How virtualbox works. VirtualBox virtual machine - setup and use

In order not to expose the OS installed on the computer to risk, but to be able to explore both various software and the functionality of any other OS, there is a special type of program on the software market for creating virtual computers. Such programs create a virtual environment emulating a hardware computer. And you can install the same virtual OS on this emulator. The most famous such program is VirtualBox from the American developer Oracle.

1. Features of the program

Free, functionality, cross-platform, Russification, intuitive interface, simplicity and clarity of software processes and settings, step-by-step instructions for creating virtual computers - these are the main advantages of VirtualBox, thanks to which it seriously beats its competitors.

Thus, one of the main competitors - the VMware Workstation program - is a paid commercial software. You can only use VMware Player for free - this is a greatly reduced functionality version of the Workstation program. While VirtualBox provides full functionality for free. Plus, VirtualBox exists in versions for installation not only on Windows and Linux OS, like VMware Workstation, but the former can also be installed on Mac OS X and Solaris.

And VMware Workstation does not have the ability to adjust video memory, like VirtualBox.

Both of these programs also have a common competitor from Microsoft - Hyper-V, which is included in some Windows versions. And, naturally, you can only work with it as part of studying the ubiquitous Windows OS. The program does not support either Linux or Mac OS X.

VirtualBox has the widest selection of systems that can be installed as a virtual OS - most versions of Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris, including both 32-bit and 64-bit. Some even manage to create an Android emulator using VirtualBox.

As you can see, if you are determined to take the path of experimenting with a virtual computer environment, VirtualBox is the ideal tool for this.

2. Minimum system requirements

Regarding installing VirtualBox not in active mode virtual computer, here the program is not demanding on hardware resources - the bare minimum is required to install the program:
— 512 MB random access memory,
— 200 MB of hard disk space for installation,
- a processor with a frequency according to the requirements of the OS itself, for example in the case of Windows XP it is a Pentium of at least 300 MHz or its analogue from AMD.

But, again, this system requirements purely for installing VirtualBox on the physical (main) OS. The active virtual computer mode will require much more system resources, and the specific requirements will already be determined by that very virtual (guest) OS.

VirtualBox creates a virtual computer based on the hardware characteristics of a physical PC, some of which are automatically emulated into the virtual computer - for example, a processor, video card, CD/DVD drive, USB ports. And part - RAM and occupied disk space - are emulated according to the settings that you set during the process of creating a virtual computer with the program. Some hardware characteristics of the virtual computer can later be changed by setting them to smaller boundary parameters that VirtualBox has the right to use. After all, a virtual computer in a working state will borrow the power of the processor, video card, and RAM from the physical PC.

What part of the RAM and disk space can I give it to a virtual computer when it is created by VirtualBox?

It is recommended to allocate no more than half of the available RAM on a physical PC to the virtual OS. But for the virtual OS to work, a minimum of 512 MB to 1 GB of RAM may be required. For example, for more or less normal functioning virtual Windows XP or Linux will require a minimum of 512 MB of RAM.

And to install Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) on a virtual computer, the minimum RAM will be 1 GB.

The virtual OS will permanently occupy space on the computer’s hard drive in the form of a program file. And if many people will probably have an extra 4-5 GB minimum for Windows XP or Linux without any problems, then about 20-25 GB for full operation of Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) OS, for example, owners of old PC builds with a hard drive of some 160 GB will have to be taken care of in advance, saying goodbye to file junk that has not been used for a long time.

3. How to download the program for free

On the official website of the developer, the VirtualBox program installer in the current version 4.3.8 can be downloaded absolutely free.

4. How to install the program

To install the program, just run the downloaded installer from the browser downloads. VirtualBox is installed as standard, although English language. Don’t worry if this language is not familiar to you: all you need to do is press “ Next" - i.e. " Further».

Moreover, all the active components with which VirtualBox is installed will be needed for its full operation.

The only thing is that during the installation of the program the connection with local network. This is required for installation network drivers so that the Internet works on the virtual computer. However, VirtualBox will issue a corresponding notification about this, albeit in English.

No need to worry about this, you can safely press the installation command - “ Install».

Windows 7 and 8 (8.1) are initially distrustful of third-party software, so they constantly ask for administrator rights, permission to trust some developer, or give them permission to install individual components. Therefore, if during installation you additionally need to confirm the installation of the VirtualBox components - USB Support (USB port support) or VirtualBox Networking (network support), such confirmation, of course, must be given.

