How to install and configure VirtualBox. Installing and configuring the Oracle VM VirtualBox virtualization platform

A virtual machine is a special program that can act as an emulator of a real computer with all its existing components (BIOS, complete system hardware, including motherboard, graphics, network, hard drive, etc.).

Naturally, on such a “computer” you can easily install a variety of operating systems, and for them - any programs designed to work on the installed system. Thus, you can install several operating systems (even very different ones) on one computer, with which you can easily work, and between which you can exchange data over the “network” (if it is configured correctly).

Not every user needs a virtual machine. Most often, it is used by advanced users to be able to work with other operating systems (say, Ubuntu), or gradually master them without stopping effective work, say, on Windows. This is also necessary for testing various software and safely launching programs downloaded from suspicious sites that may be infected with particularly dangerous viruses. You can also emulate an entire computer network this way.

Why do you need a virtual machine under Windows 7?

1. You have this particular OS installed, but you want to use programs for Windows XP, the more modern Windows 8, or even for Linux, which works on a completely different principle and the usual “compatibility” can no longer help here.

2. In order to select a suitable program, for example, for video processing. They are quite large and, if you immediately install them on a work computer, you can easily litter the registry. This is especially true if you remove programs incorrectly - you can carelessly leave “tails” of files that can turn into a real problem in the future.

3. For a simple program test. For example, to explain to readers how to use it or to see how it behaves on different systems, what errors may appear and how to deal with them.

4. For experimental installation of programs. Let's say, see how data is encrypted, how the program behaves under critical loads, and, ultimately, what will happen if it is infected with a virus.

The most popular virtual machines for Windows 7

WindowsVirtualPC– is already fundamentally built into the OS and is a completely free module for working with applications that are incompatible with the “seven”. Applications running in Windows XP mode can easily run directly on the computer desktop, which is extremely convenient. Programs can also be installed in any convenient way - downloaded via the Internet, from a flash drive, using DVDs. In general, in any convenient way.

The minimum requirements for installation are Windows 7 operating system at least “maximum” or “professional”, a 1 Ghz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 15 GB of free hard disk space.

You can launch this virtual machine in a simple way for anyone who has the official version of Windows 7. To do this, you need to open “All Programs” in the “Start” menu and click on “Windows Virtual PC” there. If this item is missing, then you just need to install the update called “Windows6.1-KB958559-x86” (designed for 32-bit systems) or Windows6.1-KB958559-x64 (for 64-bit). After this, you can safely get to work.

VMWare Workstation from VMWare, Microsoft's main competitor in the virtual machine market. Mostly useful for developers who often need to test and verify their own applications for different operating systems.

This virtual machine for Windows 7 has already won about 50 different awards from IT specialists thanks to a thoroughly thought-out environment for use, a built-in set of functionality and, last but not least, high performance and optimization. Perfect for those who need to do everything quickly. It also has the ability to “free up” system resources by simply stopping already running processes, which relieves the processor and significantly speeds up data processing. Necessary for working with demanding applications.

VirtualBox. A computer virtualization system similar to those described above. It can work in dynamic translation mode (processing of the main part of the data is transferred to real, not emulated, equipment). It is universal because it can be installed on any of the listed systems Mac OS, Windows, Solaris, Linux. You can install on it: GNU/Linux, Windows, Solaris, BSD.

Advantages - completely free distribution, fairly high performance, small size, ability to work with VMware virtual images. The most significant disadvantage is that it is impossible to drag files into the application window using the mouse.

Windows 7 virtual machine installation

Since Windows Virtual PC is already included, we will install VirtualBox - it is free, unlike more serious products. After installation, of course, we’ll start setting it up.

So, go to the official VirtualBox website and download the latest version of the program from the site. We launch the installer and see this welcome window

We confirm that we wish to continue with the installation and move on to the next step.

Here we are shown which program components are present and where they will be installed. Of course, you can freely change the directory and install the machine on any disk, but it’s better to leave all the components, especially if you are new to using virtual machines. I agree that you may not need all the components in the near future, but if you need them, you will have to reinstall this program again. And also everything that you install on your virtual computer.

Next stage of installation

Here you just need to indicate where the program shortcuts will be located.

