Reboots after Wubi install via ubiquity repeatedly ask to uninstall

[Erick Brunzell]

I just completed, and then repeated, a Wubi install using the new ubiquity option to offer the Wubi option if 4 primary partitions exist. I described the installation here:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/wubi/+bug/466745/comments/11

Please be sure to look at all three screenshots here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=10717511&postcount=12

Every reboot into Windows after the installation is complete results in being told I need to uninstall the newly installed Wubi.

So, I think whatever mechanism ubiquity is using to auto-launch the Wubi procedure is still trying to relaunch the Wubi install process after successfully completing the Wubi install.

I see there is a rebuild in progress so I'll repeat this ASAP.

[bcbc (bcbc)]

This isn't so much a bug in Wubi - this is the normal action. If you run it the first time it prompts to install. When you run it after installing, it prompts to uninstall first.

So the bug is that ubiquity is placing Wubi in the Windows startup programs list and there's no way to remove it afterwards. It should be adding it as a "Runonce" to the windows registry which is supposed to automatically be removed.

[Erick Brunzell (lbsolost)]

Of course bcbc is correct, I verified this in screenshots here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=10718474&postcount=24

But rather than being marked invalid I think the package status should be changed to 'ubiquity' shouldn't it?

I mean ubiquity should be adding this as "run once" rather than adding it to the start menu ;^)

Oh gosh, me tired and need to read more better - that's the sound of my head hitting the desk - never mind.

I have been testing so much my brain needs a break :^/

[bcbc (bcbc)]

I marked Ubiquity as invalid because I picked the wrong project - I meant "ubiquity (Ubuntu)" but instead I chose Ubiquity (upstream), which I believe is the correct project, not Wubi. But the devs can sort that out ;)

[Erick Brunzell (lbsolost)]

Well, I went ahead and reported this on the iso-tracker under the 20110425.2 build, but in reality I'm stuck :^(

I can not for the life of me get the wubi installer purged from the start menu! So I can't really retest this feature.

Also I see no version change in ubiquity so I'm sure this is still valid with the most recent build.

I almost wonder if I shouldn't just perform a system restore?

Ultimately what should have been a simple Wubi install has become a nightmare.

[Kate Stewart (kate.stewart)]

Erick, thanks for reporting this. We need to understand what went wrong, and at a minimum document it in the release notes, to avoid problems for others.

[bcbc (bcbc)]

@Kate Stewart, Erick asked me to comment on this. I can't speak for the particular issue he is having deleting the startup option, but I know enough to point out some flaws in this approach.

1. When Ubiquity detects that there are 4 primary partitions already used and there is also an existing Windows install detected, it then offers the option to "Install Ubuntu inside Microsoft Windows <XP Home Edition>". ( http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=189969&d=1303732484)
2 When you select this it copies the wubi.exe from the CDROM to the Windows partition and instructs the user to reboot (more or less, the screen is a little confusing: http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=189970&d=1303732484 )
3. The next time the user boots into Windows, it automatically runs wubi.exe.

Problems
======
a. Wubi.exe has been copied into the Common Startup folder so it runs for all users each time you boot into Windows.
b. If you choose, not to install Wubi, it will keep prompting you each subsequent time you boot into Windows
c. If you choose to install Wubi, it will run again and prompt you to UNINSTALL/Reinstall the next time you boot Windows.

This goes on until you physically find and delete the entry. For XP the actual entry is in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\wubi.exe
You can either browse to that location to delete it, or run Microsoft's msconfig utility. But in Erick's case he had some permissions issues and it would not let him uninstall (that part I am unclear on the exact reasons).

But even if the user can remove this entry easily there are some additional problems:
1. It doesn't inform the user that by inserting the Ubuntu CD in the drive, it will use that image. If the user does not put the CD in, wubi.exe will instead download a new image. (If the user put the CD in while running Windows, it would prompt to install Ubuntu anyway).

So in summary:
Wubi.exe will run each time the user boots into Window prompting to install Ubuntu each/time or prompting to Uninstall/reinstall Ubuntu (if already installed) until the user physically finds and deletes Wubi.exe. This may result in some confusion.

The locations that wubi.exe may be copied to are:
For Windows 7
         'ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs/Startup',
For Windows XP
        'Documents and Settings/All Users/Start Menu/Programs/Startup',
For Windows NT
        'Winnt/Profiles/All Users/Start Menu/Programs/Startup',

A better solution, would be to add wubi.exe to the Windows registry as a RunOnce entry. Then it would only run on the first boot into Windows after the attempted Ubuntu install.

[Evan (ev)]

Fixed in Wubi r209

[Erick Brunzell (lbsolost)]

I'm just testing the 20110426 i386 iso-testing build and I get the attached "no such file or directory" error. Am I just ahead of the Wubi server for the download.

Sorry for the dumb question(s) but I know almost nothing about Wubi and I couldn't get anyone else to test this :^)

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

@Erick, could you please file another report and attach the log file mentioned on the dialog. Thanks in advance.

[Erick Brunzell (lbsolost)]

Done, it's bug 771517.

Thank you.