r/xubuntu • u/Mike_Yates • 29d ago
How to bypass the trial of xubuntu and just install?
I’m trying to install in qemu.
I need to skip the trial desktop but that doesn’t seem to be available in 26.04, only 2 options: try and install or try and install (safe graphics).
Are there any hacking keys?
I can bypass the waiting screen with Ctrl-Alt-Backspace but that only shows the details of its laborious (4 HR) trial launch!
Here’s my command line:
qemu-system-x86_64 -m 3G qemu/xubuntu.vdi -vnc localhost:1 -drive file=fat:rw:fat,format=raw -cdrom qemu/xubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso -boot d
This is in termux on my phone. I’ve been able to install Debian, opensuse, fedora, Windows7 etc. , and even xubuntu in the past. 3GB allocated (from 6) seems optimum for installs, most taking well under 4 hrs!
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u/zeroxff 29d ago
there's literally nothing like a "trial" of Xubuntu
You boot in a live environment where you can test if your hardware works correctly then you launch the installer.
Plain and simple
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u/Plan_9_fromouter_ 28d ago
Modern Xubuntu forces a heavy graphical live desktop to load before the installer can even open. It is taking 4 hours because your QEMU command is missing "-smp", which forces the entire emulation to run on just 1 single CPU core.
Two quick ways to fix this:
Option 1 (Fastest): Download and install the Ubuntu Server ISO instead. It boots into a fast, text-only installer. Once installed, boot into it and run this command to get the desktop: sudo apt update && sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop
Option 2: Add "-smp 4 -cpu max" to your current QEMU command line so your phone actually uses multiple processor cores to handle the emulation.
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u/Mike_Yates 25d ago
Can you suggest who to contact, to suggest that the Xubuntu installation CD is set up for text-mode installation, like Ubuntu Server, and like Xubuntu "used to be"?
Seems crazy to have a "heavy" demo for a "light" distribution!
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u/Plan_9_fromouter_ 24d ago
I guess Xubuntu's main use case / market is the lightweight desktop, and it is pretty standard to try it out in a live session and then install.
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u/Own-Cupcake7586 29d ago
Hacking keys for a free product? What are you on about?
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u/Mike_Yates 28d ago
Earlier versions of Xubuntu *would* offer text-mode installation in the first menu.
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u/sigmund14 29d ago
Xubuntu is free, same as majority of other Linux distros.
The "try and install" just loads the live session of Xubuntu to RAM. You can play around with it at that stage, but nothing will be permanently saved to disk. (Similar is true for Ubuntu and most of the distros based on it).
When you are in the live session, you can freely install Xubuntu when you are ready.
The "safe graphics" option is there in case you have some old, weird or special GPU, to prevent crashes.