One of the issues I have for my transition to Ubuntu is Quicken. I use it for my banking, so there not being a Quicken version for Linux/Ubuntu, I will have to either maintain a Windows OS on a VM within Ubuntu, or a Wubi installation of Ubuntu, or a Dual Boot with both OS's.

(I've looked at some alternatives to Quicken here . . . see the responses on that blog . . . and here, but my sense is that I'm probably going to want to stay with Quicken).

So, my question is: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Wubi installation versus a Windows VM within Ubuntu versus a Dual Boot.

From what I can tell, a Wubi installation would only be a mounting of Ubuntu within Windows and my machine would always boot into Windows first. Whereas a VM of Windows within Ubuntu would leave Ubuntu as the "real" OS. And the Dual Boot option might be the most efficient use of the 1GB of RAM I have (which, as some of you know, is the max for my HPze4700 vintage 2004 machine). I'm leaning toward the Dual Boot solution, because I pretty much don't want a Microsoft OS as my main OS and I want to use my RAM most efficiently rather than split it between a VM and the OS when I'm running the VM. But I'm not sure yet. Wubi might achieve the same result for the RAM part.

The dual boot however would require that I create a partition for Ubuntu (but as I understand it, Ubuntu would do that on the fly anyway). Wubi, as I understand it, does not require a seperate partition for Ubuntu.

I have three different objectives here, but they all may be complementary. On the one hand, I want to make a smooth transition to Ubuntu, on the other I want to maintain the use of Quicken, and finally I want to use my RAM most efficiently.

So that ScottW doesn't have to scroll too much, let me distill the questions:

1. What would be the best configuration to meet all three objectives?

2. Once I get more comfortable with Ubuntu, I'm likely going to want to do the dual boot option for sure (if I don't do it to begin with). For that option, what would be the best way to make the Ubuntu partition . . . let Ubuntu do it on the fly, or use my PartitionMagic in Windows to prepare it?

Ultimately, I'll likely pare down Windows to just Quicken, a browser, and an antivirus.

Bob, I don't think that your understanding of Wubi Installer is exactly correct. While it does not require a separate partition, Wubi does NOT run Linux under Windows in a VM or anything like that. Wubi creates a dual-boot configuration where you choose either Linux or Windows, but not both. When you choose Linux, it runs natively and it is the real OS. See the Wubi Installer FAQ for additional information. For example:

Q: Is this running Ubuntu within a virtual environment or something similar?

A: No. This is a real installation, the only difference is that Ubuntu is installed within a file as opposed to being installed within its own partition. Thus we spare you the trouble of creating a free partition for Ubuntu. And we spare you the trouble to have of having to burn a CD-Rom.

I think that the best configuration for you is a real dual-boot using GRUB as the bootloader. That way both Linux and Windows are running natively. While in Linux, you can work on getting a VM with Windows+Quicken or setting up WINE. If at some point you find that you are able to run Linux-only, you can simply delete the Windows partition and give the available hard drive space to Linux. However, if you start with Wubi, I don't think you can eliminate Windows entirely.

Wait a minute . . . wait a minute . . . Jamieson!

First, thanks ScottW for what may change my preference for the initial configuration.

I had wanted to be able to avoid having to reboot every time I wanted to change the OS . . . AT FIRST. Because at first, I would be going back and forth a lot between Windows and Ubuntu 'till I became more proficient with Ubuntu and was able to perform most daily tasks using Ubuntu. I had thought that Wubi would enable me to do that, consequently I decided to try Wubi first and then switch to a dual boot ultimately (which I will still do).

But now it appears that my understanding was incorrect, and the config I have right now (which I did recently) . . . Ubuntu running within a Sun VM within Windows . . . will already allow me to do this. I had wanted to get away from the use of the VM for starters because I thought the Wubi config was much faster and a much better use of RAM. That in fact may be the case, but it doesn't take into consideration the tedious swapping I would have to do (this is the part that apparently I misunderstood).

LH's point about on line banking being more secure within a Ubuntu VM of Windows may be valid, but there's also the issue of a Ubuntu crash hosing the VM because Ubuntu would be the host. A dual boot configuration would seem to solve that potential issue (though I think the possibility of Ubuntu crashing may be remote anyway . . . though with a hard disk failure all bets would be off). Since I only use Quicken maybe twice a week . . . I mean it's not as if I use it every day . . . the tedious task of swapping OS's by rebooting would be minimized, so a dual boot config ultimately will be doable.

The frequent swapping will occur in the beginning when I am most tethered to Windows. So the VM of Ubuntu within Windows, as I have it now, would seem to fit that scenario rather than Wubi.

Do I have it right now?

I'm going to stay with Ubuntu on the VM within Windows until I get confident enough that I don't have to always be swapping OS's. And then I'll make a traditional dual boot Ubuntu/XP machine.

Which leads me to another question. I know Ubuntu will do it's own partition on the fly (gparted?), but should I have that partition prepared with PartitionMagic instead?

And before I make the Ubuntu partition (whichever method I use), I plan to first do a defrag, and maybe a chkdisk.