Preparation:
- If you haven’t already installed VirtualBox. Then go and download latest VirtualBox application (Latest version is 2.1.0 at the time of writing). It’s a 34.3 MB deb file. (Make sure you don’t have any previous version already installed. Else uninstall that first.)
The one available in Synaptic is old, so please don’t install it. - Double click the downloaded file and install the package.
- Follow the on screen prompts (if any.) That should go smooth.
- As soon as you have installed the application, reload the session. (Not a necessary step, but to be on the safer side I recommend.) A simple CTRL+ALT+Backspace should be OK.
- Go to Applications > System tools > Sun xVM VirtualBox to open the application for use.
Initial VirtualBox Setup for Windows 7:
Installing Windows 7:
Now once you have done all that mentioned above, you should see Windows 7 desktop with Blue Background and fish. As shown below:
But two things you won’t find working – (i) Sound and Video and (ii) Network Adapter i.e. Internet.
To get them working, we’ll need to install VirtualBox Guest Additions. And how do you install VirtualBox Guest Additions:
- Click Devices in the menu bar, and choose Mount CD/DVD-ROM, and then choose CD/DVD-ROM Image.
- Choose VBoxGuestAdditions.iso, and click the Select button.
- The AutoPlay window should open at this point, click on Open/View files. If it doesn’t don’t panic; on your newly installed Windows 7 Desktop, click on Start and go to Computer and explore the CD Image you just mounted.
- Right-click the VBoxWindowsAdditions file and choose properties.
- In the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab. Check the Run this program in compatibility mode for box, and choose Windows Vista in the box below it. Click OK.
- Double-click the VBoxWindowsAdditions file to run it.
- Follow on-screen prompts.
- After a few seconds, you’ll be asked if you want to install the Sun display drivers. Select the check box to trust software from “Sun Microsystems, Inc.” and click Install.
- Once the installation is finished you will be prompted to restart virtual machine. Please restart.
Please follow the remaining instructions to get the sound and network working.
- Please shut down your virtual machine within Windows 7.
- That should bring you back to Virtual Box application.
- While selecting the Windows 7 entry in Virtual Box application, click on settings.
- Select the downloaded Windows 7 ISO image file under CD/DVD ROM -> ISO Image.
- Change Audio and Network setting as shown below.
- Say OK.
- Start your virtual machine with Window 7.
- You should see a pop-up showing that Windows 7 has found hardware and is installing the drivers.
- Once that is done. You are ready to rock and roll with everything working on your Virtual Windows 7 installation with Ubuntu.
- If you plan to use it more than 30 days then Activate Windows by searching for ‘Activate Windows’ on the Start Menu. (Remember, if you don’t activate, you won’t be able to use Windows 7 after 30 days.)













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Knowliz: Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox http://t.co/JC7sF7ci
[...] Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox [...]
[...] Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox [...]
Hot off the Press! Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox – http://t.co/upNA9Niv #in
Thank you very much my friend I am able to use Windows 7 in my Ubuntu 11.04 it is working Superb. I never imagined it would be possible .I want you to keep on publish some exciting Topic like this and wish you Good luck
Thanks for the kind words my friend.
have you seen the pictures I have uploaded.
i am able to transfer the files from ubuntu to windows by making linux as server and i cannot find my usb devices like my pen drive and my USB hard disk in the windows virtual box, how it is possible I have tried many times in connecting .now I can access the files in the usb through virtual network
Virtual network means I plug the pendrive and ubuntu find it and i access a file through a shared folder in windows and Ubuntu.
I have also had problems accessing USB drives using Virtual box. Let me play wih it a little bit on Ubuntu 11.04 and see if that has improved. Will let you know.
Thanks
[...] found a nice article that also covers this topic. http://www.knowliz.com/2009/01/install-windows-7-with-ubuntu-using.html Technorati Tags: VirtualBox,Windows [...]