The next stage may frighten inexperienced users, although the program warns that the computer will now be disconnected from the network for a short time. So, if you did not follow the wise advice to install with closed programs and are now actively downloading something from file hosting services, then you need to either wait for the download to finish or interrupt the download yourself.

After that, we agree with everything – “Yes”, and move on. The program will inform you that everything is ready for installation, which means click “Install”.

Now you will have to wait a while until the virtual machine is installed on your computer. At this time, pop-up windows may appear on the screen offering to install different software for our device. We agree with all of them and establish absolutely everything.

After installation is complete, click “Finish”. If everything was done as it should, and you did not uncheck the corresponding box (as shown in the image), then the virtual machine will start automatically immediately after installation is complete.

Machine creation and customization

To do this, you need to create a new machine in the “VirtualBox” working window. To do this, you just need to click the appropriate button (“Create”, upper left corner).

Afterwards the program will ask you to choose what type of machine will be created. Here you just need to enter its name and select the type of operating system. Please remember that some care must be taken to be accurate.

I need a virtual machine to test a variety of programs before installing them in the main directory of the computer. This means that I will create a computer running Windows 7.

Now we’ll tell the program how much RAM will be allocated for our new virtual computer.

Everything must be done carefully, since this option depends on the OS you are going to use and will consume the RAM that is available on the computer. The Windows 7 virtual machine requires no less than a normal operating system, which means we need at least 1 GB. But I set it to 1.5 because I can afford it and am going to test programs that will also consume RAM.

Windows XP will therefore require less RAM. But all the same, it is advisable to always give it “with reserve”. And here lies another danger - you cannot give the virtual machine more than half of the computer’s “live” memory, otherwise the computer will start to glitch and may even freeze altogether. However, if you have a powerful computer with more than 8 GB of memory, then the virtual machine can easily be allocated about 5-6 GB.

The next stage is the hard drive.

Every computer must have a hard drive. Virtual ones are no exception, and therefore it must be created. Therefore, we create a new virtual hard disk.

Then we indicate its type.

And if the names of all these formats mean absolutely nothing to you, then we simply leave everything “by default” and move on. Click “Next”.

Next window

It invites us to indicate to the machine the format for storing data on the virtual machine. What is important is that the dynamic hard drive is “rubber,” so to speak, and can be more or less easily expanded. Fixed has a fixed size and will never take more. It all depends on your needs and preferences. But I will need a hard drive that can be enlarged if necessary, which is why I choose “dynamics”.

Now all that remains is to name it and indicate the original size.

Let's create it and move on to the next stage.

Setting up a virtual machine

In the upper right corner there is a “Customize” button. Click it and get here - “Settings”

Here you can change a variety of parameters. Adjust the amount of RAM, if you made a mistake before, the boot order of various devices, the use of acceleration, etc.

There are several sections in total. The version I use has 9 sections, but it would take too long to go into detail about each one. And it’s better to do this yourself, consciously, watching how the behavior of the virtual computer changes. In addition, there is a convenient help system - just hover your mouse over the item you are interested in and a tooltip will appear.

But here is a brief description of the settings by section:

1) General. Here is the name of the virtual machine, the OS it uses, removable media and the clipboard;

2) System. Everything related to the hardware of our virtual machine (RAM, processor, chipset, device boot order, acceleration);

3) Display. Video memory and its settings, number of monitors used, ability to connect to a remote monitor, acceleration, video capture.

4) Media. Configuring existing virtual hard disks;

5) Audio. Everything is clear here - the sound and everything connected with it;

6) Network. Ability to configure virtual network adapters;

7) Com ports. Their inclusion and configuration;

8) USB. This controller and filter settings;

9) Shared folders. Their configuration and management.

If a serious error was made during the settings, the smart program will immediately report this. And at the bottom of the settings window a warning message “Incorrect settings detected” will appear. If you hover your mouse over the “exclamation mark”, they will tell you what exactly was done incorrectly.

However, most likely you will only need the first 3 types of settings: “General”, “System”, “Display”. If the virtual machine starts to work slowly and slows down, you can try increasing the amount of RAM it uses or increasing the processor power.

After completing the settings, confirm everything (“OK”). To start the selected virtual machine, just select it and click the “Launch” button. Now all that remains is to install the previously selected OS on our virtual computer, configure it and we are ready to work.

