VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a handy piece of software that creates a virtual computer - that is, an environment in which an operating system is "tricked" into thinking it is running on an actual physical computer, but in reality is simply a piece of software (running on top of another operating system).

So, why VirtualBox, instead of VMWare, or Parallels, or Boot Camp?

• It's free AND open-source
• It's supported by a company (Oracle), making it unlikely to whither up or go away
• It doesn't require its own partition, because it stores the hard drive for each operating system in one single file (.dvi format) (this makes it easy to back up and share virtual machines)

VirtualBox Guide

Before starting the VirtualBox guide, I will explain the layout of my VirtualBox directory.

I create a directory, e.g. ~/vbox, in which I keep all VirtualBox-related files. This directory is set up as follows:

• ~/vbox - the VirtualBox folder
  • ~/vbox/HardDrives - contains the virtual hard drive
  • ~/vbox/Media - contains CD/DVD/disk images mounted by virtual machines
  • ~/vbox/Shared - a folder that is shared between the virtual machine and the real machine

Installing VirtualBox

Downloading and Installing

A binary VirtualBox installer can be downloaded for almost any operating system, from http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads. The installation process is typical, (requires administrative privileges on a Mac). When you're done installing it, and you run it, you'll see an empty list - there are no virtual machines.

Creating a Virtual Computer

To create a virtual computer, click "New". This starts a wizard that guides you through the process.

1. Select a name for the virtual machine, and a corresponding operating system type.
2. Select an amount of memory for the virtual machine.
3. Create a virtual hard drive for the machine.

You should probably pick "Dynamically expanding sotrage". This will create a file that starts at size 0 and grows as the virtual computer's usage grows, until it hits the maximum file size (the final selected size of the hard drive). You can select the location of the virtual hard disk, e.g. ~/vbox/HardDrives.

File:VirtualComputer.png

To create a virtual hard disk in the location of your choice, click the folder icon.