpm file, if using another Linux distribution, use the sh (self extracting) files: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=198821
- If using Windows, run the file, and click "OK" to reboot.
Why is it so bad for an application to write its settings to the user profile folder? Writing settings to the application folder is dangerous because you need to have admin rights on the machine and different users are stuck with each other's settings! Storing settings in the user profile folder also has the advantage that you could upgrade a program without losing its settings.
In a multi-user environment, it is indeed inappropriate to write settings in the application folder. However, portable apps are run from external USB flash drives or equivalent, so it is a personal device and writing settings to the application folder is therefore preferred. In addition, the admin rights requirement is no longer a concern since you have full access to the USB drive.
An application can cater to both multi-user environment and portability by checking with the user on startup (when it detects that the settings are not initialized yet) whether he wishes to write settings to the user profile folder or application folder. This should be relatively easy to implement, and makes no assumption on the user's preference. Underlying this mechanism is to check for a file eg. settings.ini in the application folder on startup. If the file exists, it write its settings to the application folder, otherwise to the user profile folder.
With regards to the issue of upgrading an application without losing its settings, you could just as easily upgrade a portable app without losing settings by avoiding the appropriate file(s). Some well-designed apps like Portable Firefox even has a explicit profile folder that you simply leave alone when copying over the new application files. This also has the added advantage of being able to easily maintain several versions of the same application, each with its own settings.
