virtualbox.md 2.1 KB

Basic Ubuntu VirtualBox VM Setup

  • First, install VirtualBox

  • Download an ISO image from Ubuntu to use as the virtual machine.

  • Save it somewhere so it can be quickly re-provisioned for multiple machines when you decide to trash your sandbox. I keep mine on a second hard drive under /storage/hdd/virtualbox

  • Launch Virtualbox

VirtualBox Menu

VirtualBox RAM Menu

  • Select New > select defaults; but maximize the amount of RAM given to the guest OS, as it is released back to the host system when not in use by VirtualBox

Optical Menu

Attach the ISO

  • Select the new Ubuntu VM in the list to highlight > click Settings on the primary menu > Storage
    • Under Storage Devices
    • Select Controller: IDE > Empty > on the far right of the next menu, under Attributes > Optical Drive > push the CD icon > Choose Virtual Optical Disk File > navigate to where you left the .iso file for Ubuntu and select it > hit OK and close out the menu

Allow copy and paste from the host machine to the VirtualBox VM

  • Select the new Ubuntu VM in the list to highlight > click Settings on the primary menu > General > Advanced and change the following:

    • Shared clipboard: bidirectional
    • Drag n drop: bidirectional
  • Click OK, save and start the machine > proceed through the guided installation process > After reboot, it'll prompt you to remove the installation medium and hit Enter - just hit enter, since there is no installation medium.

  • After you're booted up and logged in, on your keyboard, hit the key combo: Cntrl Alt T, to launch the terminal

  • Run the following in the terminal to install the package needed to enable copy and paste:

    sudo apt update && apt install virtualbox-guest-x11
    
  • Once install is complete, reboot for the changes to take effect:

    reboot
    
  • Once you're back in, launch the terminal again: Cntrl Alt T

  • On your host (primary PC), copy some text and go into your Ubuntu terminal and try to paste: Cntrl Shift V

Easy!