updating a wubi ubuntu installation

I wouldn't get 11.04. I installed it and then uninstalled back to 10.10. I absolutely hated Unity, it's to much to get used to, to quickly.

You should be able to update although you'd probably have to update 9.04>9.10>10.04>10.10 rather than 9.04>10.04, OR 10.10.

The procedure of going from 9.04 -> 9.10 -> 10.04, etc is best. Ubuntu will let you upgrade from "LTS" to "LTS". 8.04 was one, then 10.04. The next LTS will be 12.04. So you could upgrade directly from 8.04 to 10.04. Since you have 9.04 installed, you need to upgrade to 9.10, 10.04, etc. You can do this via the Upgrade Manager (System -> Administration -> Update Manager). I'd recommend ensuring your 9.04 distribution is up-to-date before upgrading to 9.10 (you will see the "Ubuntu Release 9.10 is Available" in the box near the top left side. I'd also recommend (after ensuring 9.04 is current) that you back up your "ubuntu" (wubi) directory. I'd then proceed with the upgrade to 9.10 and then verify that the upgrade worked successfully (sometimes, it doesn't always succeed). If successful, make sure it is also up-to-date (via the Update Manager) then back up the "ubuntu" directory once again (so you can always have a fall-back). Again, run the Update Manager and you will see in the box that "10.04 is available". Again repeat the process.

Once you have successfully upgraded to 10.04, you may want to consider remaining there until 12.04 is available as you will be able to go from 10.04 to 12.04 directly (LTS -> LTS). Another consideration is to back up your "Home" directory (in the Places -> Computer -> File System -> home) while in Ubuntu. The reason being is if you run into trouble and fail to upgrade to the next release, you may have to uninstall Ubuntu and do an install to the release you wish to run. By having access to your "home" directory, you can copy it into the new install (over-write the "home" directory that was created (it is a "barebones" directory)). This will allow you to get back your files and whatever else maty be in your home directory. Also, using the Synaptic Package Manager (System -> Admin. -> SPM), you can mark what was installed (by yourself over time and whatever updates may have added). You can use this list to help re-install those packages. I have not tried this (successfully) myself, so I cannot describe the steps. You may also have to open up a terminal to do this (and copy your home directory) as "sudo". You can have a "sudo terminal" (I don't remember how I created it, but you can "add a launcher to the desktop" (or a panel) and then change the properties (right click on the icon and then on properties ) and change Command "gnome-terminal" to "gksu /usr/bin/x-terminal-emulator". You may also want to insert "Root" in front of the name "terminal" to indicate it is for "root". When you click on it, you will be prompted for your password (assuming you are doing it under an admin ID). After that all your commands will have root authority (EXERCISE CARE), and you won't need to type "sudo" as you would in the regular terminal window. You may have to read up on "Linux" (Unix) commands - e.g., "ls -al", "chmod", etc. if you need to work in command line mode. Even working from a File Browser window, you may need to switch to command line to allow you to overwrite the files in your Ubuntu "home" directory. Another possibility (which I haven't tried) would be to rename your back-up "home" directory (e.g., home1), copy it to the filesystem, delete the new "home" directory (or rename) and then rename your old "home1" back to "home". This would only require changing "write" mode for the "root" level and the "new home" directory. If you try to do this strictly through the File Browser window (which I have not tried), you can try creating a F.B. window with root privileges. This could eliminate the need to work through the terminal window command line. You would open a terminal window and type in "gksu nautilus" (without the "s) and then type your password (as admin) when prompted.

I know this seems like a lot of work, but you don't have many choices. Good luck.

I just tried "gksu nautilus" from a terminal window and it bought up a file browser window showing the Desktop icon. I then clicked on the "up arrow" (above "root") and it showed the file system icons. I right-clicked on "home" and "properties" and then on "permissions". It then allowed me to change the "group access" to "read and delete". Again, so long as you are careful (always backup), you may not have to use the command line.

I had ubuntu installed (I forget what version) with wubi and I also run a windows7 machine but when I updated ubuntu to 10.04, I also updated windows7 on the same day which was a mistake, somehow the dual boot broke and I was no longer able to boot into ubuntu it also resulted in a corrupted file system not sure if it was due to the corrupted file system or if ubuntu and windows7 no longer play nice maybe wubi needs an update

You should't have any problem if You update via software update on ubuntu :)

I cannot speak for Windows 7, but in XP, when you do a "Wubi install", it updates the Windows XP boot.ini file by adding a line to execute the "Wubi MBR and loader files", placed on the "C:" disk during the install. I seem to recall that Vista uses a different boot process. I suspect Vista and Windows 7 use the same (or similar) boot process. So what you need to determine is where the boot file is on the "C:" drive and re-enter the entry for Ubuntu. If you do not know the entry, then you could back up the "ubuntu" directory, delete it and re-install. That should fix the boot sequence to boot into Ubuntu. Then delete the new Ubuntu directory and restore the the "backed up Ubuntu directory". You should be back in business. BTW, I would suggest backing up the those "boot files" on the "C:" disk - both the Windows boot files and the Wubi files. That will allow you to recover if they change again in the future (like installing a Windows SP update). The boot files tend to stay constant.

I've always updated to a newer version via the Update Manager in Ubuntu. But this time when I upgraded to 11.04, Wubi became unstable and there were some files missing for Ubuntu to boot. When I fixed this problem, the GUI became to act funny.

Result: Ended up going back to 10.10.