CoLinux Portable Ubuntu for Windows

Portable Ubuntu Remix for Windows (Pubuntu) is a project headed by Claudio Cacsar Sa¡nchez Tejeda. It uses CoLinux (Cooperative Linux) to enable a user to run Ubuntu on top of Windows. CoLinux, a port of the Linux Kernel, is an open source virtual machine that works much like Qemu, but most claim it is much faster. And finally, Ubuntu is a fork of Debian, and a product of Canonical Ltd.

In the following segment, we cover how to install and run Ubuntu alongside Windows. Directly from a USB flash drive or other external device. Allowing you to share your Windows desktop with Linux.

CoLinux Portable Ubuntu Remix

Running Linux on top of , within, or alongside Windows.

Notice the top edge Ubuntu panel or taskbar in the screenshot below.

CoLinux Portable Ubuntu

Distribution Home Page: Project Home Page

Minimum Flash Drive Capacity: 2GB

Persistent Feature: Yes

Ubuntu on Windows Prerequisites:

  • 2GB or larger USB device
  • Windows Host (tested on Windows XP)
  • Portable_Ubuntu.exe

Create a Portable Ubuntu USB Flash Drive

    1. Download Portable Ubuntu Remix.
    2. Insert your USB  flash drive.
    3. Run Portable_Ubuntu.exe extracting its contents to your USB device.
  1. Click run_portable_ubuntu.bat from the Portable_Ubuntu Folder on your USB device to launch Ubuntu.

You should see a Top Edge Panel Taskbar which you can use to run your Ubuntu applications from within Windows.  Essentially allowing you to run Ubuntu alongside Windows.

If you found this segment useful, you might also be interested in learning How to Boot a USB Flash Drive in VirtualBox.