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 Post subject: Virtual PC installation
PostPosted: May 14th, 2023, 1:00 am 
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Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 11:00 am
Posts: 1051
I was playing around with Virtualbox. I installed Windows 7 on a Windows 7 desktop. I am having issues.

I can't...
1. figure out how to get a USB thumb drive to work on the virtual Windows
2. figure out how to to place files in regular Windows to be seen in virtual Windows
3. figure out how to get Internet Explorer to work so I can download a better web browser and whatever files I need

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PostPosted: May 14th, 2023, 7:14 am 
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Joined: February 28th, 2013, 1:19 pm
Posts: 938
Steve,

My experience with Virtual Box is using Linux host computers rather than Windows, but I have the following observations.

1. RTFM
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Documentation
Download the PDF manual. What you need to know is described in there.
USB Support - Section 3.11
Shared Folders - Section 4.3
Virtual Storage - Section 5
Virtual Networking - Section 6

If you haven't done it, install the Guest Additions

2. Keep in mind that the Guest computer functions as a separate networked computer, with the Host computer effectively the router. So make sure that the Guest sees the Internet. This should be automatic using the default NAT (network address translation).

3.. The fact that you are using a Windows 7 host means that your hardware *might* be marginal for virtualization. If you are using an older CPU it may not have the support for hardware virtualization and only support software virtualization which is much slower. If this is the case, then it may be a purely academic exercise to get a Virtual Box working however the computer may not have the resources to run it effectively (i.e. S...L...O...W). I know this first hand when I used a converted ASUS Chromebox with a Celeron CPU which had minimum hardware virtualization support. With a modern CPU using VT-X technology, the Guest OS can run effectively at native speed. I have a Windows 7 Guest computer running on a recent Dell i5 laptop to run older 16-bit Windows applications and it runs just as fast as native applications.

3. Also, make sure you have enough memory between the host machine and the virtual machine, usually what is allocated for the virtual machine is not available to the host. Hard drive space is also needed, but these days it is not an issue because drives are so large.

You are going to have to solve these problems on your own, no one except you are going to know the resources you have on your computer, the issues you are facing, and what you are trying to accomplish. So read the documentation and understand it first.

David


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PostPosted: May 14th, 2023, 7:45 am 
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Joined: July 8th, 2016, 4:34 pm
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Yes, what hardware (CPU, etc.) are you trying to run this on?


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PostPosted: May 14th, 2023, 7:50 am 
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Joined: July 8th, 2016, 4:34 pm
Posts: 592
Also, what is the purpose of using a virtual machine. Note that my only experience is using VMWare Player on Ubuntu to run Windows 10 for those few programs that there are no good Linux substitutes for (mainly Imgburn, CD Label Maker, and programming my miniDSP devices).


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PostPosted: May 14th, 2023, 2:26 pm 
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Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 11:00 am
Posts: 1051
I always wanted to try a virtual setup. I also wanted to try alternative operating systems other than Ubuntu.

I loaded Windows 7 on Windows 7. It is a start for me. Still can't figure out how to transfer files between each other. I had to manually type in the address to download Brave, then I downloaded Firefox.

I posted this virtually.

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PostPosted: May 14th, 2023, 3:59 pm 
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Joined: February 28th, 2013, 1:19 pm
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Steve,

That is great! Keep playing around, that is the best way of learning…so long as you remember how you got it to work. Regarding problems searching, I wonder it there might be a DNS issue on your host machine, just a guess really. The virtual machine is dependent on the host. Also, you might want to setup a Windows network and share out folders on the host to be mounted on the virtual machine. Read the documentation on this.

I have been able to access USB floppy drives and CDRom in Virtualbox, but it can be tricky if the host picks the up first. I think this is where the Guest Additions help out. Have fun exploring.

David


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PostPosted: May 15th, 2023, 4:19 pm 
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Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 11:00 am
Posts: 1051
DVDROM works since I loaded Windows 7. I just can't get USB to work nor transfer files via Windows.

I gave it 50GB space out of 250GB, and it should have enough memory allocated.

I was expecting for it to be a separate Windows, and not a window in Windows via Virtualbox.

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PostPosted: May 15th, 2023, 8:57 pm 
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Joined: February 28th, 2013, 1:19 pm
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Steve,

If it is any consolation, I just tried accessing a USB stick in a WindowsNT Guest and could not see it. It may be a driver issue...I don't know. I think I did use a USB floppy drive and CDROM drive on the Windows NT Guest, so do not know why the USB stick does not work.

Try sharing out a folder or directory on the Host, making sure that both the Host and the Guest are on the same Windows network and then access the shared folder on the Guest.

BTW, the main use of these Virtual machines are as sandboxed computers for development (testing) and web hosting. You can easily setup environments for coding on different platforms or for testing code without disturbing the Host computer. For web hosting it allows as single computer act as a host to several virtual computers, each with their own IP address, website and resources. As such, it is good to have some limits on access to the Host from the Guest system.

David


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PostPosted: May 17th, 2023, 2:26 am 
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Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 11:00 am
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Just for giggles, loaded Windows XP. USB works, but internet doesn't work.

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PostPosted: May 19th, 2023, 1:54 pm 
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Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 11:00 am
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I deleted the virtul Windows XP. I was playing around adding a third virtual section, but I deleted it as well. I created a new second virtual section, but unable to load ISO, EXE, or other alternativer operating system downloads (Chromium, ReactOS, Haiku, or Daphile).

I don't know what I did to have a prompt pop up to load a non-disk operating system one time, but I am unable to duplicate it.

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