Learning to use VirtualBox is beneficial for everyone. Thanks to this service, you get virtual computers that you can run on your devices without having to buy new hardware. At its core, it is free virtualization software.

VirtualBox was created to solve many problems. Thanks to this functionality, you get the opportunity to create virtual computers out of thin air. They don't take up any space on your desk, but they work just like a real PC. They can be created and deleted with a few clicks.

What is VirtualBox? It is a free, open source, cross-platform application for creating, managing and running virtual machines (VMs) - computers whose hardware components are emulated by the host computer, or device, on which the program is running. VirtualBox can run on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris.

Why is this necessary?

Using virtual machines can be extremely beneficial for a number of reasons. For example, you can run it to try software that you think might be dangerous, or you can try a different operating system without changing the way your computer is configured.

You can also use it for security purposes. For example, you might want to create a virtual machine just for online banking to make sure you don't fall victim to spyware or Trojans getting your data.

How to install VirtualBox?

The easiest way to get the latest version of VirtualBox is to download it from the download page of the official website. There you can find the appropriate version for your platform or? If you use Linux, you can study the list of instructions for the various distributions of this OS.

For each version of Linux, you are given the option to download the "i386" or "amd64" option, 32-bit and 64-bit versions, respectively.

How to install VirtualBox? The process is similar to installing any other program on your platform, so you shouldn't have any problems. If you have any difficulties, you can always read the installation guide on the service's website.

Using VirtualBox

How to use VirtualBox? When you launch the application for the first time, you will be greeted by the VirtualBox Manager. Here you can create virtual machines, enable or disable them and configure access to the virtual hardware available to them, as well as make network settings.

Creating a virtual machine

In order to configure the network in VirtualBox and get started, you will need to create a virtual machine. This is done as follows.

The first step to creating any virtual machine is to click the Create button in the top left corner of the VirtualBox Manager window - that's the big blue star that's very hard to miss.

This will launch the New Virtual Machine Wizard, which will walk us through the steps required to get it up and running.

Enter the name of the virtual computer. This name is completely up to you, but there are some nuances.

VirtualBox will try to figure out what OS you plan to run in the virtual machine based on what name you enter. If the name mentions "XP", it is assumed that you will be installing Windows XP and configuring it accordingly. However, you can come up with a random name. You will then have the option to manually select your OS type from the drop-down lists below. When you do this, click Continue to move on to the next step. This example looks at Windows for VirtualBox. Below are instructions for installing this OS as a guest OS and then setting up a network connection.

Selecting RAM

To install the guest OS after running VirtualBox, you will be asked to select the amount of RAM you want to place in the virtual machine. The more space you give it, the better the application will perform, but keep in mind that the memory allocated to the virtual computer cannot be used by the host OS (that is, the computer on which VirtualBox is installed).

So how much RAM should you allocate to a VM? This depends on a number of factors. If you plan to only use the virtual machine while it's running, you can afford to give it more RAM because you won't be asking the host system to multitask. If, on the other hand, you will be using it while running many other functions on the host OS, you should better calculate this value. A good general rule is to allocate half of your computer's RAM. So, if your PC has 4GB RAM, give 2GB to the VM, leaving the host with the rest. If you select this value with a blunder, you will encounter the fact that VirtualBox does not start.

Storage space

The next step is to create a “virtual hard disk” (VHD). This creates a file on your HDD that can be used by VirtualBox to act as a separate hard drive. This allows you to install the operating system without worrying about your existing data being affected.

Make sure Boot Hard Disk and Create a new hard drive are selected, then click Continue. This will launch "Create a new virtual disk master". Click Continue again to complete the action.

You'll then be asked whether you want to create a "dynamically expanding" or fixed-size disk. Each has its own advantages. The great thing about a dynamic disk is that it only takes up as much space as the data it contains. It is also much faster to create than a fixed one of any significant size.

However, you need to keep an eye on this because his flexibility can also be his negative trait. So you create a dynamic disk and assign 50 GB to it and then put about 20 GB of data on it. Its file will appear as holding only 20 GB of hard drive space, according to your host OS. Therefore, you can take this place with other data and not notice it.

