At present, Windows is one of the most used operating systems worldwide, since it is one of the most advanced and recommended by the general public. However, it is not possible to do everything with this operating system either, leading some to wonder why not use other distributions such as Linux, where Ubuntu is one of the most popular.
For those somewhat more demanding users, the ideal is configure a Dual Boot with Windows and Ubuntu, in such a way that when you start the computer you wonder which operating system to choose, but for those users who do not need as much or who only want to experiment on their computers, it may be better to use a virtual machine with which your computer will not be in any danger as it is an environment emulated with VirtualBox.
So you can install Ubuntu using a VirtualBox virtual machine on Windows
Pre-downloads and installation requirements
First of all, in order to carry out the installation, you will first need an active Internet connection to be able to obtain some files if you do not have them. First of all, you will need download and install the VirtualBox program on your computer. This download is very simple and can be done directly from your official website, although if you need it we also have more documentation and explanations about the program.
Once this is done, you will also need an ISO file of the latest Ubuntu version available. In this case, obtaining said file is free since the use of the Ubuntu operating system is free in most cases. For this reason, you will only have to go to your official download website to get the latest version as a disk image and wait for the download in question to complete.
Create a virtual machine to install Ubuntu
Once you have VirtualBox installed on your computer and downloaded the corresponding files, you will only have to open it to proceed to create a new virtual machine on which to install the operating system. To do this, you will have to select the "New" option at the top of the program And then a wizard will open in which you will have to fill in certain parameters about the virtual machine step by step:
- Name and operating system- Name the virtual machine as you like so you can identify it later. You can also change the location if you wish, but you must choose as type Linux and, in the version section, choose Ubuntu along with the architecture (32 or 64 bits) that you have chosen when downloading the ISO file.
- Memory size: you will have to choose the amount of RAM you want to assign to the virtual machine for it to work. At least you will have to choose 4 GB for Ubuntu to work, although the ideal to obtain optimal performance in most cases is to choose half of the available memory, in such a way that the computer and the virtual machine can be used normally. .
- HDD: in the first part, you must choose the option Create a virtual hard drive now Unless you already have one. It is best that you leave the default options (VDI, Dynamically booked) and that, if you wish, change the capacity of the disk or its location, since it is stored like any other file on the system.
Install Ubuntu on the virtual machine
With the previous steps completed, you will be able to start the virtual machine without problem. To do this, you must stand on it and, in the menu at the top, select "Start". A new window will open asking you to choose a virtual boot disk for the machine. Here, you must click on the folder icon and search your computer for the ISO file that you have downloaded with the Ubuntu installation program, so that it can be started from there.
Once the disk is selected, you will only have to wait for a few minutes for the virtual machine to boot from the virtual disk drive. After that, the Ubuntu installation program, in which you will only have to complete the steps so that it is installed on the disk of the virtual machine and is in correct operation.
Doing this is quite simple, since you will only have to choose the option to install and answer the questions you are asking the wizard itself in order to configure the virtual machine. Here are some indicative images of this process, although you can configure everything to your liking:
During the installation, you will have to restart the virtual machine a few times, but you can rest assured that at all times the Ubuntu installation wizard will tell you how to act if necessary. With that completed, you should now be able to enjoy your Ubuntu virtual machine in VirtualBox whenever you want.