After this, the program will complete the installation process, and if you do not uncheck the automatic launch box, immediately after clicking the finish button - “ Finish“—VirtualBox will appear before you in all its glory, and with a Russian-language interface.

That's it - the installation process of the program itself is completed. But what lies ahead is creating a virtual computer and installing the virtual OS of your choice on it.

5. Create a virtual computer

There is no mistake when creating a virtual computer using VirtualBox: after installation, the only active button will be visible in the main program window - “ Create", in fact, where you need to click. In the window that appears, you need to give the virtual computer a name, select the OS and its specific version.

Click " Next».

In the next VirtualBox settings window, you need to set the value of RAM that you give to the virtual computer for temporary use when it is active - in fact, what was mentioned above. Use the slider to set the desired value or enter the exact number of RAM in the field next to it.

Do not go to the red line - this will transfer half the hardware power of a real computer to a virtual computer, and in cases with low-power machines there may not be enough performance to run the main OS, not to mention virtual environments. The minimum recommendations of VirtualBox itself are too small for full-fledged work, therefore, as mentioned above, you should not allocate less than 512 MB of RAM for running less resource-intensive operating systems, and less than 1 GB of RAM for more resource-intensive ones.

Click " Next».

« Select your hard drive" - this is exactly what you need to do in the next VirtualBox setup window. And here for most it would be advisable to leave the default item – “ Create a new virtual hard disk».

Click " Create».

The following window will appear with several virtual storage file formats hard drive, which VirtualBox can work with. You must leave the default option – “ VDI».

Click " Next».

With the type of virtual hard disk - the next VirtualBox settings window - it is better to do the same as above - leave the option as default.

A fixed hard drive of a virtual computer will be more efficient in operation.

Click " Next».

In the next window, VirtualBox will prompt you to set a name for the virtual hard drive. This is not so important, so you can leave the default name, taken from the name of the virtual computer itself. It is much more important to designate a folder to store the virtual hard disk file and correctly determine its size.

The minimum size of a virtual hard disk was discussed above; we only note that here we need to proceed purely from the available space on the physical hard disk. Plus, you need to take into account that in addition to installing the virtual OS itself, a certain place will be occupied by various service environments and, in fact, the programs being tested.

By default, the storage folder for the virtual hard disk file is registered on the system disk of the physical PC, where many may not have room for the “heavy” Windows 7 and 8 (8.1). And why clutter the system disk? It is better to choose a storage location on a non-system drive. Click the folder icon and select a storage location.

Click " Create».

Wait while VirtualBox creates the virtual computer. After this, its name will appear on the left side of the main program window with the note “ Switched off", and on the right side of the window you can see the main hardware parameters.

6. Installing the operating system on a virtual computer

It is necessary to prepare the image in advance installation disk with the selected operating system or insert the boot disk into the CD/DVD drive of a physical PC.

In the main VirtualBox window, launch the created virtual computer using the button Launch" Then, in the automatically appearing window for selecting removable media for booting, select either the installation disk image with the OS, or designate the boot disk located in the CD/DVD drive. To do this, click the browse icon that looks like a folder.

When installing a previously unfamiliar OS for the first time, simply follow the installer's instructions.

Did this article help you?

Learning to use VirtualBox is beneficial for everyone. Thanks to this service, you get virtual computers that you can run on your devices without having to buy new hardware. At its core, it's free. software for virtualization.

VirtualBox was created to solve many problems. Thanks to this functionality, you get the opportunity to create virtual computers out of thin air. They don't take up any space on your desk, but they work just like a real PC. They can be created and deleted with a few clicks.

What is VirtualBox? It is a free, open source, cross-platform application for creating, managing and running virtual machines (VMs) - computers whose hardware components are emulated by the host computer, or device, on which the program is running. VirtualBox can run on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris.

Why is this necessary?

Using virtual machines can be extremely beneficial for a number of reasons. For example, you can run it to try software that you think might be dangerous, or you can try a different operating system without changing the way your computer is configured.

You can also use it for security purposes. For example, you might want to create a virtual machine just for online banking to make sure you don't fall victim to spyware or Trojans getting your data.

How to install VirtualBox?

The easiest way to get latest version VirtualBox - Download it from the download page of the official website. There you can find the appropriate version for your platform or? If you use Linux, you can study the list of instructions for the various distributions of this OS.

For each version of Linux, you are given the option to download the "i386" or "amd64" option, 32-bit and 64-bit versions, respectively.

