Installing a Linux distro in a VM using Virtualbox

[Jason]

I had a question about using Virtualbox from a friend and saw a good tutorial on how to do it here.

The tutorial makes reference to using Windows as the host and installing Ubuntu as the guest but the exact steps (other than the actual install of the distro) apply equally to Linux hosts, as well. You can also install Windows as a guest and Linux as the host with the same steps - truly the only way that God intended it to be. You need access to a Windows ISO file to do this.

For those not in the know, the host is the real OS that VirtualBox (or other VM software) is installed on. The guest refers to the virtual machine (VM) and the OS environment installed in it. And a virtual machine is basically a fake hardware environment. It usually simulates Intel-based hardware but some VM software can simulate other hardware.

For those that learn better visually, here's a video showing a Windows 10 install as a guest on a Linux host. I moved the video start ahead slightly to skip some unrelated talk about Gnome boxes and Qemu.

Btw, virtual machines aren't just for testing out Linux distros or using some program you can't normally use in your host. They're big business in the IT world. Our website is hosted on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) which basically means it's running as a guest on a much more powerful host. We get a slice of the host's processing power, RAM and storage space. But, as in any VM guest, we never "see" the host. It's as if we installed the webserver software on our computer.

[fox]

I have gotten used to installing Windows apps (mostly MS Office) on Wine to avoid, not only the overhead of virtual machines, but also the idea that I'm using Windows when running such apps. I'm starting to think about this in a different light because some virtual machines are pretty much bare metal. Plus, VMs are now used for security reasons (e.g. Qubes distro).

[Jason]

Yeah, I think it all depends on what you're doing. Wine doesn't support a lot of apps AFAIK so you're going to have to use a VM for them unless you want to dual-boot.

Some of the previous drawbacks of VMs (e.g. time spend loading) are ameliorated because of SSD drives. And the time spent loading up the VM and then running your choice apps or saving the position you're at in a project, open windows or files, can be solved by suspending the VM. It's pretty much the same as hibernating the host.

It's almost like running bare metal but I wouldn't go as far as to say it is but I think that's probably what you meant. The performance is close to being the same, assuming you give enough RAM and CPU cores.

The real difference would be in apps that are "heavy" like modern 3D games, video editing or 3D modelling. Having direct access to the video card makes a huge deal of difference in those programs. I know you can turn on 3D processing in Virtualbox but I don't think it's the same.

I've never tried gaming on a VM. I suspect it would be abysmal but I might be wrong, as Steam appears to be making inroads with their Proton project. And to be clear, when I mean gaming, I don't mean casual games like solitaire or Tux Racer - looking at you Harry. ;-)

My advice might be outdated, though. It's been a while since I've actually read any comparisons between bare metal and VMs for those performance apps.

[buster]

About time my name came up.

1. For me huge advantage to have two different OSs available on one screen.
2. With ssd they are very fast. Most wouldn't differentiate as far as speed goes unless you're using something heavy. HOWEVER, you are using two full OSs at the same time, so movies and music can be affected in either.
3. The problem as I see it, might be in the acquiring of a legitimate Microsoft license, which I can't do. But I guess you could use one with the little messages and annoyances you get.

Love to read about someone trying this over a period of time. Avoids any Wine problems that crop up.

Note: I like VMWare.

[William]

Every new or used computers come with Windows 10 nowadays.  So, from Windows 10, without worrying about license, you have 4 different ways of "accessing" Linux:

• Busybox for Windows
• Git Bash for Windows (a component of Git for Windows)
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (ie. Ubuntu from Windows Store)
• Hyper-V (full virtual machine)

[buster]

Hi William,

Yes, when you have Windows, it's easy to get to Linux, but if you have a Linux computer, it's hard to get to Windows