The point is that if you start a virtual machine and try to add more data to the dynamic disk, you will have problems - the virtual disk says it still has 30 GB, but in fact it may no longer have it.

This is also the advantage of a fixed-size disk. Sure, it's inconvenient when you're trying to figure out how much space you'll need, but then you won't have to worry about it anymore.

This example shows dynamic disks, but fixed ones will work just as well. Make sure Dynamically Expanding Storage is selected, then click Continue again. Next, you will be asked to select a name, location, and size for the new VHD. For most uses, you won't need to change the name or location, but you can do so by clicking on the folder icon next to the text field.

The size you should specify depends on how much material you plan to use. If you just want to use it to run a few programs, the suggested size of 10 GB should be sufficient. Make sure the settings are correct, then click Continue and Finish.

At this point, you just need to check everything and make sure that all the settings are set as you expect. Then you just need to click "Finish" and the virtual machine will be created so you can install Windows.

Booting a Guest OS in VirtualBox

How to continue using the service? Now it's time to run the virtual machine for the first time. Make sure the new virtual PC you just created is selected in the VirtualBox Manager window, then click the Start button at the top of the window. When the service starts, you will be greeted with a First Run Wizard window that will help you prepare to install Windows XP. Click Continue. It will then ask you whether you want to use a CD or an image on your hard drive (usually an .iso file) as installation media. Once you've selected your option, click Continue, then Finish.

If you were unable to open the VirtualBox virtual machine after the above settings, you probably did not allocate space for RAM or HDD correctly. If rebooting does not solve the problem, repeat the previous steps again.

Since there is nothing installed on the virtual hard disk, Windows Setup will automatically load. It will take some time to download all the necessary OS files, but eventually you will see a screen that displays a list of existing partitions and unallocated space on your computer.

After this you should configure XP, so press Enter. You will be asked how you want to format the drive. You need to select the “Format partition using NTFS (Quick)” option. Make sure you select the "Fast" option or you will be waiting for a very long time!

Windows Setup will then format the VHD and then begin copying the files to the drive. Your participation in this process is not required. Once the files are copied, Windows Setup will automatically restart your computer to move on to the next step.

When the PC reboots, it will try to boot from the CD using the "Press any key to boot from CD..." window. Ignore it! If you do this, you will repeat the previous step again for no reason.

You can prevent this system issue by right-clicking the CD icon at the bottom of the virtual machine window and clicking "Remove disk from virtual disk." Once this window closes, you'll see the familiar Windows XP boot screen before it switches to the second installation step.

Once the “Windows XP Installation Wizard” is displayed, click “Next” to begin it. You'll first be asked to set your regional and language settings, which basically involve clicking "Customize..." (to select your country) and then "Details" if you need to change your keyboard layout.

Once everything is selected, click Next again. After this, you will need to enter your computer name and administrator password. It's better to choose a name that has some meaning instead of a random string of automatically generated characters. How complex you want to make the administrator password depends on how important the security of the virtual machine is.

After clicking Next, you will see the date and time settings, which you do not need to change. When you click this button again, the window will disappear for a while, Windows will apply all the settings and continue with the installation. You can now use Guest Additions in VirtualBox.

After a minute or two, another window will appear, this time for network settings. It is more convenient to choose the first option (a network that does not have a domain). To do this, you need to enter a workgroup name - Rward by default, and all default values. However, you may need to select "Direct3D Support" when asked to identify components.

How to work with the network?

Networking in VirtualBox is extremely powerful, but setting it up can be a little tricky. To figure this out, we need to look at the different ways to configure VirtualBox networking, with a few pointers to what configurations to use and when.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.1 allows you to configure up to 8 virtual network adapters (network interface controllers) for each guest virtual device (although there are only 4 in the GUI).

Main modes:

• Network Address Translation (NAT).
• Bridge networks.
• Internal network.
• The network is for hosting only.
• NAT with port forwarding.

Oracle VirtualBox offers them as based on the guest OS type you specify when you create the virtual machine, and you rarely need to modify them. But choosing a network mode depends on how you want to use the device (client or server) and whether you want other computers on your network to see it. So, you should look at each VirtualBox network configuration mode in a little more detail.

Network Address Translation (NAT)

This is the default mode for new virtual machines and works fine in most situations where the guest OS is a "client" type (i.e. most network connections are outgoing). Here's how it works.