[...] virtualboxhttps://help.ubuntu.com/community/VirtualBoxhttp://www.knowliz.com/2009/01/install-windows-7-with-ubuntu-using.html [...]
[...] you probably could try installing windows inside Ubuntu using virtualbox. Have a look here: http://www.knowliz.com/2009/01/insta…ntu-using.html or here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch8X86R6d-g doing this will also let you check that the WindowsDVD [...]
a little off-topic but the screenshot-slidershows in this tutorial are genius!
Currently Browsing: http://is.gd/8yqxG
I have Win7 working under Ubuntu 9.10 with VBox perfectly – with Guest additions of course.
However, one thing I am getting stuck with, is that I can’t get the Windows to recognise other drives on my hard disks.
It would be nice to recognise Ubuntu data drives, but I also have a Windows Data partition on one of my computer drives and I can’t even get it to see that.
Yes, that’s a very common problem with VBox. I will have to check what settings will be required to fix that. So please stay tuned, let me do some digging to find an answer for you.
One question though, are these your external HDD or the internal partitions on Windows and Ubuntu you don’t see.
Thanks for that, I’d be very grateful, or I am going to have to do a lot of DVD copying
How much of ram and processing power would be required to run win 7 and office 2010 upon it in ubuntu through virtualbox?
Hi all
I had difficulties to make audio work under Windows 7 in VirtualBox 3.0.
The following solution worked:
1. download and install the realtek ac97 drivers in Windows 7.
2. set audio in the virtualbox as follows:
2. a. enable audio
2. b. Host Audio Driver: OSS Audio Driver
2. c. ICH AC97
Windows 7 will recognize the realtek ac97 drivers, install them, and restart.
Note: PulseAudio does NOT work.
Hi all
I had difficulties to make audio work under Windows 7 in VirtualBox 3.0.
The following solution worked:
1. download the realtek ac97 drivers in Windows 7.
2. set audio in the virtualbox as follows:
2. a. enable audio
2. b. Host Audio Driver: OSS Audio Driver
2. c. ICH AC97
Windows 7 will recognize the realtek ac97 drivers, install them, and restart.
Note: PulseAudio does NOT work.
RT @tweetmeme Knowliz: Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox http://bit.ly/44dBKS
i followed all the above processes but the graphics of windows are not working
it seems like in safe mode , how to get the graphics
I’m using VirtualBox 2.1 on Ubuntu 8.10 and followed your instructions carefully. I had no problems running Windows 7 without the GuestAdditions but after installing them and restarting the virtual machine Windows 7 seems to boot forever showing the pulsating windows-logo and “Starting Windows © Microsoft Corporation”.
Any Hints?
As soon as you install the VBoxGuestAdditions, you should see that option.
In fact, then you will be able to use Windows 7 in full screen mode too.
There is no trick. Hope it helps.
Cheers
Anurag Bansal
nevermind, figured it out. installed the drivers manually the first time (pointed the device manager at the guest additions 32bit stuff), but I tried it your way and it worked, thanks
I can’t really get widescreen (1280×800 in my case) to work. None of the assorted solutions searching on google comes up with seem to help, though installing the guest drivers gave a few more options (including 6400×1200 o.O).
Thanks for adding the information about 64-bit.
I installed 32-bit on Intel, so had no clue about this step.
Cheers
Anurag Bansal
When installing guest additions for the 64-bit version of Windows 7 in a 64-bit virtualBox (ubuntu 8.10), it’s necessary to adjust the compatibility settings of vBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64 and run that instead of the generic vBoxWindowsAdditions. At least on my setup, when an attempt was made to follow the guest additions installation procedure by the book, I was never asked about the video driver and the installation failed. Great post!
@Matt:
I am using the 32-bit architecture on Ubuntu 8.10 i386. Didn’t give me any error at all.
Did you install the 32 or 64 bit version of windows 7? I am running ubuntu 8.10 with the latest virtualbox that you are using. I get an error when its installing about using an unsupported architecture… I’ve tried in both an ubuntu x86 and a 64 bit host with no luck.