How to install VirtualBox? The process is similar to installing any other program on your platform, so you shouldn't have any problems. If you have any difficulties, you can always read the installation guide on the service's website.

Using VirtualBox

How to use VirtualBox? When you launch the application for the first time, you will be greeted by the VirtualBox Manager. Here you can create virtual machines, enable or disable them and configure access to the virtual hardware available to them, as well as make network settings.

Creating a virtual machine

In order to configure the network in VirtualBox and get started, you will need to create a virtual machine. This is done as follows.

The first step to creating any virtual machine is to click the Create button in the top left corner of the VirtualBox Manager window - that's the big blue star that's very hard to miss.

This will launch the New Virtual Machine Wizard, which will walk us through the steps required to get it up and running.

Enter the name of the virtual computer. This name is completely up to you, but there are some nuances.

VirtualBox will try to figure out what OS you plan to run in the virtual machine based on what name you enter. If the name mentions "XP", it is assumed that you will be installing Windows XP and configuring it accordingly. However, you can come up with a random name. You will then have the option to manually select your OS type from the drop-down lists below. When you do this, click Continue to move on to the next step. This example looks at Windows for VirtualBox. Below are instructions for installing this OS as a guest OS and then setting up a network connection.

Selecting RAM

To install the guest OS after running VirtualBox, you will be asked to select the amount of RAM you want to place in the virtual machine. The more volume you give it, the better app will work, but keep in mind that the memory allocated to the virtual machine cannot be used by the host OS (i.e. the machine on which VirtualBox is installed).

So how much RAM should you allocate to a VM? This depends on a number of factors. If you plan to only use the virtual machine while it's running, you can afford to give it more RAM because you won't be asking the host system to multitask. If, on the other hand, you will be using it while running many other functions on the host OS, you should better calculate this value. good general rule is to allocate half of your computer's RAM. So, if your PC has 4GB RAM, give 2GB to the VM, leaving the host with the rest. If you select this value with a blunder, you will encounter the fact that VirtualBox does not start.

Storage space

The next step is to create a “virtual hard disk” (VHD). This creates a file on your HDD that can be used by VirtualBox to act as a separate hard drive. This allows you to install the operating system without worrying about your existing data being affected.

Make sure Boot Hard Disk and Create a new hard drive are selected, then click Continue. This will launch "Create new master virtual disk." Click Continue again to complete the action.

You'll then be asked whether you want to create a "dynamically expanding" or fixed-size disk. Each has its own advantages. The great thing about a dynamic disk is that it only takes up as much space as the data it contains. It is also much faster to create than a fixed one of any significant size.

However, you need to keep an eye on this because his flexibility can also be his negative trait. So you create a dynamic disk and assign 50 GB to it and then put about 20 GB of data on it. Its file will appear as holding only 20 GB of hard drive space, according to your host OS. Therefore, you can take this place with other data and not notice it.

The point is that if you start a virtual machine and try to add more data to the dynamic disk, you will have problems - the virtual disk says it still has 30 GB, but in fact it may no longer have it.

This is also the advantage of a fixed-size disk. Sure, it's inconvenient when you're trying to figure out how much space you'll need, but then you won't have to worry about it anymore.

This example shows dynamic disks, but fixed ones will work just as well. Make sure Dynamically Expanding Storage is selected, then click Continue again. Next, you will be asked to select a name, location, and size for the new VHD. For most uses, you won't need to change the name or location, but you can do so by clicking on the folder icon next to the text field.

The size you should specify depends on how much material you plan to use. If you just want to use it to run a few programs, the suggested size of 10 GB should be sufficient. Make sure the settings are correct, then click Continue and Finish.

At this point, you just need to check everything and make sure that all the settings are set as you expect. Then you just need to click "Finish" and the virtual machine will be created so you can install Windows.

Booting a Guest OS in VirtualBox

How to continue using the service? Now it's time to run the virtual machine for the first time. Make sure the new virtual PC you just created is selected in the VirtualBox Manager window, then click the Start button at the top of the window. When the service starts, you will be greeted with a First Run Wizard window that will help you prepare to install Windows XP. Click Continue. It will then ask you whether you want to use a CD or an image on your hard drive (usually an .iso file) as installation media. Once you've selected your option, click Continue, then Finish.

If you were unable to open the VirtualBox virtual machine after the above settings, you probably did not allocate space for RAM or HDD correctly. If rebooting does not solve the problem, repeat the previous steps again.

