How to install a virtual machine to your computer and most importantly, which virtual machine to choose? Before asking you this question, I surfed the Internet and realized that the easiest to install and configure are VirtualBox and Virtual PC, but there is also Hyper-V and VMWare. I understand that now you will ask me: “Why do I need a virtual machine?” My answer: “I want to install different operating systems and experiment with them, I’m very interested: Windows XP, Windows 7, but especially Windows 8!” The Windows 7 I have installed works fine with all the applications installed on it, but the hype around new Windows 8 is only growing and I don’t want to stay on the sidelines, so you have already written two dozen articles about the eight on your website and keep writing. So I’m thinking about installing a virtual machine (I just can’t choose which one), install Windows 8 into it and slowly study it, and then you look in October when the final one comes out Windows version 8.1, I will install it as the second operating system. Mark.
Hello admin! on the Microsoft website and wanted to install it on my VirtualBox virtual machine, but the installation received the error “ VT-x/AMD-V hardware virtualization features are enabled but not functioning" What to do?
How to install a virtual machine
Friends, if you have never dealt with a virtual machine, then I will explain to you in a nutshell what it is. A virtual machine is a real computer created inside your main operating system and on this computer you can install other operating systems (several!) and not just Windows. You can experiment as you wish with the operating system installed in the virtual machine, go online from it, install various software, without fear of infecting your computer with a virus, in short, use your imagination and you will find a use for it.
For example, one of my friends learned how to reinstall the operating system and divide the hard drive into several partitions only using virtual machine.
As for choosing a virtual machine, an article will be written on our website about each of the existing ones. I recommend it to you install virtual machine VirtualBox, its capabilities are enough not only for a beginner, but also for an experienced user, and besides, it is free. Start with her. Simple and intuitive settings, stable operation, made it one of the most popular.
What types of virtual machines are there?
Virtual PC is free, very easy to install in Windows 7, follow the link to the Microsoft website, download and install.http://www.microsoft.com/ru-ru/download/details.aspx?id=3702
paid, costs 222.53 €, but there is a 30-day trial period. This virtual machine is needed primarily for system administrators and developers software.
So it’s decided, let’s install the VirtualBox virtual machine. Go to the website https://www.virtualbox.org/, click "Downloads", select
VirtualBox 4.2.16 for Windows hosts x86/amd64.
The virtual machine installer is downloaded; we must run it as an administrator, otherwise in the future you will be plagued by various errors when working with the virtual machine. Right-click on the installer and select "Run as administrator"
The program is very easy to install on our computer.
We launch the virtual machine as administrator.
Click on the “Create” button.
First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that if you decide to install on a virtual Windows machine 7 64-bit, choose from Windows list 7 64-bit. If you decide to install another operating system, for example Windows 8.1 64-bit, then be sure to select Windows 8.1 64-bit in the drop-down list and enter the invented name of the virtual machine, for example Windows 8.1, then click Next.
In this window you need to specify the amount of memory that you can allocate to the virtual machine. Friends, you must understand that the RAM allocated to the virtual machine will not be available to the operating system installed on your computer. If you only have 2 GB of RAM, then you cannot allocate more than 1024 MB to a virtual machine; your operating system will be very slow when working with a virtual machine. If you are installing Windows 8 then optimal size for her it is just 1024 MB. As you can see, my computer has 8 GB installed random access memory, means I can allocate more than 1 GB, for example 2 GB.
Create a new virtual hard disk.
File type select VDI
At this stage we need to specify the format of the virtual hard drive. If you check “Dynamic virtual hard disk”, this means that the space on your hard drive allocated for the needs of the virtual machine will not be used immediately, but as files accumulate in your virtual machine. I recommend that you use this option.
Specify the size of the virtual hard disk. If you are creating a virtual machine for the first time, specify 50 GB, this is for Windows installations 8 is quite enough. But I personally will indicate a larger volume for myself. Why? While working with the virtual machine, I will install a lot operating systems, so I will indicate the volume as 240 GB.
You can create virtual disk on a different level from system disk, it’s very simple, click on the yellow folder and Explorer will open, in it specify any partition on your hard drive to place the virtual hard disk.
We see the result. So, we have created a virtual machine, now we need to configure it and finally install Windows 8 into it.
Select our virtual machine and click “Configure”.