When the guest OS boots, it typically uses DHCP to obtain an IP address. Oracle VirtualBox will send this DHCP request and inform the operating system of the assigned IP address and gateway address for routing outgoing connections. In this mode, each virtual machine is assigned the same IP address (10.0.2.15) because each one considers itself to be on its own isolated network. And when they send their traffic through the gateway (10.0.2.2), VirtualBox rewrites the packets so that they appear as if they came from the host, and not from the "guest" (running inside the host).

This means that the guest OS will work even if the host moves from network to network (such as a laptop moving between locations), from wireless to wired connections.

However, how does another computer initiate a connection with it? For example, you need to connect to a web server running on a guest computer. This is not possible (usually) using NAT mode because there is no route to the guest OS. So for running virtual machine servers you need a different network mode and a different VirtualBox network setup.

NAT connection (network characteristics):

• Guest OSs are on their own private network.
• VirtualBox acts as a DHCP server.
• VirtualBox's NAT mechanism translates addresses.
• Destination servers display traffic originating from the VirtualBox host.
• No configuration is required for the host or guest OS.
• Works great when the "guests" are clients but not servers.

Bridged networks

Bridged Networking is used in cases where you want your virtual machine to be a full member of the network, that is, equal to your host device. In this mode, the virtual network adapter is "connected" to the physical one on your host.

This is because each virtual machine has access to the physical network just like your host. It can access any service on the network - external DHCP services, name lookup services and routing data, and so on.

The downside to this mode is that if you run a lot of virtual machines, you may quickly run out of IP addresses or your network administrator will be overwhelmed with requests for them. Second, if your host has multiple physical network adapters (such as wireless and wired), you must reconfigure the bridge if it reconnects on the network.

What if you want to run servers in a virtual machine, but don't want to involve a network administrator? Perhaps one of the following two modes will work for you, or you may need a combination of additional options, such as NAT vNIC + 1 Host-only vNIC.

Bridged network characteristics:

• VirtualBox bridges are for the host network;
• good for any guest OS (both client and server);
• use IP addresses;
• may include guest configuration;
• Best suited for production environments.

Internal network

When you configure one or more virtual machines to run on an internal network, VirtualBox ensures that all traffic on that network remains within the host and is only accessible to the device on that virtual network.

The internal network is a completely isolated system. It is good for testing. In it, using a virtual machine, you can create complex internal networks that provide their own services (for example, Active Directory, DHCP, etc.). Note that even the host is not an element.

This mode allows the virtual machine to run even if the host is not connected to the network (for example, on a plane). However, with this type of connection and network setup, VirtualBox does not provide such “convenient” services as DHCP, so your device must be statically configured or provide the DHCP/Name service.

It is possible to install several internal networks. You can configure virtual machines to allow multiple network adapters to be in internal and other network modes, thereby providing routes if needed. But all this looks complicated and inaccessible to a non-specialist.

What if you want the internal network to accept the VirtualBox host while providing IP addresses to the guest OS? To do this, you may need to configure a host-only network.

Internal network characteristics:

• guest operating systems can see other “guests” on the same internal network;
• the host cannot see the internal configuration;
• network configuration required;
• even if the host is not a party to the connection, the internal network can be used in conjunction with a bridged connection;
• well suited for multi-user networks.

Hosting only network

Works almost the same as an Internal Networking connection, where you specify which network the guest server is on. All virtual machines located on this network will see each other and the host. However, other external devices cannot see "guests" on this network, hence the name "host only".

It is very similar to an internal network, but the host can now provide DHCP services. To set up such a connection, go to VirtualBox Manager and select the default settings.

Network characteristics:

• VirtualBox creates a private internal network for the guest OS and the host sees the new NIC software.
• VirtualBox provides a DHCP server.
• Guest operating systems cannot access the external network.

NAT with port forwarding

Now you can imagine that you have learned enough modes to handle every case, but there are exceptions. What if your development environment is on a laptop, for example, and you have one or more virtual machines that need other computers to connect to? And you are constantly forced to use different client networks.

In this scenario, NAT will not work because the external machines must be bridged. This may be a good option, but you may need IP addresses. Additionally, software may not always be able to cope with changing networks.