Since there is nothing installed on the virtual hard disk, the program will automatically load Windows installations. It will take some time to download all the necessary OS files, but eventually you will see a screen showing a list of existing sections and unallocated space on your computer.

After this you should configure XP, so press Enter. You will be asked how you want to format the drive. You need to select the option “Format partition using file system NTFS (Quick)". Make sure you select the "Fast" option or you will be waiting for a very long time!

Windows Setup will then format the VHD and then begin copying the files to the drive. Your participation in this process is not required. Once the files are copied, Windows Setup will automatically restart your computer to move on to the next step.

When the PC reboots, it will try to boot from the CD using the "Press any key to boot from CD..." window. Ignore it! If you do this, you will repeat the previous step again for no reason.

You can prevent this system issue by right-clicking the CD icon at the bottom of the virtual machine window and clicking "Remove disk from virtual disk." Once this window closes, you will see the familiar screen Windows boot XP before it switches to the second stage of installation.

Once the “Windows XP Installation Wizard” is displayed, click “Next” to begin it. You'll first be asked to set your regional and language settings, which basically involve clicking "Customize..." (to select your country) and then "Details" if you need to change your keyboard layout.

Once everything is selected, click Next again. After this, you will need to enter your computer name and administrator password. It's better to choose a name that has some meaning instead of a random string of automatically generated characters. How complex you want to make the administrator password depends on how important the security of the virtual machine is.

After clicking Next, you will see the date and time settings, which you do not need to change. When you click this button again, the window will disappear for a while, Windows will apply all the settings and continue with the installation. You can now use Guest Additions in VirtualBox.

After a minute or two, another window will appear, this time for network settings. It is more convenient to choose the first option (a network that does not have a domain). To do this, you need to enter a workgroup name - Rward by default, and all default values. However, you may need to select "Direct3D Support" when asked to identify components.

How to work with the network?

Networking in VirtualBox is extremely powerful, but setting it up can be a little tricky. To understand this, you need to consider various ways VirtualBox network settings with a few pointers to what configurations should be used and when.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.1 allows you to configure up to 8 virtual network adapters(network interface controllers) for each guest virtual device (although there are only 4 in the GUI).

Main modes:

• Network Address Translation (NAT).
• Bridge networks.
• Internal network.
• The network is for hosting only.
• NAT with port forwarding.

Oracle VirtualBox offers them as based on the guest OS type you specify when you create the virtual machine, and you rarely need to modify them. But choosing a network mode depends on how you want to use the device (client or server) and whether you want other computers on your network to see it. So, you should look at each VirtualBox network configuration mode in a little more detail.

Network Address Translation (NAT)

This is the default mode for new virtual machines and works fine in most situations where the guest OS is a "client" type (i.e. most network connections are outgoing). Here's how it works.

When the guest OS boots, it typically uses DHCP to obtain an IP address. Oracle VirtualBox will send this DHCP request and inform the operating system of the assigned IP address and gateway address for routing outgoing connections. In this mode, each virtual machine is assigned the same IP address (10.0.2.15) because each one considers itself to be on its own isolated network. And when they send their traffic through the gateway (10.0.2.2), VirtualBox rewrites the packets so that they appear as if they came from the host, and not from the "guest" (running inside the host).

This means that the guest OS will work even if the host moves from network to network (such as a laptop moving between locations), from wireless to wired connections.

However, how does another computer initiate a connection with it? For example, you need to connect to a web server running on a guest computer. This is not possible (usually) using NAT mode because there is no route to the guest OS. So for running virtual machine servers you need a different network mode and a different VirtualBox network setup.

NAT connection (network characteristics):

• Guest OSs are on their own private network.
• VirtualBox acts as a DHCP server.
• VirtualBox's NAT mechanism translates addresses.
• Destination servers display traffic originating from the VirtualBox host.
• No configuration is required for the host or guest OS.
• Works great when the "guests" are clients but not servers.

Bridged networks

Bridged Networking is used in cases where you want your virtual machine to be a full member of the network, that is, equal to your host device. In this mode, the virtual network adapter is "connected" to the physical one on your host.

This is because each virtual machine has access to the physical network just like your host. It can access any service on the network - external DHCP services, name lookup services and routing data, and so on.

The downside to this mode is that if you run a lot of virtual machines, you may quickly run out of IP addresses or your network administrator will be overwhelmed with requests for them. Second, if your host has multiple physical network adapters (such as wireless and wired), you must reconfigure the bridge if it reconnects on the network.