System. Uncheck the “Floppy Disk” box. We leave the first boot device as CD/DVD-ROM, since we will boot the virtual machine from installation disk or a Windows 8 image, leave the Hard Drive as the second device.
The “Processor” parameter is left as it is.
“Acceleration” Hardware virtualization must be enabled; you will probably be installing a 64-bit operating system.
Display. Video. "Enable 3D acceleration" and "Enable 2D acceleration"
Video memory 128 MB
Carriers. A little of your attention!
Your physical disk drive will be available in the virtual machine, in my case Drive “I” and if you have a Windows disk, you can use it to install the operating system, check the Live CD/DVD box.
Also present here virtual disk drive, let’s connect to it the image with the Windows 8 operating system, which we downloaded in yesterday’s article. In the "Media" option, select "Drive" and "Select optical disk image"
An explorer will open in which you can select the downloaded Windows image 8, then click Open.
The Windows 8 image will be attached to the virtual drive.
What is a USB filter? Imagine this situation: all USB devices connected to your computer will be detected in the operating system that is installed on your virtual machine. Naturally you don't need this. USB filters will determine which USB device should be determined in the virtual machine and which in your main system. To see how all this works in practice, you must first install the Windows 8.1 operating system in our virtual machine, and then everything will become clear to you, read on.
To ensure that all connected USB-2.0 flash drives work normally in your virtual machine, install the plugin VirtualBox 4.2.16 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack, download it from. website https://www.virtualbox.org/
Install VirtualBox easy on the computer. Configuring a virtual machine is more complicated. This article also covers VirtualBox settings.
Installing a VirtualBox virtual machine
To install VirtualBox on Windows 10, download the installer. The installer for the Windows version is universal - you can use it to install VirtualBox on Windows 7, 8, and even XP.
- Follow this link. or download from the button below. On the website, click on the line "Windows hosts". The installation file will begin downloading.
- Open the downloaded installer. Click "Next".
- In the next menu, the user selects which program components to install. Clicking the button "Browse", you can select the installation location of the program. Button "Disk Usage" shows a window with disk partitions and the space occupied on them. To continue, click "Next".
- Here you need to check or leave empty checkboxes: whether to create a shortcut in the Start menu, on the desktop, or in the Quick Launch panel. The last option is responsible for associating files with certain VirtualBox file permissions.
- This window warns: during installation due to installation network drivers Internet connection may be interrupted. Click "Yes".
- To begin installation, click "Install".
- Wait for the installation to complete.
- To run the program immediately after installation, without unchecking the only checkbox in this window, click "Finish".
Creating a virtual machine
Having installed VirtualBox, it's time to create virtual computers.
- Launch VirtualBox. In the left top corner click "Create".
- In the window that opens, name the virtual machine, select the OS (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BSD, etc.) and the version of the selected OS with bit depth (Windows XP x32, Mac OS X 10.6, Ubuntu x64). After setting the virtual PC parameters, click "Further".
- The program automatically selects the amount of RAM. The amount of RAM can be changed.
- The Virtual Machine Manager prompts you to create a virtual drive. Click "Create".
- Leave the storage type unchanged and click "Further".
- The following describes the difference between fixed and dynamic storage. Stop at the one that suits you, click "Further".
- Use the slider or text field to set the drive size. Click "Create".
Settings for an existing virtual machine
To configure a virtual PC, click on it in the panel on the left side of the program. Then on the top toolbar click "Tune".
- First section - "Are common". The “General” section contains four tabs - “Basic”, “Advanced”, “Description” and “Disk Encryption”. In the “Basic” tab you can change the name, type and version of the OS.
"Advanced" includes Drag functions and Drop and the general clipboard, the location for saving screenshots is indicated. 
“Description” is a regular text field in which you can describe the virtual machine.
In the “Disk Encryption” tab, virtual encryption is enabled. disk, you can set a password.
- The second settings item is “System”. There are three tabs: “Motherboard”, “Processor”, “Acceleration”. In the “Motherboard” tab you can configure the amount of RAM, disk loading order, chipset, and cursor manipulator. You can connect additional functionality: I/O APIC, EFI and UTC clock.
In the “Processor” tab you can configure how many CPUs will work on the virtual motherboard, their load limit. PAE/NX can be connected. 
In the “Acceleration” tab, select the type of paravirtualization and hardware visualization.
