installingWindows 7 in virtualbox unity

rossiboy001

rossiboy001

rossiboy001

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Hi Been looking at tutorials but coming short on ones which explain how to install a already installed version of W7 . I currently have a duel boot system with the grub loader , but want to run my current windows version inside ubuntu unity . All the tutorials and searches relate to iso downloaded versions . Can this be done ? the intention was to be able to run installed games and yahoo messenger video calling without the need to shut down and revert into windows ? thanks .
 
You need to create your virtual machine with virtualbox, and then install Windows 7 onto that virtual machine.

From what i understand you want to effectively 'move' your current native Windows 7 install into a virtual machine?

I've not come across anyone that's done that before, I'm not even sure it's possible? Maybe someone with more experience with virtualbox can give there advice.
 
yeah thats about the size of it , The PC came with an OEM install of 32 bit W7 , I use ubuntu as my main OS however which is on a 2tb drive , the windows comes on a 120 gb drive . I use the grub loader and have a choice which way i go ect . have to say ubuntu is much faster and have got used to using unity more than W7 , I just need the games to run , wine can be a bit hit n miss , and i know i can use google chat vid calling but the facebook and yahoo chat is much more flexible , rather than getting all my contacts to install google ect . utilizing if possible the W7 through the more powerful ubuntu would be a better way i think to use windows apps . Snag is i dont have a disk as it came with the PC . So guess its trying to get it configured to work with the HD windows file ??? , thanks for the reply .
 
Just basic stuff , like sims , low level stuff . Its shared with me daughter so its basic pc games , but the video mess on yahoo would be more important . Iv been playing around with it as its sunday and there nothing on telly , managed to get W8 going , and im trying zorin out . so getting the hang of it a little . though having W7 with all the drivers installed sitting on me other drive it just made sense to ask if i could get it going this way , as i can cover most of me usage in ubuntu , but its just lacking those two elements . thanks
 
Essexraptor said:
I thought using Virtualbox Guest Additions added 3D acceleration?
Click to expand...

Yeah that appears in the options , I have that enabled as well as 2D for the windows 8 beta , but im new to this and working it out as i go along . getting all the drivers like ethernet going is me next thing to tackle on that . My plan allthough perhaps flawed was to have a version of windows running in ubuntu . To put on one side of me cube , useable for anything i cant do on ubuntu , without the need for re booting into windows . My understanding was that i should be able to use all the windows features I need in vitualbox . Perhaps im wrong . Is that the case with tweaking or is virtualbox more just to view an OS ?
 
It should be a fully usable system within the Virtualbox client. The trick, as you are finding out, is getting all the drivers and devices working correctly. Once that is done you should be able to run Windoze software on it just as normal.

Your plan is used by lots of people, especially if they can't get Wine/Yineyard to run the Win App they can't do without :)

The only other tip I can give you ... is to take frequent snapshots of the VM as you go along. Particularly before a major change. Just so that you can roll back to a "good" version if it goes Ti** up :)
 
Dual boot is dead, just choose a primary OS and run some kind of virtualisation software off it

If you want to play games its a different ball game, otherwise just install VMware ESXi, Xenserver, Oracle etc etc dual boot is dead

Quad // Hex // Eight core systems weren't invented for Crysis
 
So the issue I have got now is how do I configure virtualbox ? Ie how do I get it to run of my C Drive , and what file on the windows file I need to direct it too . To kick in . All the youtube and searches keep refering to Iso files . But im trying to boot it from me C Drive . I dont see why you cant run from the Hard drive , just I dont know how to set it up . If at all , If it will of course . cheers .
 
Virtualbox runs inside your main OS and then you install other 'guest virtual machines (VM's)' inside it. Your main OS that you booted into is called the 'host' and the other OS's that you want to run under Virtualbox are called 'guests' or 'virtual machines (VM's)'.

So what you would do is boot into your normal OS (Windows or Linux) then install and run Virtualbox. From there do the following.

1) Download the ISO for the guest OS that you want to run (see below for what an ISO is).

2) Start Virtualbox.

3) In Virtualbox click on the 'new' icon. I'm not sitting at my home PC so can't recall exactly what this is labelled.

4) It will guide you through a series of questions such as the type of guest OS (Windows, Linux, Solaris, etc). So select the type you want and then accept the rest of the defaults for memory and disk size etc. Once this has been setup you have a basic Vm but no OS installed into it yet.

5) Highlight the guest VM you have just setup and then go into Settings. Change the network type to 'bridged' (this isn't essential but I find it the better setting).

6) While in settings choose the Storage option and choose the optical drive (might be labelled CD or DVD) and choose to load the ISO that you downloaded in step 1. If you want to install Windows and have the DVD already then instead of choosing an ISO you just choose to use the CD drive in the machine and it will pass that drive through to the VM.

7) Follow the installation instructions just like installing any other Windows/Linux OS. When it's complete you'll need to go into the VM's settings again and remove the ISO from the optical drive.