If you use an internal network, you may find that your virtual machines need to be visible on the network. What to do in such cases?

Configure the virtual machine to use a NAT network, add port forwarding rules, and connect external computers to the “host”. The port number and connection will be forwarded by VirtualBox to the guest OS number.

For example, if your virtual machine runs a web server on port 80, you can configure the above rules. This provides a mobile demo system that does not need to be re-configured every time you connect your laptop to a different LAN/Network.

Ultimately, VirtualBox has a very powerful set of options, allowing you to customize almost any configuration you might need. To choose the option you need, read the VirtualBox instructions on the official website.

This method can be used if you do not want your guest system to be Windows XP. In this article, I will tell you how you can create a virtual machine and install the guest operating system that you plan to manage in Virtual PC.

You can use the Create Virtual Machine Wizard to create a virtual machine. The wizard will walk you through configuring the virtual machine with basic settings that you can customize to suit your needs for using the virtual machine. For example, you can specify a certain amount of memory that the virtual machine will use. The amount of RAM allocated should be the same as what you would allocate to a physical computer. It is advisable to provide the virtual machine with sufficient memory so that you can easily manage the operating system and applications installed on it

You should also pay attention to how you will install the guest operating system. For example, to install an operating system, you can use a network installation server or a physical CD or DVD drive into which you simply place the installation disk with the system. If you are installing a Virtual PC-supported guest operating system, you will need to install the Integration Component Pack after installation.

Creating a virtual machine

1. You need to open the virtual machine folder. To do this, go to the menu "Start", select "Windows Virtual PC". If this item is not immediately in the menu, you need to click on the menu "Start" on "All programs", left-click on the folder "Windows Virtual PC", and then select "Windows Virtual PC".
2. The folder will open in Windows Explorer "Virtual machines". From the menu area, click on "Create a virtual machine".

   Folder "Virtual machines" provides detailed information about all virtual machines created by the current user, and from this folder you can share, create and modify virtual machines and virtual disks.

   

3. The Create Virtual Machine Wizard will open. After going through the wizard dialogs, you will select the required settings for installing the guest operating system.

   Installation process

   Step 1

   The first step is to name the new virtual machine and specify its location.

   Step 2

   In the second step, the virtual machine creation wizard prompts us to specify memory parameters for the virtual machine.

   Step 3

   The third step requires you to specify the virtual machine disk settings.

4. At the end of the wizard, the virtual machine will be displayed in the list of files in the folder "Virtual machines".
5. Installing a guest operating system. If you are using a network installation server, you can safely skip this step. If you are using a CD or DVD, insert it into the drive carriage and proceed to the next installation step. To use the .iso image you need to do the following:
   
6. Start the virtual machine. In the list of files, select the virtual machine and click "Open". Windows Virtual PC will open the system installer for the virtual machine. The virtual machine will look for the installation disk. The installation will begin once the boot disk is found.
7. After the installation is complete, you need to install the integration components. Click on the menu "Service" in the virtual machine window and select the item "Install integration components". If the installation does not start after a few seconds, go to the desktop of the virtual machine and open the CD in it. After this, you need to double-click on the IntegrationComponents.msi file with the left mouse button.

   

   

8. Complete the installation using the Integration Components Installation Wizard.
9. Reboot the virtual machine. From the menu "Action" virtual machine window select "Reboot".

   

Closing a virtual machine

Before you start performing some activities in the virtual machine, you may want to know how to log out of the virtual machine. When you close a virtual machine, it may hibernate, shut down, or shut down. When a virtual machine wakes up from hibernation mode, it does not boot the system sequentially, so this option is much faster than shutting down and shutting down.

Attention!

When you open a virtual machine, Windows Virtual PC provides it with memory and processing resources. The length of time it takes to open a virtual machine depends on how you closed it during your last session. The amount of memory you allocated when creating the virtual machine also matters.

By default, when you click the button "Close" in the virtual machine window, the Windows XP Mode virtual machine goes into hibernation mode and prompts you to select the same action for other virtual machines. You can change this option yourself.

Changes to the default action to close a virtual machine

Shutting down a virtual machine

1. In the virtual machine window, click on Ctrl+Alt+Del. Or you can press the key combination CTRL+ALT+END.
2. In the guest operating system window that appears, click on "Close".
3. The operating system will be turned off, the resources consumed by it will be returned to the host system.

