How to reinstall windows in a virtual machine. Step-by-step installation and configuration of a Virtualbox virtual machine

Installing a virtual machine on your computer is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. In this article, we will detail how to install and configure virtualbox, as well as how to add new virtual machines. Let's first understand what a virtual machine is.

For example, you have a Windows 7 operating system or higher, but you need to use an application that runs exclusively on Windows XP. Agree, if you need to work with this application, it is not always advisable to reinstall the OS, especially to an outdated version of Windows. It's easier to install a virtual machine on your computer, deploy Windows XP in it and run the necessary application without any problems.

Thus, a virtual machine is a full-fledged computer (containing a processor, RAM, hard drive and BIOS) running inside the computer through an emulator application.

With a virtual machine, you can:

test applications;
run programs that your OS does not support;
Familiarize yourself with the capabilities of other operating systems;
test the operation of network programs in closed virtual networks, etc.

Step by step installation of Virtualbox

To download Virtualbox, go to the official website www.virtualbox.org. At the moment, the latest version of the utility is 5.0.10.

Run the downloaded installer file, click "Next".

After that, the next window of the program will start. Don't change anything in it. Click next.

Leave the checkboxes in the default options box. Click Next.

After that, another installation window will appear. The Virtualbox installer will inform you that a new network connection will be created during the installation of the program. This means that your main connection is temporarily deactivated. Click "Yes", then in the next window "Install".

Wait for the app to install. Upon completion of the installation, a notification will pop up regarding the successful completion of the Virtualbox installation process. Click "Finish".

If everything was successful, the "VirtualBox Manager" will start.

"Manager" is a shell that provides work between Virtualbox and a desktop PC. The range of options for this app is quite small. True, it is not worth wasting time on reviewing them, since the program works with default settings that can satisfy most users.

How to add a new virtual machine?

To install a new virtual machine, select the "Create" option. We enter its name, select the type and version of the operating system. In our case, Windows XP.

In the new window, select the amount of RAM. Keep in mind that you will not be able to allocate more memory than is installed on the PC.

The next window will prompt you to create a new virtual hard disk or use an existing one. Since this is our first launch. Since we are running the program for the first time, create a new one using the "Create a new virtual hard disk" option.

In the next window, you need to specify the type of hard disk. We recommend leaving the VDI type, then your virtual disk will be fully synchronized with the virtual machine, and the speed of its performance will be no less than that of a real hard drive.

A dynamic virtual disk, the volume of which tends to change in the process of adding information. It is formed faster, but functions very slowly.

A fixed virtual hard drive, the volume of which will be static and will be indicated by the size that was specified during creation. It takes longer to create, but works much faster.

Which type to choose is up to you. But in our example, we will focus on the dynamic type.

Let's go to the next window. Here you need to enter the name of the disk, specify its size and location.

Click on the "Create" button and a window with the newly created virtual machine will open in front of us. This is where our preparatory steps come to an end.

How to set up a new virtual machine?

Go to the virtualbox settings, click "Configure":

After the done actions, click "OK", then "Run".

If you did everything correctly, the operating system will start loading, as shown in the figure.

More and more Windows 7 users want to try the features of the eighth version of this operating system. For these purposes, the use of virtual machines is perfect, on which you can completely install the system without harming the native system.

At the moment, there are several popular virtualization programs for Windows 7: WMWare, Virtual Box and Virtual PC. In this article, we will consider the latter program, since, compared to other virtual machines, it provides rich virtualization opportunities and is quite simple to configure and operate.

General algorithm of actions

Download the installation package of the application. Virtual PC is a free program and was developed by Microsoft specialists, therefore it is fully compatible with both Windows 7 and earlier versions. You can download the installer from the official website of the corporation.
Run the file and follow the instructions. Before installing the application, make sure that your current user has administrator rights. To avoid this situation, right-click and select "Run as administrator" from the context menu. If this is not done, then errors may occur during the installation phase (described below).
Once installed, a VirtualPC shortcut will appear on your desktop. Run it and select "Create". After that, you may experience a slowdown in Windows 7 and a feeling that the program has frozen. At this time, data about the parameters of your system is collected and the optimal characteristics for the virtual machine are calculated.
The following are the settings for the VirtualPC virtual machine. Leave the settings as they are for the first time. With careless actions, it is possible to use more opportunities than can be allocated. This will lead to general failures of the local and virtual operating systems. We change only the version of the operating system to be installed and at the very end of the settings we select the source from which we will install (CD, disk image from the hard disk, bootable flash drive).
Attention should be paid to the installation stage, which requires you to specify shared network folders. These resources allow the system that we will install to use the resources of the local computer.
After all the configuration steps in Virtual PC, the "Run" button will become active. When you click it, at the first start, the Windows 7, Windows 8 or other OS you selected will be installed into the virtual machine system, and when you repeat it, the operating system that was previously installed will be loaded. The installation steps are fully consistent with a standard installation on a local computer and do not require any additional actions from the user.
Upon completion of the process, the system that you installed will start up and will be fully available for testing. If there is a need to change the parameters of the virtual machine in the upper part of the Virtual PC interface window, we are looking for the menu item "Machine" - "Configure". In the window that appears, you can increase the available amount of RAM, free space, etc.