- The third section is “Display.” “Screen” - here the amount of video memory, monitors and scaling is indicated. You can also enable 3-D and 2-D acceleration.
Remote access" - here it is enabled and configured remote access to the virtual machine. 
“Video capture” - here you can record from the virtual machine’s screen, configure the frame rate, where the video is saved, quality, bitrate and everything related to capturing video from a virtual machine.
- The fourth section is “Media”. Here the disks are connected to the virtual machine, their attributes are changed, and the connected drives are deleted.
- The fifth section is “Audio”. Here you can turn off and turn on sound playback in the virtual machine. You can select an audio driver, audio controller and enable audio input or audio output separately from each other.
- The sixth section is “Network”. There are four tabs with adapter settings. The settings inside each tab are the same - connection type, adapter type and MAC address.
- The seventh section is “COM port”. The virtual machine supports up to four COM ports, for each of them you can select the number, port mode and path to it on the user storage.
- The eighth section is “USB”. Here you select the USB generation, from the first to the third, you can add USB filters.
- The ninth section, “Shared Folders,” specifies the path to folders that more than one virtual machine has access to.
- The tenth section is “User Interface”. Here it is configured appearance virtual machine.
- First section - "Are common". The “General” section contains four tabs - “Basic”, “Advanced”, “Description” and “Disk Encryption”. In the “Basic” tab you can change the name, type and version of the OS.
Installing software on a computer, especially little-known software, is always associated with a certain risk. The program may contain errors that affect the stability of the system, built-in advertising or tracking modules, and other unwanted elements. In addition, any software leaves traces on the system that may not have the best effect on its operation. As for experiments with Windows, everything is even more risky here, because sometimes even a seemingly insignificant change in registry data or modification system files can lead to the most unpleasant consequences.
Ask how to avoid them? Very simple, use virtualization systems, for example, the VirtualBox virtual machine - special program, which allows you to install, run and test different operating systems in an isolated environment. You can do anything with such virtual computers - install programs on them, configure them, modify system files, work with disks and partitions, in a word, perform any experiments. If the virtual OS is damaged, you can restore it from a snapshot or delete it altogether - to the host OS, that is, the main one working system, it won't have any effect.
Installing VirtualBox for Windows
Perhaps all this may seem complicated to some, but in fact there is nothing in working with Virtualbox that a novice user cannot handle. So how to use VirtualBox? As usual, it all starts with installation. Go to the developer’s website www.oracle.com/virtualization/virtualbox/index.html and download latest version programs.
Installing VirtualBox on Windows 7/10 is almost no different from installing most other programs; you just need to follow the instructions of the wizard and do not change anything in its parameters. Upon completion of the procedure, you will receive a ready-made virtualization platform.
Creating and basic configuration of a virtual machine
Like installing VirtualBox, creating and configuring a virtual computer is not particularly difficult; the program automatically selects the best configuration depending on the operating system being installed. User control, however, will not hurt.
Let's create a virtual machine for Windows 10 32-bit as an example. Launch VirtualBox and click the “Create” button on the toolbar. In the window that opens, give the machine a name (can be arbitrary); in the drop-down lists, select the operating system and its version.
At the next stage, you will be asked to specify the amount of RAM allocated to the virtual machine. There are no strict rules regarding the allocated RAM; for 32-bit Windows it is advisable to reserve at least 1 GB of memory, for 64-bit Windows - at least 1.8-2 GB.
At the third stage, a virtual HDD, here we leave everything by default. Click “Create”, select the disk type VDI or VHD.
As for the storage format, it is better to select “Dynamic”, this way you will save time and space on the physical disk, although losing a little in performance.
We set the size of the virtual disk as desired, but not less than specified in the operating system requirements. Click “Create”.
The virtual machine has been created and now you can quickly go through its settings. First of all, however, go to the settings itself. VirtualBox programs and on the General tab, change the path to the virtual machines storage directory. It is best to allocate a folder for them on drive D, where there is the most space.
Now go to the settings of the created VM and check the following parameters:
- In the “General” section on the “Advanced” tab, change the path to the VM snapshot files if necessary (it is advisable to place them in the folder with the main VM container file). Here you can enable a shared clipboard for the host and virtual machines.
- If you want to install the system in EFI/GPT mode, in the “System” section, be sure to check the “Enable EFI (special OS only)” checkbox.
