Installation of Ubuntu Operating System On Virtual Box On Windows Machine

What is VirtualBox?

VirtualBox is a cross platform open source virtualization application and this application is licenses as free software as GNU General Purpose License Version 2. This product is effort community developer as well as Effort of Oracle, which ensures that this application meets the professional quality criteria. This acts as an independent container inside you existing operating system.

VirtualBox helps in extending our multiple operating system reach. Because this can be installed on any of the existing operating system and helps in installing multiple operating system on your existing operating system. Let’s take one example. Currently you are having windows machine and wants to learn Linux Commands. Then there are two options before you.

• First Option is to dual boot you machine but in this you can access one operating system at one time. Whichever operating system you have opted at time of system rebooting.
• Second Option is to install VirtualBox on you current windows machine and install as much as operating system including Linux, UNIX, Solaris, mac or any openly available operating system on this newly installed VirtualBox Application depending on your machine hard disk and RAM.

So In this Tutorial, We are going to see how to install Ubuntu Operating System Using VirtualBox on Windows Machine. But before moving ahead why not we talk more about Virtual Box Importance in day to day life.

Why Virtual Box ?

1. Multiple Operating System Support: By doing so we have freedom to test our newly developed application on multiple supported operating system simultaneously.
2. Enables easier shipment of many enterprise software and also ensures easier installation of application: In this reference I would give one example here, Cloudera provides HDP and CDH sandbox which can directly be installed on Virtual Box and User can directly use Hadoop and related big data application with little hassle.
3. Boon for small enterprises: Virtual Box reduces hardware and electricity cost. For example you are running one machine which is having multiple virtual operating system and is being used at the same time. So in place of multiple physical machine, we have one which running more than 2 or 3 operating system. By doing so we are saving cost of other machines as well as electricity bill.
4. Snapshot: This is one feature I like most because this is best for Testers who are working on newly developed software installed on these operating system. Testers/developer has option to make snapshot of specific state of virtual box and If in future it is needed they can revert to the stat where they were initially. This is best thing for software Testing. One more thing you can make as much as snapshot which is permitted as per your hardware availability.

Installing Virtual Box

1. Navigate to this link
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

2. Click on Windows Hosts links shown in above snapshot. Current Version shown on screen is 6.1.10 but this may change in future but it will always have same hosts with little change in format of text above shown.

3. This will download one installer on your machine like this

• 

4. Double Click on downloaded exe file.

5. Follow the instruction and install Virtual Box Application.

6. Click on windows logo and click on Oracle VM Virtual Box in Menu.

7.It will launch your Virtual Box for the first time and This window will open

8. Now lets download Ubuntu ISO for installation on Virtual Box from this link
https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

and once this link opens click on Green Download Button shown in below screen.

9. Wait for its download to complete.

10. Now Navigate back to your VirtualBox Welcome Page and Click on New

10. Enter Name as Ubuntu in Name field on Create Virtual Machine Window.

On this screen, you can change the path of the machine folder where you want to keep your new operating system artefact. On this screen as soon as you select Ubuntu, Type and Version automatically get populated, So the user doesn’t need to select these options. Once this is done click on Next Button as highlighted in above snapshot.

11. On this screen increase ram size as much you want but by default it will take 1024 MB but I would suggest if possible assign 50% of your available RAM for better performance of your Virtual Machine.

Once you allocate RAM memory, Again Click on Next Button as shown in snapshot.

12. Click on Create Button on this screen

13. By default VDI hard disk file type will be selected, So here again Click on Next Button

14. Click on Next Button on this screen as well.

15. On this screen we would be able to see the VDI file location, Where it will be kept on machine. and On this screen, User can change size of hard disk assigned. By default it will take 10Gb but I would suggest select minimum 20 GB if you have sufficient memory on your machine.

Once hard disk size is decided, Click on Create Button as shown on snapshot. As soon as you will click on create it will take few second and your configuration will saved and user will be pushed on this screen.

16. You can see your Virtual Machine is now prepared with Name Ubuntu on screen

Click on Start Icon and Select Normal Start from the option.

17. Click on Folder Icon on Select Start-Up Disk Screen

As soon as you will click on folder icon where cursor is pointed. you will see another screen. On this screen click on Add

It will ask for the Ubuntu ISO which we have downloaded in step 8 and 9 above. Select the ISO and it will add ISO on above screen like this

Click on Choose and Further Click on Start Button on this screen

Wait for some time and It will start the installation process of Ubuntu on Virtual Box.

18. Select English and Click on Install Ubuntu Button Shown On Screen.

19. Select English(US) as Keyboard Layout and Click on Continue button.

20. Select Normal Installation Option and also check Download updates while installing Ubuntu to install most updated version of Ubuntu on machine.

and Click on Continue Button.

21. Make sure to erase disk space before installation. So Select Option accordingly and Click on Install Now.

22. Once Installation starts, It will asks for the time zone. So select time zone where you are living currently

Now Click on Continue.

23. Now provide your name and password and click on Continue button.

After this It will copy the file first and then installation will start on virtual machine and It will take time approx 15-20 minute to get ready. Once Installation will finish, It will ask to restart

So click on Restart Now to finish installation.
Once Machine is ready, It will ask for password to login. So enter password on this machine

Finally We have installed Ubuntu on Virtual Box and now your Virtual Machine is ready for use. Now We have many more things to learn about Virtual Box aka Virtual Machine Setting and Also About Ubuntu Operating System.

In Next Post, We will learn how to connect your Ubuntu machine from putty on some other Machine. Till then Wish you Happy Learning.

Reference
https://www.virtualbox.org