What if you want to run servers in a virtual machine, but don't want to involve a network administrator? Perhaps one of the following two modes will work for you, or you may need a combination of additional options, such as NAT vNIC + 1 Host-only vNIC.

Bridged network characteristics:

• VirtualBox bridges are for the host network;
• good for any guest OS (both client and server);
• use IP addresses;
• may include guest configuration;
• Best suited for production environments.

Internal network

When you configure one or more virtual machines to run on an internal network, VirtualBox ensures that all traffic on that network remains within the host and is only accessible to the device on that virtual network.

The internal network is a completely isolated system. It is good for testing. In it, using a virtual machine, you can create complex internal networks that provide their own services (for example, Active Directory, DHCP, etc.). Note that even the host is not an element.

This mode allows the virtual machine to run even if the host is not connected to the network (for example, on a plane). However, with this type of connection and network setup, VirtualBox does not provide such “convenient” services as DHCP, so your device must be statically configured or provide the DHCP/Name service.

Installation of several internal networks is allowed. You can configure virtual machines to allow multiple network adapters to be in internal and other network modes, thereby providing routes if needed. But all this looks complicated and inaccessible to a non-specialist.

What if you want the internal network to accept the VirtualBox host while providing IP addresses to the guest OS? To do this, you may need to configure a host-only network.

Internal network characteristics:

• guest operating systems can see other “guests” on the same internal network;
• the host cannot see the internal configuration;
• network configuration required;
• even if the host is not a party to the connection, the internal network can be used in conjunction with a bridged connection;
• well suited for multi-user networks.

Hosting only network

Works almost the same as an Internal Networking connection, where you specify which network the guest server is on. All virtual machines located on this network will see each other and the host. However, other external devices cannot see "guests" on this network, hence the name "host only".

It is very similar to an internal network, but the host can now provide DHCP services. To set up such a connection, go to VirtualBox Manager and select the default settings.

Network characteristics:

• VirtualBox creates a private internal network for the guest OS and the host sees the new NIC software.
• VirtualBox provides a DHCP server.
• Guest operating systems cannot access the external network.

NAT with port forwarding

Now you can imagine that you have learned enough modes to handle every case, but there are exceptions. What if your development environment is on a laptop, for example, and you have one or more virtual machines that need other computers to connect to? And you are constantly forced to use different client networks.

In this scenario, NAT will not work because the external machines must be bridged. This may be a good option, but you may need IP addresses. Additionally, software may not always be able to cope with changing networks.

If you use an internal network, you may find that your virtual machines need to be visible on the network. What to do in such cases?

Configure the virtual machine to use a NAT network, add port forwarding rules, and external computers connect to "host". The port number and connection will be forwarded by VirtualBox to the guest OS number.

For example, if your virtual machine runs a web server on port 80, you can configure the above rules. This provides a mobile demo system that does not need to be re-configured every time you connect your laptop to a different LAN/Network.

Ultimately, VirtualBox has a very powerful set of options, allowing you to customize almost any configuration you might need. To choose the option you need, read the VirtualBox instructions on the official website.

A virtual machine is used to simulate the operation of an operating system (Windows, Linux or Mac) on a single physical machine. In other words, you can deploy several virtual machines on your computer that will work as full-fledged operating systems, while being located on your computer/laptop and using the resources (processor, RAM, hard drive) of your computer/laptop. At home, virtual machines are very convenient for various tests and building a small network. In organizations, virtual machines are used to share server resources and install multiple operating systems (depending on the server configuration and the requirements for the virtual machines). In this article I will describe working with the most popular program for deploying virtual machines for home use.

VirtualBox is a very good virtualization product for enterprise and home use. Not only is VirtualBox extremely feature rich, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available in the open source code under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 and, in addition, completely in Russian.
First of all, you need to download the latest version of the distribution VirtualBox .
After that, run the installer file. In the welcome window, click "Next"

After this, you will be prompted to select installation components and the path, I recommend leaving everything as is and clicking "Next"


The next window will ask you to install VirualBox shortcuts, you can leave everything as is and click "Next".


The next window warns that the network may turn off during installation; if you do not download anything during installation, you can click "Next", otherwise finish the download and then continue installing VirualBox.


In the next window click "Install"


During installation, windows will appear about the installation of the USB controller, network services and network adapters, click "Install".