- To be able to run 3D applications on a virtual machine, in the “Display” section, check the “Enable 3D acceleration” checkbox.
Setting up the Internet and shared folders
If you plan to provide access to the VM to other users of the local physical network, you should select the “Network Bridge” connection type in the VirtualBox network settings. To ensure interaction between different virtual machines, the “Virtual Host Adapter” mode is used; to connect guest operating systems to a single internal network, the “Internal Network” mode is used. There is also a connection type " Universal driver", but it is used much less frequently.
Of particular interest are shared folders in VirtualBox, thanks to which the user can exchange between the host and virtual machines any files. You can connect such a directory in the “Shared Folders” section. To do this, click on the plus sign opposite the “Machine Folders” item, select a folder on your hard drive through the overview and connect it, not forgetting to check the “Auto-connect” checkbox.
Starting a VM and installing the operating system
Now you know how to configure VirtualBox and the created VM. Next, let's see how to install the operating system on it. The procedure for installing an OS on Virtualbox is practically no different from installing it on a physical computer, except that instead bootable flash drive or DVD, the installation installation is used here ISO image. Launch the created virtual machine and specify the path to the bootable ISO image with the system in the window that opens.
The standard installation procedure will begin, during which you will be asked to accept the license agreement, partition the disk, and after copying the system files, create account user.
The guest operating system is installed, but some functions, in particular, shared folders and the clipboard, will not work until you install a special plugin - guest OS additions. In addition, without these add-ons you will not be able to adjust the screen resolution, connect flash drives to the virtual machine, etc. Fortunately, you don’t need to download anything; guest OS add-ons are included with VirtualBox. All you need to do is select the option in the virtual operating system menu Devices – Mount the Guest Additions disk image.
Go to the “This PC” section in the virtual OS, open the disk drive VirtualBox Guest Additions and, if the system does not offer to do this itself, run executable file VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe.
Install the add-ons as a regular program, accepting the security agreement, and restart the virtual computer.
The guest system is ready for use, all that remains is to check the network operation. We will not dwell in detail on how to set up the Internet in VirtualBox. If you selected NAT, the VM will connect to the Internet automatically. With other types of connections, you will most likely have to tinker a little. Remember the main thing, if the IP address for your main computer is issued automatically by the router, the same settings must be set in the parameters network adapter virtual system. If settings are assigned manually, then they must also be assigned manually in the guest system network adapter settings.
Main problems when working with VirtualBox
VirtualBox – stable and high quality software, and if users have to face problems during its operation, the causes of the latter are most often the errors of the users themselves. Thus, those who try to launch virtual machines on VirtualBox with Hyper-V active will encounter the error “Failed to open a session for the virtual machine” (code E_FAIL 0x80004005). The reason is the incompatibility of these virtualization platforms. If you are planning to use VirtualBox, please disable Hyper-V and vice versa.
However, the disabled virtualization function in the BIOS can lead to the same error. This will be indicated by the unavailability of hardware virtualization options in the virtual machine settings (VT-x/AMD-V and Nested Paging in the section System - Acceleration). By the way, these options must be enabled even with active virtualization in the BIOS, otherwise the VM will also not start.
A VM crashing into BSOD upon startup is a common problem caused by a lack of resources allocated to the guest operating system. physical computer. When creating a virtual machine in VirtualBox, you need to ensure that the allocated resources meet the requirements of the operating system.
The Blue Screen of Death can also be caused by Hyper-V enabled on the host system and a controller type mismatch. If the virtual disk was previously connected to SATA, and then you connected it to IDE, the guest OS will fail with a critical error and crash into BSOD. The issue is resolved by creating a new compatible controller and connecting a container file with the guest system to it.
Accidental deletion of snapshot files by the user may result in the inability to start the VM. You need to delete snapshots correctly - through the “Snapshots” section, otherwise you will have to completely reinstall the guest system. If VirtualBox itself does not start or when you start it you get the error “Cannot access the kernel driver!”, most likely you will have to uninstall the program and then reinstall it.
Installing a virtual machine on your computer is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. In this article we will explain in detail how to install and configure virtualbox, as well as how to add new virtual machines. First, let's figure out what a virtual machine is.