Attention!

If you want the installed software to appear on the desktop of the host operating system, you need to log out of your account before closing the virtual machine.

We have discussed how to install VirtualBox virtual machine on your computer. You can read about why you need a virtual machine and what they are. In this article, we will learn how to create and configure our first virtual machine.

So, we launch VirtualBox using a shortcut on the desktop, and we see the program’s welcome window:

To create a new virtual machine, click the “Create” button at the top left (or the key combination “Ctrl” + “N”).

We can set any name for the virtual machine, in the “type” field we select the type of operating system that you plan to install on the virtual machine (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.), and in the field below we select the version of the operating system, depending on selected type. Since I already have Windows 7 installed on my computer, let's assume that I want to look at and test Windows 8.1. In this case, I will set the name “Win8.1”, select the type “Microsoft Windows”, and the version “Windows 8.1 (32 bit)”.

The screenshot below shows that my computer has a total of 16 GB (16384 MB) of random access memory (RAM). In order to correctly select the parameters we need, just look at the minimum system requirements for this operating system on the official Microsoft website:

From this we can see that the Windows 8.1 (32 bit) operating system we are installing requires a minimum of 1 GB of RAM. I usually install with a reserve, so I will install 3 GB (3072 MB) of RAM:

You can set the amount of RAM that is convenient for you (but preferably not the entire resource of your computer), and click “Forward”.

Next, we are asked to create a virtual hard disk for our virtual machine, or select an existing one. Since we have not created such disks before, we leave the middle menu item “Create a new virtual hard disk” and click “Create”:

The disk type is left as the default one (VDI).

Then we select the name of the file under which we will store the virtual hard disk, its location and size. I'll leave the name "Win8.1" and set the size to 40GB as shown in the image below:

You can set your own parameters (just make sure that there is enough free space in the place where you create your virtual hard disk file), and click the “Create” button. The virtual hard disk creation window appears; you need to wait for it to complete:

As a result, if everything is done correctly, you get a ready-to-use virtual machine. For me it looks like this:

Please note that in the top left, next to the “Create” button, two more buttons “Configure” and “Run” have become active. Click the “Configure” button to make additional settings for the newly created virtual machine.

We will also need to configure the very bottom menu item “Shared Folders” so that you can exchange files between your main computer and the virtual machine in an alternative way.

Click on the folder icon with a plus sign at the top right and select the folder that will be shared on your computer and virtual machine. I'll create a Shared folder on drive K and check the box so that it will automatically load when the virtual machine starts.

At the moment, our virtual machine is a blank computer without an installed operating system. It can be installed on a virtual machine in several ways, the simplest of which is if you have a disk with a virtual system image, or a regular CD with an operating system, then just go to the “Configure” menu item in the main window of the virtual machine, then go in the “Media” tab, select an empty virtual CD drive, and point it to the path to the disk image with the operating system you plan to install, or simply point to any CD/DVD drive on your computer into which you inserted your CD with the operating system.

After this, click the button in the form of a green arrow “Run”, and if everything is done correctly, the installation of the operating system that is on your CD or image will begin.

Sometimes an E_FAIL (0x80004005) error may appear when starting a virtual machine. You can read about how to solve the problem with this error when starting VirtualBox.

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The Windows operating system allows you to create a virtual machine (VM), which is another computer with a separate virtual disk, OS, system data, and software. Simply put, you connect another system that can be opened in a separate window. We will tell you how to install a virtual machine in this article. Follow the instructions carefully, and after 20-30 minutes the VM will appear on your computer

Creating a virtual machine on Windows 10

The Top Ten has a standard service for creating virtual machines – Hyper-V. By default, the components of this service are disabled - we need to start them. To do this you need to go to Control Panel, then go to section Programs – Enable or disable features. In the menu that appears, activate the item Hyper-V and confirm your action with the key OK.

After installation, the computer must be restarted. Now go to the search service Windows and drive it there Hyper-V Manager. It is located in Administration tools. Now let's move on to creating the VM:

Ready. Opening Hyper-V, you will see the VM.

The launch occurs by double clicking on the name of the VM in Hyper-V. In the connection window you need to click on the button Turn on. All you have to do is go through the standard system installation procedure.

