On Saturday 12 September 2009 11:28:08 pm hadi motamedi wrote:
> Dear All
> Can you please do me favor and help me on installing Linux guest on
Windows
> host . Please be informed that I have installed the Sun VirtualBox
3.0.4 on
> my host Windows XP system and I want to add the CentOS 5 as guest .
Please
> help me on installation steps needed .
> Thank you in advance
> Regards
> H.Motamedi
>
Hello, Hati --
A rather new magazine is called Ubuntu User. (As a CentOS user, I would
be surprised if you paid any attention to it -- even if it WERE
available in your area!) "Issue 01" has an article by Marcel Gagne
which is entitled "(Exploring Ubuntu's virtualization tools) GET
VIRTUAL". I quote the author's extensive remarks about VirtualBox --
since you are not likely to have access to it in any other way.
In this article, you will notice that he is actually running Ubuntu as a
Host System -- and installing Windows XP as a Guest System. This is
exactly opposite your project -- but I think that it is fair to say that
all of the STEPS are essentially the same. Also, there is a distinction
between his version of VirtualBox and yours, but (if you have any
business making this attempt at all) I am certain that you can work
through the differences -- BECAUSE of the similarities!!! Good Luck!!!
VIRTUAL-BOX
Another great piece of virtualization software is VirtualBox, an open
source package freely distributed under the GPL and distributed by Sun
Microsystems (who, as i write this, has been purchased by Oracle
Corporation). VirtualBox is a program I use every day and one I
recommend highly. With VirtualBox, I can load an operating system that
you might still want access to: Windows XP. Of course, you do need a
licensed copy of Microsoft Windows to proceed.
When you start VirtualBox for the first time -- assuming you already have
VirtualBox installed via either Synaptic or apt-get -- no machines will
be running in it. Think of it as a blank slate or, better yet, a new
computer with a blank hard drive waiting for your favorite distribution,
or, in this case, Windows XP.
Before you can install Windows, you need to create your virtual
hardware. To do this, click /New/ on the VirtualBox toolbar. A nice
welcoming message explains that the wizard will guide you through the
various steps. When you click /Next/ , you will be asked to decide what
kind of virtual machine you plan to create (Figure 4).
To start, give it a name. For example, I've decided to call mine the
very unoriginal /WinXP/ , but you can call it whatever you like. Next
select the operating system (Microsoft Windows) from the drop-down list,
then identify the version (Windows XP). The list of operating systems
covers a lot of ground, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD, and even
IBM's old OS/2, and each of these operating systems have many versions.
The Windows support goes right up to the new, not-yet-released Windows
7. When you click /Next/ , you will be asked to select the amount of RAM
you want to dedicate to the VM.
RESOURCES
Deciding how much memory to allocate is a bit of a balancing act. On one
hand, most modern operating systems have minimum requirements. On the
other hand, you have to take into consideration how much memory your
Ubuntu host system has. Either enter the amount into the text box or use
the slider.
Next, your new machine needs a hard drive on which to load XP, so you
must create a virtual hard disk (Figure 5). Because this is your first
time out, the primary master (the main disk) will be listed as < /no/
/media/ >. Clicking /New/ creates a disk image.
Clicking /Next/ in the new welcome message for the virtual disk wizard
leads you to the dialog from which you can choose one of two disk image
types: a fixed-size storage medium, or a dynamically expanding disk
image. The footprint of a dynamically expanding image is minimal to
start and expands as needed. In comparison, the fixed image takes up
whatever space you give it right from the beginning and runs up against
a wall when that space is used. Unless you have a good reason to do
otherwise, select /Dynamically/ /expanding/ /storage/ and click /Next/ .
Having made your decision on storage options, you can now define the size
and location. The location, by default, is your machine name (my WinXP
in Figure 4). In effect, this is a folder on your disk in which the
machine resides. Next, you allocate the space either by typing it into
the text window or with the slider. A size for this disk will be
suggested according to the operating system you are loading. On the
basis of your expected needs, accept the default or choose a size. After
you click /Next/ , you can review your selections. If you are happy with
the choices you've made, click /Finish/ .