After installation is complete, click "Finish"


After installing VirtualBox, we will begin creating a virtual machine, but first we will change the interface language, unless of course it suits you. To do this, in the VirtualBox panel, click “File-Preferences...”


In the Settings window select "Language" and in the right column select the necessary panel language settings, in this case Russian, press "OK".

Now let's start installing the virtual machine. Click on the top of the panel "Create"


In the window Create a virtual machine enter the name that will be displayed in VirtualBox, select the type and version of the operating system to be installed.


Then we indicate the amount of allocated RAM for this virtual machine; in the future, this value can be easily changed.


Since we are creating a new virtual machine, in the next window we select “Create a new virtual hard disk”.


Then we indicate the type of file that will serve as the hard drive for the new virtual machine, I recommend leaving VDI.


After that, choose a storage format, I recommend leaving Dynamic virtual HDD .


Specify the size of the hard drive, the smallest size is indicated by default, if this is not enough for you, use the slider to determine how much space is needed.

We launch the created machine, to do this, select it and click on the top of the VirtualBox panel “Run”.


When starting, a window will appear in which you need to select the drive of your drive in which the installation disk is installed, or specify the ISO image of the operating system and click "Continue" after which the familiar installation of the operating system on the virtual machine will begin.


If after installing the operating system you need to change the parameters of the virtual machine, you must select it in the VirtualBox console and click "Settings".


On the menu System you can change the amount of RAM allocated to the virtual machine and determine the boot order when turned on.

In masonry CPU specify the number of processors allocated to the virtual machine, as well as the processor load limit.


In the network menu you can define the number of network adapters and the connection type.
In mode "NAT", guest network interface the default IPv4 address is assigned from the range 10.0.x.0/24, where x denotes a specific NAT interface address, determined by the formula +2. Thus, x will be equal to 2 if there is only one active NAT interface. In this case, the guest operating system receives an IP address of 10.0.2.15, the network gateway is assigned an address of 10.0.2.2, and the name server (DNS) is assigned an address of 10.0.2.3.

In connection type "Network Bridge" the virtual machine works the same as all other computers on the network. In this case, the adapter acts as a bridge between the virtual and physical networks. On the external network side, it is possible to directly connect to the guest operating system.

When connecting type "Virtual Host Adapter" guest operating systems can interact with each other, as well as with the computer on which the virtual machine is installed. In this mode, the host adapter uses its own dedicated device called vboxnet0. They are also created a subnet and assigned IP addresses network cards guest operating systems. Guest operating systems cannot interact with devices located on the external network, since they are not connected to it through a physical interface. The Virtual Host Adapter mode provides a limited set of services useful for creating private networks under VirtualBox for its guest operating systems.


On the menu Shared folders you can mount a folder for easier file sharing with virtual machines. To do this, click on the button Add shared folder (on the right is a folder with a plus sign) and specify the path and name of the shared folder.


I hope this article helped you in installing and configuring VirtualBox.

VirtualBox(Oracle VM VirtualBox) - software productvirtualization for operating systemsMicrosoft Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Solaris/ OpenSolaris, ReactOS, DOS and others...

An excellent tool for virtualizing any operating system. What is it for? Many people are interested in trying, for example, Windows 10 or Linix, Ubunt, so that there is no need to delete their operating system for the sake of testing, this program will help us.

I gave an example on operating systems, but it can also be used as an additional area for trying out various programs, creating a dedicated server, and much more.

First of all we need download VirtualBox absolutely free .

After you have downloaded the program, you will need to install it on your computer. During installation, the Internet may be lost, as the program itself says.

After installing the program, run it and you will see a dialog box where you will be asked to enter:

• Version
  

After entering the required information, click Next

At this stage, you must indicate how much RAM will be taken for virtual system, look at how much RAM you have and indicate no more than 30-40%.

I indicated 2048 MB, click Next

We leave the point at “Create a new virtual hard disk”; a description of all the designations is written in the dialog box.

Click “Create”

VirtualBox supports 6 types of disk image files:

• Typically, VirtualBox uses its own virtual disk format - files Virtual Disk Image(VDI). Specifically, this format is used when you create a new virtual machine with the wizard.
• VirtualBox also fully supports the popular and open format VMDK, which is used in many other virtualization products, such as VMware.
• VirtualBox also fully supports the format VHD developed by Microsoft.
• Parallels version 2 image files (HDD format) are also supported. New versions of this format (3 and 4) are not supported due to the lack of its specifications. However, you can convert these images using the tools provided by Parallels.
• QED new disc format QEMU, very fast section.
• QEMU new disk format for QEMU/KVM much faster than qcow2 and other existing disk formats.