Important! It may happen that you have configured and installed everything correctly, but the operating system on the virtual machine does not start. This can be explained by the fact that the technical characteristics are not suitable for reproducing a virtual system. Carefully read the system requirements for installing a particular OS version. For example, you cannot install Windows 10 on a weak PC with a dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM.

Creating a virtual machine on Windows 7

The "seven" has a built-in service for creating VMs, but it allows you to create a virtual machine only for Windows XP. We believe that the lack of choice is bad, so we have made instructions on using third-party software to create a VM. The program is called Virtual Box, and you can also use it to install VMs on Windows 10, 8, and even XP. You need to download Virtual Box from this link.

Install the program according to the standard scheme and run it:

• In the main menu, click on the button Create.
• After this, the New VM Creation Wizard will open.
• Select the type of operating system and its version: if you want to install Windows 8, then select it from the list.
• In the next window, we set the required amount of RAM for the new OS - for Windows XP, 512 MB is enough, and the tenth version will not work correctly if you do not provide at least 4 GB for it.

Helpful advice! When specifying memory, set it to at least 515 MB and no more than 50% of the total RAM that is in your computer.

We create a new hard drive for the VM by clicking on the appropriate item and move on. We recommend choosing the fixed option so that the hard drive for the VM does not take up all the space from the main Windows. Having set the size of the virtual HDD, you need to specify the path where it will be located.

Now we return to the VM creation menu and press the button Ready. Now we need to configure the virtual machine and install the system itself on it - go to the section Properties. In chapter Display must be enabled 2D accelerator And 3D accelerator.

The next step is to select the media from which the new OS will be installed on the virtual machine:

• If you want to use the installation image, then go to the section Attributes and click on the folder icon - the media manager will open - you need to add your image here.
• If the installation will be performed from a DVD or USB drive, you should insert it into the computer and go to the section Attributes. After downloading, the disk or flash drive you need will appear in the list of media.

Now press the button Install and go to the standard operating system installation wizard. We recommend that you study the Virtual Box program to customize the virtual machine completely for yourself.

Helpful advice! To create a Linux VM, it is better to use the Virtual Box program. You can use the standard Windows 10 wizard, but user reviews indicate that Linux will be unstable.

Installing a virtual machine with Windows XP

We have already looked at an example using Virtual Box, now we will study the VMaware Workstation program, with which we will install Windows XP on a virtual machine. You can download the VMaware Workstation application from here.

After downloading, run the installation file and install the program according to the standard procedure. Now go to VMaware Workstation and proceed according to the following scheme:

1. In the application dialog menu, select the partition to install the VM. In the English version it is called New Virtual Machine.
2. First of all, the program will ask us to specify a DVD disc, Flash drive or ISO image. For example, we took a regular DVD with XP. Click on the button Further and go to system activation mode - specify the path to the XP activation file.
3. Now you need to set up a separate hard drive on which files with Windows XP will be located, and software will also be installed there. We indicate the size: usually 40 GB is enough, but for trial use of the VM, 8 GB will be enough for you.
4. After this, VMaware Workstation will run the check and final configuration. Here we can change the amount of RAM for the WindowsF version, login methods and other parameters. The Russian version is now available on the VMaware Workstation website; we recommend reading the description of each setting in the help. If you skip this section, the program will automatically set the RAM.
5. Once setup is complete, VMaware Workstation will proceed to install the XP system on the virtual machine.

Once the installation is complete, a separate shortcut will appear to launch Windows XP. We chose VMaware Workstation because this program performs two actions simultaneously: creating a VM and installing Windows XP. Despite its limited functionality, it is the easiest to use, especially for installing this version of the operating system. If you wish, you can use standard services or Virtual Box.

Video installation of VM

The video is about installing Windows XP on a VM and then configuring it. Even a novice user can install a VM using these instructions. The video also explains in detail how to use an already installed XP as a virtual operating system.

Now you have a virtual machine to experiment with. If you have long wanted to use “unwanted” software, then it is best to install it on a VM. It’s easier to use standard services to install a VM, but third-party software gives you more options. It all depends on your requirements - the instructions for Windows 7 are also suitable for other operating systems, and there is also a link to download a convenient program.