I have a friends PC which had XP installed and onto which he installed Koala. I don'y know much about it but it seems that there is an ubuntu directory in the XP filesystem in which there is a 16gb file named root disk.

The machine can no longer boot in either xp or unbuntu but I can put the hardrive elswhere and copy files. Is there anyway to access the contents of root disk which is obviously the root filesystem of his former unbuntu install?

Create an ubuntu install disk and use that to rescue the computer.

"Karmic Koala" is Ubuntu 9.10, and is usually called "karmic" for short - it sounds like your friend used the option to install karmic as an application within XP. This is known as a "wubi" install.

[wubi wiki]

Generally you need to manage a wubi install from windows - just like any other windows app.
You can copy C:\ubuntu\disks\root.disk someplace, install XP, install another wubi, copy this file back.

Alternately, since c:\ubuntu\disks\root.disk), is seen by Linux as a real hard disk, (says the wubi web site) it is probably possible to mount it. Copy it to ~ then:

sudo mount -t ext4 ~/root.disk /mnt

I've never tried this, so I checked - which suggests there will be better luck via...

sudo mount -o loop ~/root.disk /mnt

Supposedly, Windows does NOT have Ext<anything> support, so if you want to access an Ubuntu installation from Windows, you would need to use a third-party utility. And I don't know of any third-party utility for Windows that gives it Ext4/3/2 support.

As for WUBI, if Windows can't boot, neither can it. And GRUB 2 also cannot boot WUBI, because it has trouble booting loop devices. WUBI will be removed from Lucid, for the last reason I specified.

Hi all,

Thasnks for the help. Yes it was probably a wubi install. I saved the image but I have not had any chance to try to mount it. I just checked emails since yesterday.

Considering Kenny's info - you will be doing your friend a favour by installing a dual boot (or, better, don't install windows at all). Ubuntu aught to run better outside of windows too.

FWIW: accessing ext fs' from windows
http://www.howtoforge.com/access-lin...s-from-windows
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9449
... usually you cannot update the journal from windows though.

ext4 is still unwritable from windows. But ext2fsd will read it... but I suspect the ext4 has to be installed without the extent bit.

I after seeing me run xp in vbox he decided he just wants a linux install as he only needs xp for running the MPLab IDE and a few othe minor things with no Linux equivalent. I've reformated the hda already, no Dell partition and no xp partitition and have Slack current installed as its the only Linux I'm familar with. I just have to see If I can recover some of his kid's schoolwork which was in O.O. on the Ubuntu root image which is now on a second 500mb hd which he will use for timeshifting dvb.

MPLab runs in WINE
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=58592

piclab is very similar.
picp is the corresponding pic programmer.
But it is likely that he is expected to submit mplab file formats.

You'll want to give your friend a crash course in how to think in slackware. There are lots of habits Win users pick up that do not apply, and can make things worse.

Unless there has been a change, usb devices cannot be accessed when running on wine and the PICKit2 programmer is a usb programmer. When I started messing with microchips I tried to find/use Linux based aps but functionality was limited and not all microchips are supported.

He and his daughters mucked along without any coaching on Ubuntu. I'm putting together a slackbox running current and kde-4.4 and locking it down they are not powerusers or hackers. They'll be allright and if he still gets into grief he can call me up and I can talk him through the situation on the phone. I'm not keen on learning a new distro just to support a friend.