Have you ever wanted to try out and learn a new operating system, say maybe a version of Linux but you only have a Windows-based PC? How about the need to run an application inside of an isolated quarantine, such as a USB flash drive that came with a new gadget you purchased? Maybe you just wish you had a separate PC to play and test new applications or upgrades without needing an extra physical device.
In this article we will show you how easy it is to install Oracle VM VirtualBox on Windows 10. With VirtualBox, you can use your existing PC to easily run additional operating systems without a 2nd PC taking up space.
What you will need
- A Windows 10 device, with access to install new applications. Note: VirtualBox is supported on multiple platforms, we’re using Windows 10 for this tutorial.
Full system requirements to run VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/End-user_documentation - Available hard drive space:
Depending on the operating system you ate wanting to install, various amounts of space are required. The most basic of systems could be as little as 100MB, with fully-featured Windows or Linux systems with the all the graphical interfaces and options installed may take up as much as 20GB.
VirtualBox itself requires only about 30MB of space. - A disk image of the operating system you want to install:
- Regardless of the operating system you chose, you will want a file with an extension that ends in “.iso” .
- To follow along with our example of Linux Mint, you can download the disk image for Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon: http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/stable/20/linuxmint-20-cinnamon-64bit.iso
- See https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Guest_OSes for a full list of VirtualBox supported operating systems.
1. Download and Install Oracle VM VirtualBox
- In your browser, visit https://virtualbox.org and click the large blue “download” button
- On the Downloads page, click the link for Windows Installer
- Once the download completes, run the installation file
- On the first installation welcome screen, click Next
5. At the Custom Setup screen, accept defaults and click Next
6. If desired, change where shortcuts will be placed, then click Next
7. Before continuing, make sure you do not currently have any additional downloads in process. During the installation, your network connection will be disrupted for a brief moment, but it will reconnect automatically. When ready to proceed, click Yes
8. One last confirmation you do want to install VirtualBox. When ready, click Install
9. We wait a few moments for VirtualBox to install…
10. Once installation has completed, click Finish
2. Create our first virtual computer
1. From your desktop or Start Menu (depending on where you chose to place shortcuts), launch VirtualBox
2. On the VirtualBox welcome screen, click New
3. Select and type in a Name for your new virtual device. This name chosen is the name which will be shown in the list of available devices to use, so it is for your information. You then also select the Type and Version of operating system you will be installing.
4. If you chose a Name which is descriptive to the operating system you will be using, you may notice the Type and Version automatically update to match. When ready, click Next
5. Select the amount of memory (or RAM), to allocate as the maximum amount available to the new virtual device. Of course more is usually better, but consider how much total memory is available in your Windows 10 device. If your Windows 10 computer has 8GB or RAM and you allow the new virtual computer to use up to 4GB of RAM, then your Windows device might start to feel slow as it now only has 4GB remaining for itself.
Note that the RAM allocated to the virtual computer is only used while the virtual computer is running, it is not permanently taken away from your Windows device. So in our given example, if the virtual computer is off, then your Windows device still has all 8GB of memory available to itself.
When ready, click Next
6. Since this is a new virtual computer, we do need to create the hard disk for it. Click Next
7. On the Hard disk file type screen, leave the default selected VDI and click Next
8. For Storage on physical hard disk, leave the selection at Dynamically allocated.
This setting means that the storage space taken by your virtual computer will start small, and automatically expand as additional files are needed. The alternative, Fixed size, would mean that (based on the next screen coming up), the amount of storage selected for the virtual computer would have the full amount taken away from the Windows computer right from the beginning.
Click Next.
9. The amount of apps and the purpose of your virtual computer will determine the amount of disk space you need to have available. For this example of learning how a Linux computer works, increasing the disk space to 20GB will be enough to install Linux Mint, install some basic apps, and do common tasks.
This amount can be enlarged later if you start to run out of storage space on the virtual computer.
Click Create. You should be taken back to the main VirtualBox app
10. Now we need to tell the new virtual device which operating system to use for boot. We will be using the Linux Mint .iso file downloaded at the beginning. At the main VirtualBox app, make sure your virtual computer is selected on the left, then click Settings
11. In the left menu, click Storage
12. Under Controller: IDE, click and highlight Empty
13. On the right, click the CD icon
14. Click Choose a disk file…
15. Find, select, and Open the Linux Mint .iso file downloaded at the beginning
16. Click OK. You should be taken back to the main VirtualBox app
3. Boot up our virtual computer
- At the main VirtualBox app screen, make sure your new virtual computer is selected in the left-hand list, then click Start
2. Since VirtualBox recognizes this is the first time we have run this new virtual computer, there is no data on the virtual hard drive we created earlier. Click Start to confirm booting from the virtual CD image for Linux Mint
3. Your virtual computer will cycle through several screens as it boots.
Remember that this is the first time booting this device, so files are being copied from the Linux Mint .iso file into the virtual hard drive, the virtual hard drive is being dynamically sized, and other file operations required that cause a little extra time required.
4. You will then be greeted by a brand-new Linux Mint system, running inside of your existing Windows 10 computer! All without needing to purchase any extra equipment.
Once you’ve had enough of Linux for the time being, use the Start Menu equivalent in the bottom-left of the Linux system, and select Shut Down. The virtual computer will turn off, and you will be returned to Windows 10.
