How to install Ubuntu on VirtualBox?

Virtual Machine

abstracts the hardware of our personal computers such as CPU, disk drives, memory, NIC (Network Interface Card), etc, into many different execution environments as per our requirements, hence giving us a feeling that each execution environment is a single computer. For example, VirtualBox.   We can create a virtual machine for several reasons, all of which are fundamentally related to the ability to share the same basic hardware yet can also support different execution environments, i.e., different operating systems simultaneously. To use Ubuntu along with Windows, one must have VirtualBox installed in their machine. For the installation of VirtualBox, visit

How to install VirtualBox on Windows?

Downloading and Installing Ubuntu

Before, we begin with the installation process, we need to download ISO file for Ubuntu. For that, all the versions of Ubuntu are available on the official site

ubuntu.com

  After the downloading is over, you can install Ubuntu on VirtualBox with the help of following instructions:

Step 1:

Open

VirtualBox

and click on the

New

button.

Step 2:

Give a name to your Virtual Machine and select the location for it to install.

Step 3:

Assign RAM size to your Virtual Machine.

Step 4:

Create a Virtual Hard disk for the machine to store files.

Step 5:

Select the type of Hard disk. Using

VDI

type is recommended.

Step 6:

Either of the physical storage type can be selected. Using Dynamically allocated disk is by default recommended.

Step 7:

Select disk size and provide the destination folder to install.

Step 8:

After the Disk creation is done, boot the Virtual Machine and begin installing Ubuntu.

Step 9:

If the installation disk is not automatically detected. Browse the file location and select the ISO file for Ubuntu.

Step 10:

Proceed with the installation file and wait for further options.

Step 11:

Click on the Install Ubuntu option, this might look different for other Ubuntu versions.

Step 12:

Select Keyboard layout, if the defaults are compatible, just click on the

continue

button and proceed.

Step 13:

Select installation type. By default, it is set to Normal installation, which is recommended, but it can also be changed to Minimal installation if there is no need for all Ubuntu features.

Step 14:

Click on the

Install Now

button and carry on with the installation. Do not get worried with the

Erase disk

option, it will only be effective inside the virtual machine, other system files outside the VirtualBox remain intact.

Step 15:

Click on the

continue

button, and proceed with writing changes on the disk.

Step 16:

Select your location to set the Time Zone.

Step 17:

Choose a name for your computer and set a password to secure login info.

Step 18:

Wait for the installation process to complete.

Step 19:

Once the installation process is over, reboot your Virtual Machine.

Step 20:

Voila!! You’re finished with the installation process. Now you can use Ubuntu along with Windows, without creating a dual boot.

Note: After installing Ubuntu in Virtual Box, you may find that the Operating System is not suitable for full-screen mode. If you try to make it large by clicking on maximize button, the visual part remains the same and the outside becomes white/black.

To overcome this and make Ubuntu fullscreen in Virtual Box, click on Devices then on Insert Guest Additions CD image…

Now you will be able to see a disk icon on the taskbar, click on that and it will open the disk

Write right-click inside the folder and select open in the terminal, and run the following commands

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

It will ask for the user’s password, enter the password and wait till completion.

After updating, run the command

./autorun.sh

Now it will ask for the password and after checking the password a new tab will open inside the terminal.

Enter yes there.

After installation restart Ubuntu and now you can use Ubuntu in full-screen mode.