Virtual Box for Linux on Windows
 

The Need

Most of our articles over here are focused on Linux programming. However, many of us, especially beginners are still comfortable and much used to Windows environment, the look and feel of it.

And also,many out of them tend to avoid Linux programming because of the pain of installing another OS onto your system and then switching between them. So its true to a great extent that a lot of beginners miss the fun of Linux programming due their reluctance of coming out of their comfort zone and leaving Linux programming only for school labs.

So here is an easy solution of such beginners to pursue their interest in Linux programming within their comfort zone on their personal systems. It is the Virtual Box.

What is a virtual box?

A virtual box is a solution for running one Operating System in another without the need for a reboot. In technical terms, a virtual box is like a software virtualization of an OS running on top of an actual OS.

The base OS i.e. the actual running OS is termed as the host OS and the one running as a virtualization is termed as the guest OS.

The Setup

The virtual box comes for all major platforms and can be downloaded from here.

Choose the windows installer. Refer the website documentation for installation instructions.

Once installed, one would need the image of the guest OS to be used by the virtual Box. For various flavors of Linux, refer this.

An Example - Ubuntu on Windows 7

Please note this example is with virtual box version - 4.1.

• Install the virtual box for windows host -x86 using the link provided above.
• Download the Ubuntu Image from here, which as of now gives the latest
  link
• Run the virtual Box to get the following screen
  
  http://imgs.g4estatic.com/virtual-bo...ndows/IMG1.PNG
  
  
• Clicking on "New" follows a new dialogue and get started to created a virtual box machine. Click Next.
• Now you get screen as follows.
  
  http://imgs.g4estatic.com/virtual-bo...ndows/IMG2.PNG
  
  
  Write down the name, something related to Ubuntu with Operating System as Linux and Version as Ubuntu. And then Click Next.
• In the next screen, select the memory for the virtual machine and click next.
• Read, understand and change as per your requirements and get going by clicking "Next".
• The type of file as virtual disk would be VDI.
• And then you'll get the summary of what all you've specified as follows:
  
  http://imgs.g4estatic.com/virtual-bo...ndows/IMG3.PNG
  
  
  Verify and click "Create".
  
• Now you see an Ubuntu Virtual machine listed which signals it is powered off as in
  
  http://imgs.g4estatic.com/virtual-bo...ndows/IMG4.PNG
  
  
• Select the virtual machine and Click "Start".
• Now you'll get the First Run Wizard as follows.
  
  http://imgs.g4estatic.com/virtual-bo...ndows/IMG5.PNG
  
  
  Click "Next".
• In the next screen, you need to specify the Media Source i.e. the image of the guest Os. Browse to the path of your downloaded Ubuntu Image and provide the iso file.
  Then click "Next".
• Again you get the summary, verify and click "start". The Ubuntu virtual machine should get started now.

Now you have the Ubuntu virtual machine running on your Windows 7. Program and enjoy the Linux experience.

Conclusion

Hope this article resolves the first hiccup for all beginners who are interested in Linux Programming. Keep learning and enjoy the fun. Rest assured, once you get friends with Linux, its additive. And that would be the point you might need this article to help install the guest windows virtual machine on Linux as Host. :)