Common Mistakes

When performing the installation according to the above algorithm for Virtual PC at step 6, you may receive a Windows 7 error message related to the disabled virtualization feature.

To fix it, you need to enable system virtualization in the settings panel and, for some versions of motherboards, make BIOS settings.

Additionally, this problem occurs when you run antivirus software in Windows 7 with its own firewall and firewall. Therefore, before installing a virtual machine, it is recommended to disable or suspend all anti-virus programs.

Another common mistake is the lack of access to some components of the virtual machine. During the Virtual PC setup phase, after devices are connected, you may see a message that says no access. This is due to access rights in the Windows 7 operating system. The standard Windows 7 security policy restricts third-party users and processes from accessing system devices. To resolve this error, check the rights of the current active user and the permission to connect devices.

VirtualBox is a virtual machine with the ability to run operating systems other than those installed on the computer. This is usually required for testing the OS, obtaining information about systems and their features. By installing any OS on VirtualBox, you can perform tasks that are not feasible on the main OS. It is possible to install Windows XP on VirtualBox, as well as another OS: Linux, Ubuntu, Mac OS X and even Android.

VirtualBox is not a very complex program. If you strictly follow the instructions, then you will succeed

The guest system, delivered through VirtualBox as part of the existing one, will help you perform, for example, the following tasks:

run software products that are incompatible with the main OS;
use old applications;
run old games that do not function in new versions of the operating system;
test potentially dangerous applications.

To create a virtual machine, download VirtualBox from the official website. Installing the program is no different from installing any other. If suddenly the system issues a warning that the software has not been tested with this version of the operating system, ignore it. This warning appears several times, continue the installation.

The VirtualBox interface when installing different operating systems has slight differences, but they are not so significant. The principle of creating a guest OS remains the same for both Windows versions and, for example, for Ubuntu.

After installing the program, we are already creating a machine. To do this, follow the algorithm:

Activate the "Create" button.
In the window that opens, select the OS, its type and version, give your virtual machine a name. This name does not affect anything, it is simply reflected in the title of the window.
Next, you will be asked to select a hard disk for the guest system: use an existing one or create a new one. We create a new one.
The next parameter that you will be asked to enter concerns the file type, which determines the format of the new disk used. Leave VDI.
In additional attributes, you can select a dynamic or fixed disk. Fixed works faster, but takes up all the allocated space on the hard drive at once. Dynamic will capture on the hard drive the space needed for the guest system, applications, it will automatically expand with add-ons, installing programs. It is recommended to choose the fixed option for performance.
Specify the name of the new virtual hard disk, specify the location of the folder with files, set its size - the size of the files stored on this disk. For example, for Windiws XP, according to manufacturers, 10 GB is enough, for Linux, you can leave the allocated amount by default.
Complete the process by clicking on the Create button.

The creation process will take about 7 minutes. Do not disturb the computer this time, the central processor is involved. After creating the machine, adjust the settings by clicking the "Customize" tab. However, the default settings are enough to start the OS, the functioning of the guest system.

Operating system installation

Here we will explain how to install Windows XP on VirtualBox.

Place the Windows XP installation disc in the drive, or check for an .iso disc image in one of the folders.

In VirtualBox, on the top tab bar, click Run.

In the window that opens, you will be prompted to select the Windows XP boot disk. If you are using a drive, then click "Continue", if the image - click on the folder icon, find the image, click on it, then also click "Continue".

The installation of Windows XP will start, similar to booting on a real computer. Do not press the buttons while formatting the virtual hard disk, copying files, or rebooting.