Let's leave VDI as a standard solution, Next

Fixed hard disk image- disk image of a fixed size, a file of the same size as the specified size of the virtual disk is allocated.

Dynamic hard disk image- a dynamic image, its size is equal to the size of the data written to the disk. Overwriting existing data may not result in image growth.

It's your choice, I'll leave it as dynamic. Next

Specify the size of your hard drive (the size you indicated will be subtracted from your hard drive)

Create

Now you can start installing the operating system itself.

P.S. When writing this article, after starting the virtual machine I was shown a critical error GetLastError=1790 (VERR_UNRESOLVED_ERROR), Unfortunately this error V new version program, to avoid it, download a later version of the program, for example this one.

If you want to install one or more operating systems on your computer, and completely different ones, it would be a very mistaken attempt to install these operating systems on hard drive partitions. We encounter this error quite often. This approach promises nothing but loading problems and wasting hard disk space. How to get out of the situation? There is a great solution - a virtual machine! How to install and configure a virtual machine using Oracle VM VirtualBox as an example? Read in this article...

One of the reasons why we need this was named and it sounded like the need to get anonymous access to the Internet. What else might motivate you to create a VirlualBox virtual machine? For example, you have never seen the Linux operating system in use, but you want to try it, but you don’t want to “demolish” a working Windows system. Or you need to try a new software package, the stable operation of which you are not sure of or you doubt that you even need it. All this can be done without harm to the main operating system using a virtual machine.

Some terms for correct understanding Topics. The operating system (OS) on which the virtual machine (VM) runs is called the host operating system or simply the Host. The operating system we run is called a guest operating system. The Guest OS can be the same type as the Host. For example, we can run Windows 7 on top of Windows 7, this is the simplest option for virtualization systems. It's much more interesting to experiment with different types OS, for example, run Linux on top of Windows, which is what we will do today as an example.

First, we need a VM distribution kit, or in common parlance an installation file. Finding it couldn't be easier, but so as not to bog you down with unnecessary training, I'll just provide a link to the download page:

You just have to select the link corresponding to your OS, for the case of Windows, at the time of writing it looks like this: VirtualBox 4.1.18 for Windows hosts x86/amd64. This means that the same distribution will be used for both 64-bit and 32-bit OS. Download the file from the link corresponding to your OS and start the installation. In the case of Windows 7, you will be asked to confirm the launch and allow changes to be made.

After the installation begins, click Next, which means “next” in Russian, and do not change the set of components offered by the installer.

For successful installation we will need approximately 140 MB of free space on the system disk. Yes, and to install the Guest OS we will also need from 5 to 25 GB of free space on any partition of the hard drive to accommodate the Guest OS virtual disk.

We receive a warning about a possible short-term loss of network connection. This occurs due to the installation of additional VM network drivers.

Click Yes and wait a few minutes for the installation to complete.

Hooray! The first stage is almost finished. All that remains is to click Finish, leave the launch mark after installation selected, which after installation is complete should lead to the launch of the VirtualBox VM.

If no failures occurred during the installation phase, the following window will open as a result. There will be only one active button in it in the form of a blue sun with the caption – Create. To create a VM and further install the guest OS, we need it.

Now let's move on to creating a VM. Click Create, enter the name of our future system (it can, in principle, be arbitrary), select Linux as the OS type, and leave Ubuntu as the version.

After clicking Next, you will be prompted to install the required amount of memory available to the Guest OS. Make sure that the slider does not go beyond the green zone, but is sufficient. If your computer has 1GB of RAM installed, no more than 512MB will be available for the Guest OS. In general, you can allocate no more than half the amount of memory installed in your computer for the Guest OS.

Now it's time to allocate space for the Guest OS virtual disk. The proposed 8GB of space should be enough to install the system unless you plan to save all your data on the VM disk in the future.

We leave the disk type as VDI - this is the native format for VirtualBox. Next again, now we see the choice between dynamic and fixed disk type. Each type has its own advantages; dynamic will take up less space and grow as it fills, while fixed will immediately take up the full amount allocated to it, but will work faster. Personally, I prefer dynamic.

By default, the VM disk will be located in the c:\Users\Username\VirtualBox VM\ folder, where “Username” is the name of your account in Windows 7. In other operating systems everything will be a little different. We leave the proposed VM disk size unchanged or change it if it is necessary to shrink it or allocate additional space. Click Next again.

