1. You need to have the Ubuntu installed on your computer. You can download the latest ISO of Ubuntu from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/.
2. Download and install VirtualBox. You can grab it from two places
- Sun Microsystems website @ http://www.sun.com/software/products/virtualbox/get.jsp
- VirtualBox website @ http://www.virtualbox.org/
1. You need to have the Ubuntu installed on your computer. You can download the latest ISO of Ubuntu from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/.
2. Download and install VirtualBox. You can grab it from two places
- Sun Microsystems website @ http://www.sun.com/software/products/virtualbox/get.jsp
- VirtualBox website @ http://www.virtualbox.org/
4. Select New. This will allow you to create a new virtual machine for the install of Windows XP. You will need to have a legal version of Windows XP to install as a guest OS.
5. Test001 is the new Virtual Machine that I created for the install of Windows XP.
6. In the "Details" tab, double click on the "CD/DVD-ROM" section to open it. You need to select the following:
- Mount CD/DVD Drive
- Host CD/DVD Drive
- Enable Passthrough
Mount CD/DVD Drive will allow your virtual machine to boot from the optical drive of your host computer which is how you will install Windows XP.
7. Insert your Windows XP CD into your computer and wait a few seconds for Ubuntu to detect the CD. Ignore any pop-ups you may receive about a Windows executable CD has been placed intot he computer.
8. Start your new Virtual Machine. It should boot directly from the host computer's optical drive that has the Windows XP CD install in it. Simply following the normal process of installing Windows XP. Once you are done installing Windows XP, reboot the Virtual Machine and you are in business.
Below are screenshots of the finished project. Double click on the screenshots to see the image in its original size.
- Showing off Internet Explorer running in guest OS Windows XP.
- Running iTunes within Windows XP guest OS inside VirtualBox in seemless mode.
Being able to run Windows as a guest OS within Ubuntu has resolved a lot of the outstanding issues that I had with Ubuntu and my desire to use some Windows applications within Ubuntu. I have successfully ran numerous programs within the guest OS without any problems to include Microsoft Office 2007, iTunes, Internet Explorer, DVD Cloner VI, Auto GK, Firefox, and ImgBurn. At this time, burning data and audio to the host computer's optical drive is not supported at all. I do not have any problems with playing sound from my guest OS on my host OS computer. I do not have any problems printing from my guest OS to the printer that I have connected to my host OS computer.
Lookin' good. I like the High REZ pics.
ReplyDeleteCouple of questions:
1. Does VBox allow you to drag and drop files between the Host and the VMs? Can you minimize the VM's desktop while leaving the virtual app. in the foreground?
2. Have you tried using WINE yet?
Tks for the feedback Flish. Below is my answers to your questions.
ReplyDeleteAnswer #1: I have not attempted to drag and drop between VirtualBox and the Host at this time. I will test out your questions and get back with you as to if it is successful or not. I have successfully cut & paste text from the guest OS to the host OS and vice versa without any problems at all. You can't minimize the VM's desktop while leaving the virutal application running. But you can run the guest OS in seemless mode which causes the guest OS to appear as if it is running within the host OS; the guest OS desktop is hidden, only the application is visible. I will have a future post about this feature of Virtual Box.
2. I have tried using WINE to install Office 2007, but there seems to be complications when I use WINE. The install completes with WINE, but the applications do not function correctly. I have read of some alternatives to WINE that claim to be successful in allowing the installation of Office 2007 in Linux to include the following:
CrossOver Linux by Codeweavers
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxlinux/
Bordeaux for Linux 1.6
http://www.bordeauxgroup.com/press-release/bordeaux-1.6
http://www.bordeauxgroup.com/store/bordeaux-for-linux
I have successfully used CrossOver Linux to install Office 2007, but some functionality with Office 2007 doesn't work. For example, I can open and modify .docx files, but encrypted files will not open in Office 2007 running in Linux. I have also attempted to install Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 using CrossOver Linux. The application appears to install, but it doesn't function at all. For now, I believe the best solution to someone who wants to use Windows applications within Linux is to run the applications within a guest OS. To work with files that reside on your host OS, you simply create a network connection to the host OS which will appear as a mapped network drive in the guest OS.