Now you are back to the virtual hard disk selection screen you saw in
Figure 5, but this time, your new disk image is selected for you. All
you have to do is click /Next/ to continue. This opportunity is the last
you'll have to review everything you've done to date. VirtualBox will
remind you of your chosen machine name, the memory allocated, the OS
type, and the type and size of disk you've chosen. When you click
/Finish/ , your virtual machine is ready. In the main VirtualBox window
(Figure 6), your new WinXP machine appears in the list of machines (on
the left), ready to be loaded.
Remember, this is a clean computer, with nothing installed. To the
right of the machine list are the parameters associated with the
selected machine. Each of the blue labels can be clicked to configure the
resource listed. Notice that you can even go back and change the
virtual machine specifications, such as memory. Other labels let you
define what physical resources (on your host machine) the virtual machine
has access to. For instance, to give your virtual machine access to the
physical DVD-ROM drive in which the Windows XP install media is located,
click on the /CD/ / /DVD-ROM/ label.
In the resulting dialog box, check the ?Mount/ /CD/ / /DVD/ /Drive/ box.
If you have more than one drive, select the one you want from the drop-
down list. The radio button labeled /ISO/ /Image/ /File/ is particularly
interesting if you are loading another Linux distribution because you
can install it directly from the hard drive, skipping the need for a
physical disk (as is the case with Windows because free Live DVDs don't
exist). When you click /OK/ , you'll find yourself back at the main
VirtualBox window with the /CD/ / /DVD-ROM/ label now indicating the
host computer's physical drive. Now you are ready to install Windows XP.
INSTALLING THE GUEST
First, make sure the virtual machine is selected, then click the /Start/
button. VirtualBox will let you know that the autocapture keyboard
feature has been activated. This includes your mouse as well. What this
means is that the virtual machine has full access to your mouse and
keyboard. To "uncapture" your mouse and keyboard, press the right Ctrl
key on your keyboard. To acknowledge the message, click /OK/ , and your
new computer will boot from the Windows install disc {sic -- "disk"
expected}. What follows is a standard Windows XP installation (Figure
7): You accept the license agreement, your virtual disk is formatted,
and Windows does its thing.
Somewhere in the process, you'll need to enter your license code, answer
some questions, and so on. Eventually, the installation will complete
and your new Windows machine will be up and running. After you attend to
standard Windows stuff, such as adjusting screen size and making other
modifications to your running machine, you'll have a full Windows
implementation running on top of your Ubuntu (or Kubuntu) desktop, with
access to everything you normally use under Windows (Figure 8). Instead
of emulating Windows, you are running a real, albeit virtual, PC loaded
with Windows XP.
Although this might sound like a happy ending, in which the two
seemingly irreconcilable operating systems are working together on the
same hardware, VirtualBox has Guest Additions that can improve the
relationship. Once you've had to hit the control key a few times to
recapture your keyboard and mouse or you find the default screen sizes
provided by Windows just don't work well on your wide-screen notebook,
you'll be happy to learn that even these issues can be resolved. To
install the Guest Additions, release your keyboard and mouse (right Ctrl
key), then click the Devices menu on the virtual machine and select
/Install/ /Guest/ /Additions/ from the menu (Figure 9).
After you've followed the instructions for installing the guest
additions and restarted your machine, your experience will be vastly
different. Just by clicking on a window inside Windows, you can change
the focus from your Ubuntu applications to your Windows desktop. Your
mouse will be able to sail across your desktop from Windows to Ubuntu
and back again. Furthermore, you will be able to resize Windows to fit
whatever geometry makes sense to you and your Ubuntu desktop. Finally,
you will be happy to know that these guest additions are not specifically
a Windows thing and are available for other operating systems as well.
Please forgive any spelling errors -- I am not likely to catch them at
this time of night! Also, where punctuation immediately follows text in
italics, I have had to insert an invalid blank space in order to make
the italics feature work properly. This looks stupid, but simply has
its purpose.
I certainly hope that this is the kind of information you are looking
for. Like i said before, best of luck!!!
Bruce Mac Arthur
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