If VirtualBox has captured the mouse cursor, it is not possible to perform other actions during the installation, to return the cursor, press the right Ctrl, click the LMB at the same time. Control will return to you.

When the system is installed, the desktop will appear, install add-ons for the guest system so that the screen resolution gets better, the operating system works fully. The file will need to be downloaded, then, as the machine prompts, connect to the virtual drive.

Reboot after installation.

Create Shared Folders

It is often required to create shared folders between the main OS and the guest. It is done like this.

Go to the top panel of VirtualBox to the "Devices" tab, select the link "Shared Folders" - "Configure".

In the window that opens on the right, click the button to add a shared folder. You will be prompted to specify the path to the desired folder. Click on the selected folder, save.

In the guest system, open a command prompt, enter net use drive letter: \\vboxsvr\folder name; confirm by pressing Enter.

If executed correctly, a network drive is formed in My Computer that has access to the files located in the folder of your choice located in the guest system.

Thus, by installing Windows XP, you can use it in parallel with the main operating system, using XP for programs that do not work on versions 8-10.

Mac OS installation

The question of how to install Mac OS X on VirtualBox is easily solved. The process is the same as described above. You will need an installation file. A regular image will not work here, you can use a hacked OS.

Download HackBoot 1 - installer, HackBoot 2 that runs Mountain Lion, you will also need MultiBeast 4 when working with audio.
Having opened VirtualBox, in the Type tab, click on the already created virtual machine (how to create it, described above), in the system section, select Mac OS X 64 bit.
For RAM on Mac OS, it is enough to put down 2 GB.
Create a new VDI disk.
After creating the disk in the main menu, right-click on the virtual machine on it, select "Configure". On the System tab, uncheck the Enable EFI option.
In the "Media" section, go to the CD icon labeled "Empty", then on the disk icon on the right side, go to "Select a disk image". Here choose HackBoot 1.
Click OK. With the Mountain Lion image available, we start loading Mac OS.
In VirtualBox, select the downloaded Mac OS X, click "Run".
On the HackBoot screen that appears, find the CD icon at the bottom, select the downloaded Lion image.
Return to the boot screen, update, select the OS X Install DVD item that appears.
Choose a language, agree to the terms of use. Your operating system starts looking for the hard drive. Go to "Utilities" - "Disk Utility".

Format the disk and exit the utility, continue installing the system.

Further installation takes place as a normal Mac OS installation and takes about 25 minutes. When completed, a window will appear informing you that the installation was successful.

Installing Linux and Ubuntu

If you have already worked with virtual machines, then the problem of how to install Linux on VirtualBox will not be difficult for you.

When creating a virtual machine, when choosing an operating system in the menu, click "Linux". In the line "Version" we put the version of your choice, for example, Linux 2.6. Click "Next", and then follow the steps we described above in the sections on installing other operating systems.

We act in the same way if you decide how to install Ubuntu on VirtualBox, in the "Version" section we find "Ubuntu", select it and install it.

Installing Android on VirtualBox

Why and how to install Android on VirtualBox - we answer questions in this section.

What for? To test programs. Do not clog your phone or tablet with unnecessary software if you are not sure of its operation and functionality. You can first check everything on a PC by creating a virtual machine. Installing / uninstalling programs on a PC will not affect performance, unlike smartphones that have little memory.

To install Android, download the required package from the VirtualBox website. When creating a virtual machine, it will be enough to allocate 512 MB of RAM. Mount the image from Android and run the installation. It is recommended to choose installation on a hard disk, then it will be possible to fully install programs, save them after a reboot. Here you need to do this:

When prompted to create / modify a disk, press OK - Enter.
Select the Primary item, press Enter several times until a new disk is created.
Make it bootable by clicking
Then click Write and after creating the disk, exit the Quit utility.
The installation window opens, select a disk, file system - be sure to FAT 32 (otherwise applications will not be installed).
After the procedure, you will get Android in a virtual machine. Please note that the "Back" button replaces the RMB. In the settings, set the Russian language and your account in com.

Please note that when installing Android in a virtual machine, the Internet is connected automatically, but in Android 4 version, the connection is not available.

VirtualBox helps you test various operating systems, and installing them will not take you much time. Carefully follow the instructions, follow the steps of the algorithms step by step, and you will be able to run any OS: Windows XP, Linux, Ubuntu, Mac OS X and Android in a virtual machine.

