How to convert Wubi install into regular install?

Solution 1:

Please refer to: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MigrateWubi

This above Wiki has a downloadable bash script that migrates a Wubi install to a partition. It also has a link to the manual instructions required to migrate a Wubi install, although these are not recommended because the script contains many additional safety checks. The script does the following:

1. Checks the current install being migrated e.g. Wubi?, size?, type of grub?
2. Checks the target partition(s) and swap if included. The target partitions must be type '83 - Linux', empty and large enough to hold the install being migrated.
3. Provides feedback to the user of any errors, or notifies the user what changes the script will make and asks the user whether or not they wish to proceed.
4. Formats the target partition(s), copies the current install to the new migrated install.
5. Updates the /etc/fstab and enables hibernation (see README notes)
6. Chroots to the migrated install, removes lupin-support, then generates the grub menu (grub.cfg) and installs the grub2 bootloader if requested. For grub-legacy migrations it replaces grub-legacy with grub2 (on the migrated install only)
7. Exits chroot, and updates the current installs grub menu to include the migrated install.

The following is based on the README file included with the script:

The script is based on the wubi-move-to-partition script from Agostino Russo taken the Wubi Guide (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide).

The first version updated the wubi-move-to-partition script to correct a few problems and deprecated commands, as well as to update it to support Grub2. It only worked on Wubi installs from 9.10 and later.

The current version supports Ubuntu installs from 8.04 to 12.10 and adds the following features:

1. Supports migration of a normal (non-wubi) Ubuntu install. This can be useful to create a working backup, move your installation between computers, or create a working copy to experiment with.
2. Supports migration of a Wubi install from just the root.disk file (option --root-disk= ). This can be performed from an Ubuntu live CD/USB or another Ubuntu install. The named root.disk must be a fully-contained, working Wubi install, or if there are separate virtual disks for /home and /usr these must be in the same directory as the root.disk. (This option does not support Wubi with grub-legacy i.e. originally installed prior to the 9.10 release).
3. It supports migration of a Wubi or Normal install that uses grub-legacy - however it will replace grub-legacy with Grub2 (only on the migrated install). It does not update the current install's menu.lst so it is recommended to always install the Grub2 bootloader (or modify menu.lst manually).
4. The option --shared-swap can be used if you will be sharing an existing swap partition with another install. It bypasses the 'mkswap' command to avoid modifying the UUID.
5. It supports the ability to migrate to separate /boot, /usr and /home partitions.
6. It suppors the ability to synchronize a migrated install (e.g. for a bootable backup)

Usage: sudo bash wubi-move.sh [OPTION] target_partition [swap_partition]

   e.g. sudo bash wubi-move.sh /dev/sda5 /dev/sda6

  -h, --help              print this message and exit
  -v, --version           print the version information and exit
  --notes                 print the Assumptions and Notes, and exit
  --no-bootloader         do not install the grub2 bootloader
  --shared-swap           share swap partition with an existing install
  -y, --assume-yes        assume yes to all prompts
  --root-disk=<root.disk> Specify a root.disk file to migrate
  --boot=</dev/sdXY>      Specify a separate /boot partition
  --home=</dev/sdXY>      Specify a separate /home partition
  --usr=</dev/sdXY>       Specify a separate /usr partition
  -c, --check-only        Check only - validate target partition(s)
  --resume                Resume a previous migration attempt that ended
                          due to copying errors (rsync).
  --synch                 Synchronize a previously migrated install

The source for the script is maintained here: https://github.com/bcbc/Wubi-move Releases are tagged and Issues can be raised if required.

Note: the script can be run from a live environment, e.g. to replace Windows, although it is simpler to manually partition and run it directly from the Wubi install (in my opinion). There are some more screenshots of the script (using the previous release) here that show how to migrate using a root.disk or to separate partitions.

Solution 2:

I have never made a Wubi install, and I haven't tested any of this, so use with care ;).

There is thread on the forum about this, you can check the alternative instructions sections. It should ease a bit the pain of moving. Please, use the alternative method, as the first one is not working with modern ubuntu versions. There are a lot of people on the thread that tried and failed.

Solution 3:

Since wubi creates a file within the windows ntfs filesystem and uses this as a pseudo partition, it is very difficult to do this. Theoretically, you maybe could somehow save the filesystem to another place, and then restore it into a newly installed system. This could be done either by a backup software, or by something accessing directly the filesystem.