Ubuntu on Vista

 I think Linux is great… but I don’t to give up my normal desktop for it. I’m a big fan of using cygwin to get a little more oomph out of Windows, but what I’d really like to do is run Ubuntu as if it were just another Windows application. That way I can do things that are easy under linux (like run an ssh server) while not having to leave Vista.

The solution?  VMware!  VMware creates a Virtual PC – that is it’s a program that emulates a another computer.  What hadn’t realized before is that the kind people who make VMware let you run it on your local machine for free.

To get this working:

1. Download the VMware server from http://www.vmware.com/download/.
2. Get a (free) serial number.  The easiest way is to run the VMware Server Console, and go to Help -> Enter Serial Number -> Get Serial Number
3. Download the latest Ubuntu image from http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download.
4. In VMware, create a new virutal machine (File -> New -> Virtual Machine).  Follow the wizard
   1. Create a “typical machine”
   2. Choose Linux as the OS, then select Ubuntu as the version
   3. Give it a name, and a location on your PC
   4. Us a bridged network.  This gives the virtual machine it’s own IP address while sharing your PC’s network card.
   5. Data Size — your choice.  I gave it 80 GB just to be safe.
5. Once it’s set up, edit the virtual machine’s settings
   1. Under Hardware, find the CD-ROM device.
   2. Change it from connecting to your physical drive to using an ISO image.
   3. Point the ISO image to the ubuntu .iso file from step 3.
6. Start the virtual machine.

From there on it’s just like installing Ubuntu on a new machine.  Follow the installation instructions and enjoy!  Best of all, it behaves like a new, isolated computer.  You don’t have to worry about screwing up and formatting your normal computer.  (And I know first hand how embarassing that can be.)