Technical Zone

With Windows 7 coming out soon it’s an excellent reminder that, when new releases of operating systems come out, it’s always nice to have the ability to test them.

A virtual environment, created by a piece of software, such as VirtualBox. The major benefit is that the operating system reacts as if it is installed natively, so you get full function from your operating system and the subsequent applications you will install.

I’ll show you how to install VirtualBox on an Ubuntu 9.04 host followed by a Windows 7 guest installation. Once the Windows 7 installation is complete, I’ll go over some configuration tweaks that will make Windows 7 run in a proper resolution and allow you to run the virtual machine remotely.

Installing VirtualBox

To install VirtualBox on Ubuntu you will first have to add the proper repositories for apt. To do this, open up a terminal window and enter the following command:

Go to the Synaptic Manager, search VMware, you will get Vmware server to install. click and install it.

sudo gpasswd -a USERNAME vboxusers

Where USERNAME is the actual name of the user you want to add.

Before you start the Virtual Box do some configuration like USB.

grep vboxusers /etc/group

The above command will report something like:

vboxusers:x:XXX:

Where XXX is the ID of your vboxusers group. Now you need to add a new line to the /etc/fstab file. This line will look like:

none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=XXX,devmode=664 0 0

Where XXX is the ID number of your vboxusers group.

Running VirtualBox

You will find this version of VirtualBox in GNOME’s System Tools submenu of the Application menu see Figure A).


Figure A

To create a new Virtual Machine click on the New button to start the Virtual Machine Wizard. From the greeting screen, click Next. The first screen which will require any action is the “VM Name and OS Type” screen (see Figure B).

Figure B

Once you have filled out this information click the Next button. In the next step (Figure C) you must configure the base memory that will allocated to this virtual machine. Now since we are going to install Windows 7 for this VM, it will require at least 1 GB of RAM to function properly

Figure C

Configure your RAM and click Next. In this new window (Figure D), a hard disk will have to be created. If you have not yet created a hard disk, the hard disk wizard will automatically pop up. If you have an existing hard disk created, you will have to either select “Create new hard disk” (recommended) or “Use existing hard disk.

Figure D

In the next screen (Figure E) you have to configure the location and size of the disk. The size is configured by sliding the the slider to the right or the left depending upon how large or small you want your disk. Select the size and click Next.

Figure E

At final windows all that is left is to click the Finish button. Now you’ll see the VirtualBox Main Window where your new Virtual Machine is listed (Figure F).

Figure F

Installing Windows 7

The beauty of installing Windows 7 within a Virtual Machine is that the installation will be identical to a standard installation. At this point you just insert the CD into your CD/DVD drive, select your new Virtual Machine, and click the Start button on the VirtualBox main window.

You must install the Guest Additions for VirtualBox. This is simple. While the Virtual Machine is running, go to the Devices menu and select Install Guest Additions .
(Figure G)

• Better resolution.
• No need to grab the mouse or release it by clicking the right Ctrl button.
• Running Windows in seamless mode (not inside of an isolated window).
• Copying and pasting between guest and host.

Set up Windows 7 to run remotely

A very nice feature of VirtualBox is the ability to run the Virtual Machine remotely. Normally, all that needs to be done is to set the Virtual Machine for remote access within VirtualBox itself. Windows 7 (and Vista as well) is a different case.

When the VM is powered down, go to the VirtualBox main window, select your Virtual Machine, and click the Settings button. Within the settings window, click on the Remote Display tab and then click the checkbox for “Enable the VRDP Server” (Figure H).

Cheeeeeeeerrrrrrrss Enjoy