Virtualization As An Alternative To Dual Booting Part 1

As a result of my last article series on dual booting, I’ve been asked quite a few times why I decided to dual boot my linux machine with windows xp instead of installing windows on a virtualization platform such as VM Server or VirtualBox.  The short answer to this question is that I have used virtual machines in the past, but they do have their own set of limitations.  However using virtual machines is a good option in many situations.  So in response, I’ve decided to examine the process of using virtual machines and some of their perks and and shortcomings.  Below is a quick overview of what I’m going to cover.

Overview

• Article 1 covers installing and configuring my virtualization platform of choice, the Sun xVM VirtualBox.
• Article 2 covers installing Windows XP on VirtualBox and configuring system hardware and peripherals.
• Article 3 covers the pros and cons of using a virtual machine as well as for which types of projects they are suited.

What is a Virtual Machine?

In a nutshell a virtual machine usually refers to a computer software application that acts just like a particular hardware platform such as a pc or a mac.  Using a virtual machine, you can run and test multiple operating systems or other software without actually installing them on your physical computer.  This also makes it easier troubleshoot software without actually compromising your current system setup.  In addition to this, virtual machines can also enable you to run software not designed for your hardware platform.

Some of the requirements and goals of virtual machines were first formalized in the early seventies by Gerald Popek and Robert Goldberg.  Popek actually helped develop a prototype of an early virtual machine for the PDP-11 architecture.   Implementing and coding virtual machines can be a complex process requiring intimate knowledge of both software and hardware.  However, no matter how complicated the development process may be, virtual machines usually strive to meet three goals for their end users: portability, simplicity, and performance.

Installing VirtualBox On Ubuntu

There are a variety of virtualization options for linux including but not limited to VirtualBox and VM Ware.  I prefer VirtualBox simply because it was the first one I used on Ubuntu.  VirtualBox was originally created by Innotek but is now being developed by Sun Microsystems.  The OSE(Open Source Edition) that comes packaged with Ubuntu doesn’t include support for usb devices so I don’t use that one.  Rather I use binaries that are freely available from Sun.  Here are the steps I followed to install VirtualBox on my 64bit Ubuntu Hardy box and setup an installation environment for Windows XP.

1. Download VirtualBox from here and launch the install.

   

   

2. If virtualbox was previously installed as it was in my case, you will be asked if you want to delete the old modules and setup files.  It’s usually safe to do this especially if you don’t want to reuse anything from the old install.

   

3. VBox will then create a vboxusers group.  Click forward.

   

4. Next you’ll be asked if you want to compile the vboxdrv kernel.  Check the box and go forward.  The install should complete.

   

   

5. Now for virtualbox to appear in the applications menu, you need to restart the system.  In my case I had to completely shutdown my system and power it back up because I kept losing access to my mouse.  This was probably due to a persistent state being held in memory somewhere.  Nevertheless everything worked well after the complete system shutdown.

   

6. After launching virtualbox, I received a message stating that I had a virtual hard disk that wasn’t accessible.  This only appeared because I had virtualbox installed previously.  And even though I unistalled virtualbox and deleted the drive manually, I didn’t unregister it before I uninstalled virtualbox.  This led to the new install finding a reference to it.  So I clicked the check button.

   

7. Then I’m taken to a screen where I can remove the old virtual drive.

   

8. Now I get the normal virtualbox launch screen and here I can create a virtual machine to host my guest operating system (windows xp in this case although I could install just about any operating system).  Click New.

   

9. The VM Wizard appears, click Next.

   

10. Now it’s time to create a name for the virtual machine and select an operating system.  After this is done, click Next.

    

11. It’s time to allocate the base memory for the machine.  This is the minimum amount the machine will be given when it is started although it can use more as necessary.  I usually allocate 256MB but only 192MB is really needed.

    

12. After creating a virtual machine and allocating memory for it, I now have to create a virtual hard drive that will be used to store the machine.  Select New.

    

13. The Virtual Disk Wizard Appears, Click Next.

    

14. Here we have the option of a dynamically expanding drive for the virtual machine or a fixed-sized drive.  Personally I prefer fixed sized drives for virtual machines.  Subconsciously I think I have latent fears of a rogue operating system taking over my system!  But putting my delusions aside, it really doesn’t matter which option you choose although fixed sized is good if you have limited disk space.  Now click Next.

    

15. From the Virtual Disk Location and Size screen under Image File Name, you can choose the physical drive where you want the virtual machine stored and how much space to give it.  10GB is the default and generally a good option to pick.  Click Next.

    

16. Finally a summary screen is presented giving an overview of the virtual hard disk that is about to be created.  If something isn’t right, it can be changed by going back.  If everything is correct, click finish and the virtual machine hard disk creation will begin.

    

    

17. We’re not quite done yet; we’re back at the virtual hard disk screen, and the path to the machine we just created should be filled in by default.  This machine will be used to boot the operating system that is going to be installed.  Click Next.

    

18. A Summary screen is presented and if no information needs to be changed, click Finish.

    

19. Now virtualbox has a machine that can be used to load the windows xp operating system.

    

Summary

This article focused on installing the virtualization platform, VirtualBox, on a 64Bit Ubuntu Hardy machine.  Also, a virtual machine environment was created that could support the installation of a windows operating system.  The focus of the next article will be getting windows up and running on the virtual platform and some of the quirks the installation of peripherals presents.

Check back soon for Part 2 of the series where I’ll be installing windows on the virtual machine.

Kim Jackson

Related Articles

• Virtualization As An Alternative To Dual Booting Part 3
• Virtualization As An Alternative To Dual Booting Part 2
• How To: Dual Booting Linux & Windows On Separate Hard Drives Part 3
• How To: Dual Booting Linux & Windows On Separate Hard Drives Part 2
• How To: Dual Booting Linux & Windows On Separate Hard Drives Part 1