How can I install the non-CD size 12.04 on a computer that can't boot from USB & can't read DVD-Rs?

I've been reading that the next version of 12.04 will not fit on a CD.

Will it be possible to install 12.04 on a computer that can't read DVD-Rs and can't boot from USB?

I don't want to install a previous version and then "update" to 12.04. Is there another option?

Solution 1:

If this question was asked due to the initial reports that 12.04 will not fit on a CD-image, Canonical have now confirmed that 12.04 will fact will fit on a CD-image

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-cdimage/+bug/950089

Ubuntu 12.04 will still fit on CDs.

The only tweak that was done was on the exact size of what a CD is, where the old check was for 700MB and the new one is for 703MB as we found most (if not all) current burning tools and drives accept this.

Another alternative would be to install from the minimal CD - you'll need to use a wired internet connection since the whole installation is made from the internet.

You will be presented with a number of "TUIs" - a text gui prompting you for various bits of information. The important TUI is the desktop you want.

enter image description here

Solution 2:

I did this on a 32-bit Desktop computer with a broken cd drive and no ability to boot from USB. For this demo I did it again on my current computer.

With these steps you can boot the Ubuntu iso image using already running grub (your current grub2), after that install the new version from there.

Note: Until you format your drive everything is safe, but be careful to not loose power while installation (after you format your drive). You can try to boot ubuntu even with your current iso and see for yourself. Put ubuntu iso in a place other than your installation path. If you put the iso on /opt and try to install, it would be like cutting a tree from branch.

I will boot ubuntu 11.04 as an example.

Suppose I have the iso file in /media/Backup (doesn't matter) drive, and mounted as /dev/sda5. It's an NTFS drive.
```
$ ls
ubuntu-11.04-desktop-i386.iso
```

Next edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg and add lines like this (edit drive number to match yours)

menuentry "ubuntu-11.04-desktop.iso" {
    set isofile="/ubuntu-11.04-desktop-i386.iso"
    loopback loop (hd0,msdos5)$isofile
    linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=$isofile quiet noeject noprompt nomodeset splash --
    initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
}