What is the specialty of VirtualBox virtual machines?

Virtual machine - complexes of application programs, drivers that emulate computer hardware. Almost any operating system can be delivered here. For example, Linux installation is available. Further you will learn how to install, a step-by-step list of actions will be given. You will be able to get an isolated OS with a graphical environment.

Where can you get the operating system?

Linux-based OS is freely distributed, you will not have to fulfill any conditions or pay money to download it. You need to go to the official Ubuntu website and click on "Download". Here you will find the most current version of the OS. The system is offered immediately as an image in ISO format, so you do not have to perform file conversion.

How to install a virtual system for VB?

The whole process consists of two parts. The first step is to create a virtual machine for the Linux guest OS. Next, the source with the installation distribution is determined and the installation is started. First you will need to download the VirtualBox installer and the OS disk image in ISO format. After that, you will need to open virtual machines. Here, click on the key on the right "Create", select the type of OS Linux. If you have no preference, then stop at 32- or 64-bit Ubuntu.

Next, you need to determine how much RAM you want to keep for the Linux virtual system. It is recommended to choose 1 GB. You also need to determine the space on the hard disk. For modern virtual machines, 10 GB will be enough. The hard disk can be of different types. You can opt for VDI. Choose the storage format based on your preferences for the machine. If you choose "Dynamic", the storage volume will increase as it fills up. With "Fixed" it will remain unchanged. You can leave the disk name as standard.

This completes the installation of the virtual machine. But it does not have an OS. Download the operating system you chose earlier (32 or 64-bit Ubuntu) and decided to install.

What are the next steps to take?

Click on the "Run" item in VirtualBox. A dialog box will appear where you should select the path to the Ubuntu image you downloaded earlier. Select it and click on "Continue." Most versions of virtual machines will automatically handle the installation process, but some steps will require your involvement. After the previous point, you will be taken to a menu where you need to select the language of the installer. Make sure you have Russian and click on "Install Ubuntu".

You can immediately put an update of the virtual machine of the operating system. To do this, select the appropriate item. After that, click on "Erase disk space". This way you will format the virtual disk before installing the new OS. If you have chosen the Russian language at the previous step, you will be offered to set the layout as the second one. After that, you will need to select the login options for the VirtualBox virtual machine and fill in the remaining fields. You need to enter your name and set (create a new) password.

Then the procedure of disk space partitioning will begin. Necessary OS files and updates are transferred to the virtual machine memory. The rest of the process will not require any action from the user. Wait until the task is completed. After the procedure is complete, the computer will automatically reboot. After booting, you will get into the Ubuntu Linux environment. But the process cannot be considered complete at this point. We recommend you to put VirtualBox's "Guest OS Add-on". After that you will have to wait until you are prompted to launch a special application. It will automatically open the software from the drive.

Now you can open virtual machines and check the operation of the software. To visit the system, you need to enter your name, password and click on "Login". This completes the installation of Ubuntu. You can install other OS based on "Linux". The whole process will be identical. You will only need standard Windows installation tools and 2 third-party programs. Immediately proceed with the setup. You will definitely notice that the virtual environment functions a little slower than the usual OS. This is due to the fact that one PC or laptop is running two OS at the same time. Your hardware should have enough power to spare.