Today, more than ever, they are in demand among completely different groups of users of computer systems. Actually, the Windows operating system, which many users want to use on their terminals in parallel with the main OS, does not lose popularity. Let's see how to install Windows 7 in a virtual machine in the easiest way. Let's take the WM VirtualBox software package as a basis, which is not only one of the most powerful, but also one of the easiest to understand the general principles of work.

What is a virtual machine?

If anyone does not know, software in the form of a virtual machine is nothing more than an emulator of a computer system with hardware installed in it, an operating system and user programs.

In fact, a virtual machine with Windows 7 installed is, as it were, a copy of a real (physically) existing computer with the "seven" on board, but only at the software level, and does not differ in its capabilities from a real terminal. In such a virtual system, you can install programs and applications, test equipment, emulate web servers, etc.

As a rule, all the processes associated with installing the software itself, and then the operating system, do not cause difficulties, however, given the requirements of the "seven", it is still worth giving some recommendations on how to complete all the steps of this process.

Virtual Machine for Windows 7: WM VirtualBox

So let's get started. As it is already clear, first we need an existing operating system. We proceed from the use of the WM VirtualBox package.

Note that in this case the question will not be considered how to install a virtual machine on Windows 7, but how to put the "seven" on the machine. Indeed, why should we emulate its work if it is already installed as the main system?

First, we need to download the latest version of the program. You can do this either on the official website, or you can find it on the Internet. In any case, the application is free, so there will be no problems with some kind of "cracked" versions.

Run the installation file and follow the instructions. Everything is as usual here: we agree with the licensed use and constantly press the "Next" button until we reach the installation confirmation. There is one nuance here. The fact is that after pressing the Install button, the connection will be disconnected for a while, access to the Internet will be lost. No need to panic, this is normal.

Next, windows will appear with a proposal for some devices. We agree everywhere. The last window will show a checkbox next to the line to immediately create a virtual machine. If you need to proceed with these actions, leave everything unchanged. If the virtual machine will be created later, uncheck the box and click the button to finish the installation process (Finish).

How to Install Windows 7 in a Virtual Machine: Preselecting Options

Everything. The main program is installed. The next step will be the creation of a new machine, on which the “seven” will subsequently be placed.

To do this, in the running program, use the appropriate button, after which in the start window of the "Wizards" press the continue button. Now you need to select a few basic options. Specify the type of "OS" Microsoft Windows and select the version of Windows 7.

Now one of the most crucial moments is the choice of the amount of RAM. Please note that it will be allocated from the total installed on the computer, so that when the child OS is running, it will be reduced in the main one. It is not recommended to set the size to less than 512 MB (preferably 1 GB and above) and more than half of the total available size, otherwise the main system will not only slow down, but may even refuse to work.

The next step is creation In a similar "Wizard" it is recommended to select a dynamically expanding disk (Dynamically Allocated) and give it a name. The save location and size will be specified by default, but these parameters can be changed, for example, to use not the system partition with the installed operating system, but another logical partition. The program suggests using a size of 20 GB. This parameter can be left unchanged, however, if you decide to change it, it is not recommended to use a size of less than 15 GB (this is due to the requirements of the "seven" itself).

Create a boot disk (or system image)

If we consider the question of how to install Windows 7 on a virtual machine, you should remember that it must be installed from a disk. There are two options here: either the original installation disk (or its copy) will be used, or the installation will be performed from the image.

In principle, with a dynamically expanding disk created early on, it's best to choose a bootable system image. You can create it from the original DVD quite simply in programs like UltraISO, Daemon Tools, Nero, etc. and save it directly to the hard drive. There is no point in dwelling on this in detail.

Virtual machine preconfiguration

Now, before proceeding directly to the installation of the child OS (in our case, Windows 7), the virtual machine needs to be configured.

To do this, use the properties button. In the menu, first set the size of the video memory for the display (at least 26 MB) and enable 2D and 3D acceleration.

Then, in the media section, depending on how the installed “OS” is written, select the DVD-ROM icon for the optical media with the original (and then insert the disc into the drive) or the folder icon to indicate the location of the .iso image (after that, the line with reference to the image). Settings for audio, network, COM ports and shared folders can be left unchanged.

Now the main application window appears again, where you should click the "Start" button. If an informational message appears, we agree, and then click on the screen of the virtual machine and select the "capture" command in the pop-up window.

