I’m running on a windows 7 – on a 64 bit processor and am looking for a VM to run xp and/or Ubuntu.
A lot of people seem to suggest vmware but I thought I’ll get more advice on the matter.
Open Question
virtual box it can just use an iso instead of a special vmware file and it is free
Virtual box by sun. It has already made ubuntu images you can download for free and set up really fast
Source(s):
http://www.virtualbox.org/
I thoroughly recommend VirtualBox its easy to use and incredibly versatile
http://www.virtualbox.org/
One thing of note the performance of a virtual machine will be impaired to that of a full installation so in the case of Ubuntu you may want to consider the method outlined below
Installing Ubuntu as a dual-boot with Windows without partitioning
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wubi
You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application.
Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.
Boot in to windows insert the Ubuntu 9.10 LiveCD and you will offered the option of installing inside windows which is where the Wubi installer comes in, you will be asked how many gigabytes you wish to allocate to Ubuntu (I recommend 8gb) then you set a password for your installation then click install and thats it.
Once Ubuntu is fully installed upon starting your PC you will be given a choice of which operating system you want to use Windows or Ubuntu
Ubuntu 9.10 Download
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) User Guide
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Karmi…
LUg.
I always suggest VMWare Server ( http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ ) when your running Windows as your main OS because VMWare creates their virtual machines to work better on Windows. If I’m using Linux as my main OS then I tend to use VirtualBox as both VMWare Server and VirtualBox work very much the same on Linux, but VirtualBox is available in the repositories.