system-installation
I have an OpenSuse Linux running on my work pc. I have no time to go offline and install Ubuntu. Ideally I want to mount ubuntu.iso, run Ubuntu Installer from bash, and then, at the evening, just reboot, select Ubuntu from grub, and decide whether i stay with it.
Is that possible?
For BIOS devices:
To install Ubuntu without CD/DVD or USB pendrive, follow these steps:
Download Unetbootin from here.
Run Unetbootin.
Now, from the drop-down menu under Type: select Hard Disk.
Next select the Diskimage. Browse to the directory where you downloaded the iso file of Ubuntu.
Press OK.
Next when you reboot, you will get a menu like this:
Select Unetbootin and you will get the "Try" or "Install" option there.
Finally, you can install your version of Ubuntu alongside Windows.
For UEFI devices:
First, download rEFInd.
Then, extract it.
Now, follow the below steps to install rEFInd[source], so that, you have a boot menu to boot to Ubuntu Live environment. Summary of the installation process given in the source is as belows:
Open cmd with Administrator privileges.
Then,
mountvol S: /S
S: to any available drive letter)Type cd in cmd and then drag and drop the extracted folder to the already open cmd window. E.g.,
cd "C:\Program Files"
Copy refind
xcopy /E refind S:\EFI\refind\
S: will be the drive letter that you used above.Change directory to rEFInd
cd S:\EFI\refind
Rename config file
rename refind.conf-sample refind.conf
Note that {bootmgr} is entered as such; that's not a notation for a variable. Also, change refind_x64.efi to refind_ia32.efi on systems with 32-bit EFIs. Such computers are rare, and most of them are tablets. Check your Windows bit depth to determine which binary you should use.
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi
Download EaseUS Partition Master Free and run it.
Select your last partition.
Right-click on it and from the context menu select Resize/Move partition.
From the size shown beside Partition Size minus 4096 MB (to mimic a 4GB pendrive).
Press tab and the rest will be auto-completed.
Select the newly created partition and right-click on it. Select Create Partition from context menu.
In this window, select FAT32 as the File System. Click on OK. Finally, click on Apply (present at the top-left of the window).
Next, extract Ubuntu iso to this partition and finally reboot.
You will be presented with a rEFInd menu. From here select the Ubuntu partition. It will boot into a Live environment. Continue with the installation. After the installation finishes boot to Windows.
Run EaseUS Partition Master Free again.
Right-click on the 4 GB partition and from the context menu select Delete Partition.
Right-click on the partition above the Unallocated partition and select Resize/Move Partition from the context menu.
Extend the bar to the extreme right by dragging the button.
Click on OK. Finally, click on Apply (present at the top-left of the window).
Open cmd with Administrator privileges.
Then,
mountvol S: /S
S: to any available drive letter)Remove rEFInd
rmdir "S:\EFI\refind" /S /Q
S: will be the drive letter that you used above.Reinstall grub as your primary boot manager
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi
Best Answer
Yes, there is a procedure to install Ubuntu offline (without rebooting) from your current Linux system. I do not think, It is better to include all the details here.
You can check the exact procedure for 14.04 / for 16.04 from Ubuntu Installation Guide
I have recently tried that and installed Kubuntu 12.04. It worked flawlessly.
It requires at least one reboot, to open your newly installed system. You can't switch from one OS to another without rebooting
Reference: Ubuntu Installation Guide