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I've posted this question on Stack Overflow without thinking (link here: https://stackoverflow.com/posts/comments/97802471?noredirect=1), but I'd like to know if the following is possible:

On my Windows 10 PC, I'd like to create a partition where I'd store an Ubuntu ISO (the latest 19.04 comes to mind), and run it as a live distro, which means it would have to appear in the boot menu.

On my PC, there's indeed an icon in the shape of a hard drive on the top right corner, where a badge shows how many unread messages/comments/replies I've got, but since my post, I discovered that you can only be notified by email once a week at best of all the comments and replies made to you.

This is fine, though.

Regarding my initial question, I chose to go the UNetbootin way, and it kinda worked: I managed to create a new partition at first, let the software copy the Ubuntu ISO (latest 19.04 daily, so that too could be a factor), and I booted to a live Ubuntu system alright.

Problem arose when I tried to install: regardless of the empty space I had on the partition, of the file system I chose, and of the mount point I specified, install would not proceed, because "/cdrom could not unmount".

I then started from scratch, creating not one but two partitions, one where the ISO would be decompressed, and the other, bigger, for install. Both were created from Windows in FAT32 file format, then I tried to format the one I wanted to install on in ext4 and on down all the format and file system options I was offered by the installer.

Didn't work either, with the same error message, though I made sure the ISO was on a different partition than the one I wanted to install it on.

That's too bad, because the glimpse I got from the 19.04 dailies (I tried two different ISOs) was indeed promising.

I've put this project on the back-burner for now, due to a large amount of work coming my way, but I'll make sure to come here for more info when I have a little more time on my hands.

Thanks all for your input!

fossfreedom
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Didier
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    You can create a virtual machine with VirtualBox. Then you can 'Try Ubuntu' or install Ubuntu in this virtual machine. Ubuntu will run as a guest operating system inside Windows, which is the host operating system. -- It is easier to install Ubuntu alongside Windows, but it is certainly possible to make a live Ubuntu system work alongside Windows (I don't think there is an automatic quick fix for it, and I would not recommend it for a beginner. – sudodus Apr 06 '19 at 15:56
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    If you have a spare partition on your Windows drive, you can use UNetbootin to make a persistent install to it. At boot you will get a choice between Windows and Ubuntu. Persistence is limited to 4GB. If you need to boot ISOs you would need to install a compatible boot loader such as grub2. Then booting ISO's is easy, even if they are located on the Windows partition. Grub2 can also be run from a USB stick. – C.S.Cameron Apr 06 '19 at 16:29
  • Thank you both for your replies. I didn't know UNetbootin offered such a possibility. I'm going to try that. I hope it won't ruin my MBR, though, because I've just discovered that for some reason, my PC won't boot from USB anymore... I'm investigating the issue as we speak. – Didier Apr 06 '19 at 17:53
  • Oh, and is there a way to be notified by email when I receive a reply or comment on my OP? – Didier Apr 06 '19 at 17:59
  • Disabling Fast Boot in Windows 10 solved my issue with booting from a USB drive. I'm looking into the UNetbootin experiment. Will keep you posted. – Didier Apr 07 '19 at 08:03
  • @Didier: There is an icon on the top left of the screen that lets you know of a reply or comment. – C.S.Cameron Apr 07 '19 at 17:08
  • @Didier: https://askubuntu.com/questions/484434/install-ubuntu-without-cd-and-usb-how Look at xtrchessreal's answer. – C.S.Cameron Apr 07 '19 at 17:46

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