According to Virtualbox.org: 'VirtualBox is a cross-platform virtualization application. What does that mean? For one thing, it installs on your existing Intel or AMD-based computers, whether they are running Windows, Mac, Linux or Solaris operating systems. Secondly, it extends the capabilities of your existing computer so that it can run multiple operating systems (inside multiple virtual machines) at the same time. So, for example, you can run Windows and Linux on your Mac, run Windows Server 2008 on your Linux server, run Linux on your Windows PC, and so on, all alongside your existing applications. You can install and run as many virtual machines as you like -- the only practical limits are disk space and memory.'
Note that since Virtualbox creates a "sandbox" or isolated workspace for these virtual machines, there is very little risk of messing up your PC's main OS or configuration. The way this is accomplished is by Virtualbox creating separate independent "Disk Images" or .VDI files for each virtual machine (guest OS) you create. You can find Virtualbox at virtualbox.org. Virtualbox is great to learn about Linux, a skill that is in great demand these days!
You can use two methods to create virtual machines called "guests" in Virtualbox:
Creating a Guest VM with an .ISO file
The first method is to use an installation .iso disk image file of an OS. This .iso file would be typically downloaded and then used to burn a CD/DVD that then would be used to install the OS on to a PC. In the case of Virualbox, however, you can use the actual .iso file and have Virtualbox "install" it into a guest "virtual PC" using a virtual CD/DVD drive without the necessity of you creating a real physical CD/DVD. The first step in this process is to create the Guest VM file where the OS will be installed (this is called a .VDI file (virtual disk image). Once the guest VM is created and the virtual CD?DVD of the OS is mounted, you would then proceed to run the OS install just as you would if you were doing it directly on a real PC. Note that the OS insallation is catually being copied to the .VDI file (the virtual disk image for that guest OS), not directly onto your PC file system.Creating a Guest VM Using a Pre-Built .VDI File
Another way to sample guest VM's is to simply download and configure an already installed OS contained in a .VDI (virtual dis image file. The site virtualboxes.org contains a library of pre-built image files that you can try out. There are advantages to using pre-built .vdi files. Not having to go through a complete OS install just to try out an OS is one. Not having to worry about special OS post-install configuration issues is another. However, because a .vdi file contains the entire installd OS and any pre-installed applications, .vdi files can be pretty large.There are many resources on the web about installing operating systems or .vdi files into Virtualbox. You can even install Android or Chrome OS and play with them. So, get going and learn about some new OS's!
Backing Up Your VM's (Very Important)
Once you get your guest VM up and running, it is a good idea to back up the virtual disk image or VDI file so that in case of a problem you can copy it back into the Virtualbox folder and your are back in business. You can also copy the VDI and potentially use it on another PC running Virtualbox. Here is an article from How to Geek on how to back up VDI files.
Competitors to Virtualbox for Macs
Here is an article from Lifehacker on other VM's for Apple Macs (VMWare Fusion and Parallels). Also, here is the official instructions from Apple on using Windows 10 on your Mac.
Installing Linux Mint XFCE in Virtualbox
Linux Mint XFCE is a lightweight version of Mint that has a user interface similar to Windows 7 so it is easy to install and use in Virtualbox. Another popular version of Mint is Cinnamon which has a similar installation process that you can Google for instructions and Videos on...
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think? (Comments are moderated and spam will be removed)