8) Stop and then restart the VM in virtualbox and your new guest VM should start :)

9) To add extra functionality you may need to install the 'guest additions'. But this is optional and we can cover that after you get it running. The additions typically add stuff like being able to run the guest VM at a higher resolution for example.


What is an ISO?

An ISO is just the name for a file which can be burnt to a CD or DVD. It is exactly the same format as the data would be in if it were on the CD/DVD. So instead of having to insert a CD in the drive you can simply point Virtualbox to the file you downloaded instead. In the case of Windows you're more likely to have the catual CD/DVD rather than needing to download the ISO though.
 
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Thanks Hades for going through the trouble for me .
Iv done some practice goes with windows 8 , and zorin , and have got that part mostly sorted . But there from ISO files , which is slightly diffferent and quite self explanatory . My problem is I think ill have to buy a new copy of windows to do it that way and install that through virtualbox . What iv got is an already manfacturer installed version on the C drive , and of course a partitioned back up version . Its trying to find a way to get virtualbox to configure this C drive installed version . Alas I dont have a disk . But another question is If I did it would be straightfoward . But in doing so I think that would cancel the licence of the current install on C drive , and would only then be accessable through virtualbox in its own right , If that makes any sense ?
 
Yes I think I understand. Because you don't have the installaion disc for Windows you want to somehow point Wirtualbox at your C drive and either run Windows from there or install it from there? I'm afraid that's not possible. Any guest VM running in Virtualbox literally thinks it's a separate and unique machine. What you're trying to do is the equivalent of placing a new physical PC on the desk and trying to install or run Windows from a different PC.

You would need the installation discs or the ISO to allow you to install Windows under Virtualbox. And even then you'd stil need a different license key (or the Enterprise license which will allow many installs with the same key).

So to recap...
1) You need the instalation CD or an ISO version of it.
2) You need a separate key as part of the installation.
 
Thanks Hades . Yeah U got it , thats exactly what I was trying to do .
Fair enough it cant be done that way , Its a shame . theoretically I dont see no reason why this could not be possible , just I respect no one has ever set up virtualbox or any other application this way , to run such a system , Hopefully someone will .
In the meantime I have just conceded to doing it the over way , From windows , Making ubuntu my guest . Just have to set up everything from scratch , but it give me something to do .
Im interested to see how a 64 bit system will work within a 32 bit . We shall see , at least if it goes %$&* Up then it not as much hardship experimenting with an open source disk as a licensed Windows version .Thanks again .
 
rossiboy001 said:
Fair enough it cant be done that way , Its a shame . theoretically I dont see no reason why this could not be possible , just I respect no one has ever set up virtualbox or any other application this way , to run such a system , Hopefully someone will .
.
Click to expand...

I guess the idea is that each virtual machine you create initially is equivelent to a computer with no OS on it. You then go through the whole installation process of adding which OS you want on your virtual machine/ guest..

To move an already installed windows partition into a virtual environment, you'd immediately get into a whole load of driver issues, as virtual machines usually have virtual drivers which are different to the ACTUAL drivers that your windows might have already installed. As this is going to cause a great deal of fiddling at the very least, I think its unlikely anyone will be working towards making this a feature of VMs as most people would want a clean installation to start with.

I'd also seriously reconsider running games on a virtual environment, as although theoretically virtualbox has support for the 3D hardware , I'd be very suprised if there wasn't a fairly major performance hit.

I love virtual machines and use them regularly with both Windows 7 and Fedora as hosts, but I still always run a dual boot of Windows 7 and Fedora 16 so that I can use each one natively as well. I tend to use the VMs as test machines and for testing new OS's/ software etc. in a safe environment.

On another point, in theory if you have your product code for your version of windows, you should be able to get hold of either a disk copy or an ISO of the media to go with it (need as many details as possible as to what type of license/ manufacturer etc etc). As long as you have your product code and sticker then you are legal. I'm fairly sure, that if I had an appropriate installation media, it would be legal for me to either loan you, or make a copy of that media for you to use for re-installation as long as you used your legal serial code.

E-I
 
Just for completeness, it's possible to clone a VM and end up with multiple copied running so you setup the first VM then clone it and end up with two copies running :) In fact you can even export it to run on another machine. VM's a fantastic. But I agree that I wouln't want to game on one.
 
Thanks Hades , Biffa ,Evil-I . That converter looks like something ill have to try , looks worth a punt see what happens , im gona bookmark that link and give it a go .
Just something while playing with all this , made my mind boggle . Can you run VM inside a VM ? know it is bit off thread , but just something got me wondering ?Thanks again All ..
 
Surely you'd be better off ditching Windows completely and using Wine for games? Head over to WineHQ and check if your games are supported. Video calling might be a different matter, don't know of any chat clients that support Yahoo video chat but there may be something out there.
 
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