Installation of the "seven"

Only now we put Windows 7 on the VirtualBox virtual machine. In principle, the process of installing the "seven" is absolutely no different from how it would be if this procedure was carried out on a real computer. You just need to follow the instructions of the installer. Depending on the configuration you created, the process can take up to 20-30 minutes. At the end of the process, we get with the "seven", which is no different from a regular terminal.

Working with add-ons

Separately, it should be noted that the question of how to install Windows 7 on a virtual machine cannot do without understanding some of the nuances that many users often do not pay attention to. The problem is that the enabled virtual machine blocks the use of the keyboard and mouse in the main system. In addition, it will not work for the hosting and child OS at the same time. That is, it will be impossible to copy data in the main application running on the main system and paste it into the program on the virtual machine.

To prevent this from happening, you just need to go to the add-ons installation section, after which you need to click on the VBoxWIndowsAdditions.exe line in the autorun window and install the program.

Conclusion

So we figured out how to install and work with the WM VirtualBox virtual machine. As you can see, there is nothing particularly complicated here. In addition, in most cases, an ordinary user will not have to select parameters manually, since the “Wizard” initially monitors the configuration of the main system and offers the best settings.

Well, how expedient and justified the use of a child OS in the form of a “seven” already depends only on what kind of tasks the user himself assigns to it. By the way, if you notice, in this case, you don't even have to enable virtual technology support in the BIOS settings. They are mainly used only when using the "native" Hyper-V hypervisor (for its operation or for choosing a bootable OS). But in our case it is not required.

Good afternoon.

Why might you need a virtual machine (a program for running virtual operating systems)? Well, for example, if you want to test some program, so that if something happens, do not harm your main operating system; or planning to install some other OS that you don't have on a real hard drive.

In this article, I would like to dwell on the key points when installing Windows 7 on a VM Virtual Box virtual machine.

1. What will be needed for installation?

1) A program that will allow you to create a virtual machine on your computer. In my example, I will show the work in VM Virtual Box (more about it). In short, the program: free, Russian, you can work in both 32 and 64-bit OS, many settings, etc.

2) An image with the Windows 7 operating system. Here you choose for yourself: download, find the desired disk in your bins (when you buy a new computer, the OS often comes bundled on a disk).

3) 20-30 minutes of free time ...

2. Setting up a virtual machine (VM Virtual Box)

After launching the Virtual Box program, you can immediately click the “create“ button, the settings of the program itself are of little interest.

If you already had a virtual hard disk before, you can select it, if not, create a new one.

A dynamic hard disk is preferred. Because its occupied space on a real hard disk will increase in direct proportion to its fullness (i.e. if you copy a 100 MB file to it, it will take 100 MB; if you copy another 100 MB file, it will take 200 MB).

At this step, the program asks you to specify the final size of the hard disk. Enter here how much you need. It is not recommended to specify less than 15 GB for Windows 7.

This completes the configuration of the virtual machine. Now you can run it and start the installation process...

3. Installing Windows 7. What to do if an error occurs?

Everything is as usual, if not one but ...

Installing an OS on a virtual machine is, in principle, not much different from installing on a real computer. To get started, select the desired machine to install, in our case it is called "Win7". You launch it.

If we have not yet specified a boot device in the program, then it will ask us to specify what to boot from. I recommend that you immediately specify the bootable ISO image that we prepared in the first section of this article. Installation from an image will go much faster than from a real disk or flash drive.

Usually, after starting the virtual machine, a few seconds pass and the OS installation window appears in front of you. Next, you act as when installing the OS on a regular real computer, more about this, for example,.

If during installation an error with a blue (blue) screen got out, there are two important points that could cause it.

1) Go to the virtual machine RAM settings and move the slider from 512 MB to 1-2 GB. It is possible that the OS did not have enough RAM during installation.

2) When installing the OS on a virtual machine, for some reason, various assemblies behave unstable. Try to take the original OS image, it usually installs without any questions or problems ...

4. How to open the VHD disk of a virtual machine?

A little higher in the article, I promised to show how to do this ... By the way, the ability to open virtual hard drives appeared in Windows 7 (Windows 8 also has such an opportunity).

To get started, go to the OS control panel, and go to the section administration(you can use search).

On the right in the column there is the possibility of connecting a virtual hard disk. We only need to indicate it location. By default, VHD drives in Virtual Box are located at the following address: C:\Users\alex\VirtualBox VMs\(where alex is your account name).

More like about it all - .

That's all, successful installations! 😛