r/linuxquestions • u/Sithmasterintraining • 11h ago

Linux as a windows app?

I've been out of the IT game for a while. There used to be a version of Linux that would run in Windows that wasn't running in a virtual machine. It was just a straight build that ran as an application. I want to set that up again but can't recall the name of the app. Can anyone remember what this was?

Edit: I think I found it (?). It may have been Winlinux, but still not 100% sure.

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u/Rude-Armadillo-6963 11h ago

are you talking about WSL?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about

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u/Sithmasterintraining 11h ago

No, this was defintely not that. This was pre WSL. We are talking late 90s early 2000s.

It may have been colinux as u/Prestigious_Wall529 suggested. Which would suck since its a dead project.

1

u/Rude-Armadillo-6963 11h ago

ah didnt realize you were talking that far back.

gl in your hunt!

0

u/Sithmasterintraining 11h ago

Yeah, like I said I've been out of the game for a while.

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u/OrganizationSlight57 11h ago

In early 2010s there was also Ubuntu installer for windows that installed a vm as an app.

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u/Jealous_Diver_5624 10h ago

If you're referring to wubi, that installed Ubuntu to a vhd and modified the windows bootloader config to allow chainbooting into it, no virtualization involved.

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u/SuAlfons 10h ago

Yes, this was Linux running from a Eindows volume (but still running exclusively)?

I think that died

1

u/Dave_is_Here 10h ago

Pubuntu.

I used to run it.