For example, you have an operating system installed Windows system 7 or higher, but you must use an application that runs exclusively on Windows based XP. Agree, if you need to work with this application, reinstalling the OS is not always advisable, especially on an outdated one Windows version. It’s easier to install a virtual machine on your computer, deploy Windows XP in it and run the required application without any problems.
So the virtual machine is full-fledged computer(containing a processor, RAM, hard drive and BIOS), working inside the computer through an emulator application.
Using a virtual machine you can:
- test applications;
- run programs that your OS does not support;
- become familiar with the capabilities of other operating systems;
- test the work network programs in closed virtual networks and so on.
Step-by-step installation of Virtualbox
To download Virtualbox, go to the official website www.virtualbox.org. Currently, the latest version of the utility is 5.0.10.
Run the downloaded installer file, click “Next”.
After this, the next program window will launch. Don't change anything about it. Click Next.
In the parameter selection window, leave the checkboxes as default. Click "Next".
Afterwards another installation window will appear. The Virtualbox installer will inform you that during the installation of the program a new network connection. This means that your main connection is temporarily disabled. Click “Yes”, then in the next window “Install”.
Wait while the application installs. Upon completion of the installation, a notification will appear regarding the successful completion of the Virtualbox installation process. Click Finish.
If everything was successful, “VirtualBox Manager” will start.
“Manager” is a shell that provides work between Virtualbox and a desktop PC. The range of options for this application is quite small. True, it’s not worth spending time 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. 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 your PC.
The next window will ask you to create a new virtual hard disk or use an existing one. Since this is our first launch. Since this is our first launch of the program, 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 drive. We recommend leaving the VDI type, then your virtual disk will be completely synchronized with the virtual machine, and the speed at which it performs its functions will be no less than that of a real hard drive.
A dynamic virtual disk, the volume of which tends to change as information is added. It forms faster, but functions very slowly.
A fixed virtual hard drive, the volume of which will be static and will be designated 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, indicate its size and location.
Click on the “Create” button and a window with the newly created virtual machine will open in front of us. Actually, this concludes our preparatory actions.
How to set up a new virtual machine?
Go to virtualbox settings, click “Configure”:
After completing the steps, click “OK”, then “Run”.
If you did everything correctly, the operating system will begin loading, as shown in the figure.
Before moving on to the question of how to install Windows on Virtualbox, you need to find out what Virtualbox actually is and what it is needed for. Everything is very simple - Virtualbox (meaning one of the varieties of VM) is nothing more than software with which you can create one or more virtual computers on a real existing PC, simulating the operation of real ones personal computers. On a VM you can “upload” an operating system that is different from the one on a real PC.
Virtualbox is free software from Oracle that is ideal for use on your computer at home. Naturally, in order to install Windows 7 on a computer, you first need to install a VM (virtual machine).
How is the VM installed?
- First of all, you will need to download the latest version of Virtualbox and run the executable file.
- Select the installation folder.
- Click the Next button after we have decided on the shortcuts;
- An important point is that during the installation of Virtualbox, the PC will be temporarily disconnected from the Internet. So if at this time you are downloading something at the same time (I strongly do not recommend doing this - the system freezes), then first wait until the process is completed, and only then click Yes.
This is what it looks like
- After installation, Virtualbox starts up by itself.
Direct creation of a VM (virtual machine)
What should I do to install Windows 7?
So, a virtual machine called VM Windows 7 (or any other one you like) is already ready and you can proceed to the settings (accordingly, the Configure button is used).
This is what the menu that opens will look like:
There are a lot of proposed settings, we focus on those that are necessary to install Windows 7.
- In principle, Windows can be installed from a CD/DVD distribution or from an iso image. What's most interesting is Windows boot 7 from an iso image is many times faster. Select the Media section, which contains only a pre-made virtual hard disk, and go through the settings (there are several options).
- Select the Empty item and in the Drive menu install a real CD/DVD with a distribution kit or iso image.
- Select the Empty item, left-click on the folder icon to open the menu, click the Select optical disk image command and run it. After this, you need to add an iso image in the window that opens.
Pay attention to the icon in the upper right corner with the image of a folder. It is on this that you will need to click to carry out this operation.
After this, calmly leave the settings window and select the Run button to install Windows 7 itself. What’s most interesting is installation on Windows 7 real and virtual computers no different.
That's all you need to know about how to install windows 7 on Virtualbox.