We read what we got in the end, if everything is as you planned, we confirm by clicking the Create button.

The machine is already ready, all that’s left to do to start the VM is to connect the image boot disk to the VM drive or indicate that we will use a physical drive optical disks, if you already have the installation disk on a separate optical media. To do this, click the Properties button that has become available and select the Media section on the left. In the Storage media form there is an IDE controller to which the virtual drive is attached, but now it is empty. On the right, under Attributes, you must either check the Live CD/DVD option if an optical disc is inserted into your CD/DVD drive, or by clicking the disk icon on the right, select the location of the Guest OS installation image.

Once selected, everything should look like this:

Now about where to get the image. It is available via the link from this page: http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/.

To download the image, we need a program that can download torrent links. It could be Opera browser, who can do this, or, for example, utorrent for Windows. You can download it from here: http://www.utorrent.com/intl/ru/downloads/complete?os=win. One can argue for a long time about the dangers and benefits of downloading through torrent links, but in this case it is the simplest, most reliable and quick way get the required disk image.

Now you can start launching the created VM, and at the same time see what one of the varieties of Linux OS looks like. In the future, it will be possible to delve into the properties of the VM, change various parameters and see how this affects the operation of the VM, but we will leave all this for the curious to work on independently.

After starting the VM, you need to wait for the graphic screen to appear with the choice of installation language, select Russian and click the “Install Xubuntu” button. The system will check the parameters of your VM, and if everything is in order, it will allow the installation to continue. You can also select the Install updates and Install third-party software items, this will eliminate the need manual settings Flash and codecs for listening to MP3. Next, the installer will offer to erase the disk and install Xubuntu. We boldly agree, because... nothing other than the virtual partition is available in the Guest OS, and nothing will be lost or erased on the real OS. The installer will plan and format the disk independently, so choose to continue. All that remains is to choose a time zone, it is different for everyone, and I can’t even guess where you are reading this article. We select our location on the map with the mouse, and the system itself knows what zone it is. For my computer, the system returned the location of Zaporozhje. Next, select the keyboard layout, most likely it will be Russian, unless you prefer something else. All you have to do is enter your name and come up with a password; the system will check if the password matches the two input fields and evaluate its complexity. Choose a password that you can remember, but do not enter something like: 123, qwerty, password, test, user, god, etc. - such passwords can be calculated in a couple of minutes by a hardworking “breaker”. You shouldn’t be too clever; a password like G%4v$$q12&hB will be considered reliable, but it will probably get lost both in your head and on paper.

Now the system will install the necessary packages and upon completion will ask you to reboot the VM. During installation, it is advisable that the computer be connected to the Internet, this will allow you to immediately install some system updates. During the installation process as slide show the user is introduced to the main applications and interface features, so don’t be lazy, look and read everything on the slides. In the future, this will save time and effort for performing practical tasks in the system. After the reboot, the final step was to install guest OS additions. To do this, from the VM menu, select the Devices section and in it the item Install guest OS additions. A disk with additional drivers for the guest OS will be mounted in the virtual drive of the guest OS. In our case, we will need to run an application named VBoxLinuxAdditions.run, moreover, this must be done with administrator rights. Click the right mouse button on free space in the window with the contents of the virtual drive. Select the context menu item Open terminal. In the window that opens, type the command:

sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

Press Enter, then you will need to enter the password, the one we entered at the beginning of the installation, I hope you have not forgotten it yet, press Enter again and wait for the installation to complete. Upon completion, reboot the guest OS system. In the upper right corner of the screen there is an inscription with the user name, left-click on it and select Restart.

This is the result that should await us in the final, if everything went without errors. If something goes wrong, write to us and we’ll try to figure it out.

Once you've installed a virtual machine and realized how easy it is, you'll probably want to try installing something yourself. All you need is an ISO image of the installation disk and select the correct OS type. Explore first those systems that are in the list of VirtualBox, do not immediately jump to setting up Mac OS X 10.8 Lion. Over time, you will learn to do this, but only when you understand in detail all the intricacies of the VM’s operation. In the meantime, you can experiment with installed system Xubuntu, I think, deserves your attention.

We have successfully taken one of the steps that brings us closer to anonymity on the Internet. To complete the journey, we still have to install a package that allows us to hide the real IP address of our computer - Tor Project, but more on that next time. Good luck and thanks for reading our blog!

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