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I want to test my Ubuntu app on Unity.

I tried installing 11.04 on a VMWare virtual machine. I get a dialog saying I don't have 3d support so I can't turn on Unity. I learn that 3d drivers are not available for Ubuntu on VMWare.

So I figure, I'll just use the live CD on my computer itself. (i.e., no VM.) I load the live CD, install the NVidia drivers, but then it asks me to restart in order to use the driver. But if I restart, everything is lost because it's a live CD! I don't want to install Ubuntu on my computer, I just want to try out my app on it.

What can I do?

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As long as it cannot be run on a virtual machine it will be hard to get developers to adapt their apps for Unity. –  Takkat Dec 17 '10 at 13:30
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2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Running Unity in a VM is a current limitation. Installing it to a USB stick should work better for you:

How do I install Ubuntu to a USB key?

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You can test the nvidia drivers from a LiveCD but it's not for the weak-hearted.

  1. Boot up to the LiveCD
  2. Install the drivers through jocky (the GUI installer)
  3. Control+Alt+F1. This should take you to a black login screen.
  4. Enter ubuntu as the username, no password
  5. sudo restart gdm

This should dump you back in gnome with nvidia drivers installed. If that doesn't work, you might need to do a sudo modprobe nvidia before you restart gdm.

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