Reading Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox @winse7en http://tinyurl.com/8k9n57
Hi, thanks for the guide. I needed to run the VBox Addtions as admin as well; otherwise I got an error.
Hi Chris,
I didn’t have to. I don’t know why you had to run it as admin. Which VBOX version you are using?
Not sure, may be that is the reason.
Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox http://ff.im/-BClb
Dear Anurag,
I allready installed Windows7 with your instructions. Now i want to remove. How i dot it? please let me know
Hi Mujeeb,
Installing any operating system using VirtualBox for trial purpose is really
fun. Because as it doesn’t touch your existing system in any way.
On the same line if you wanna remove (uninstall) any operating system you
installed using VirtualBox, just go to VirtualBox application. There you
just right-click and select delete or remove. That will remove your new
installation which is Windows 7 in your case.
(To be on the safer side, make sure you “Shut down” Windows 7 and the window
closes itself.)
Let me know if you have any further question.
Thanks
Anurag Bansal
Hi, i’m trying to do the same on a windows xp platform (yeah, i know…
) but i can’t get past the initial dvd boot phase: it gets to the “windows is loading files…” process then crashes with a 0xc0000001 error.
i’m assigning 1024mb for ram and a 10gb fixed size harddisk image.
I tried both 2.0.2 and 2.1.0 of xVM.
Any idea?
Thanks!
Marcello
Just curious to know how much is the RAM of your host operating system.
If you are assigning same amount of RAM as your host, then it will never work and even if it works, your host will become unusable. (Which is very highly unlikely.)
So you should try to assign around 512MB of RAM for your guest OS, if host has 1GB RAM and so on.
Let me know if that helps.
Cheers
Anurag Bansal
Hello again
Just a note… if you go into virtualbox settings before installing Windows 7 and mount the Intel 1000 driver for networking…. it will be online during the install. My install immediately downloaded two updates upon completion.
Thanks again for the great guide. I admire your prowess at building a web page
Oh ya, I noticed that…
Cool pick my friend. In fact all these kind of things in software are generally trial and error. You never know when you get to know yet another trick.
I too installed two updates today.
BTW, thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.
Cheers
Anurag Bansal
Is there a reason you obscured the MAC address of your virtual network card in NetworkSettings.png?
Not sure why I did that, but to be on the safer side, I guess.
Nothing specific, just thought it will be safe if I hide it.
Completed instruction tutorial for installing Window 7 using VirtualBox on Ubuntu – http://tinyurl.com/8k9n57
Re: networking….. http://www.buildcontext.com/blog/2009/01/11/windows-7-public-beta-running-on-ubuntu-intrepid-810-virtualbox/ …. suggests you choose the Intel 1000 for Desktop rather than the default setting.
I’m new to virtualbox and was doing my homework to prepare….. i think this may be the answer to your networking issue….. but i have not tried it yet.
your post was helpful to me….. hope this returns the favor
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the link…
In fact I read the manual carefully and it tells very clearly how to get the Networking and other stuff done.
I am updating the article with that information, so that new visitors find everything they need to get this working.
Thanks a lot for the information you provided.
Cheers
Anurag Bansal
Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox http://ff.im/-A3tg
It’s good that Linux users can have a taste on Windows 7. I’ve always been a Windows lover (since it can play games and Linux practically doesn’t
)
@Michael Aulia:
I don’t agree with you on this. I just wanna say that you can say this for anything not only games. Not all things are developed for Linux, same is for game.
Simple enough….though this is a debatable topic.
Current article is about Windows and I just wanna leave it to the readers which OS they prefer.
Some have never tried Linux, so they don’t even know how good it is. For others, Windows is what they always see when they see a computer.
Anyways, thanks for dropping by…
Install Windows 7 with Ubuntu using VirtualBox http://twurl.nl/esge65 http://ff.im/-zwLd
How to install Windows 7 with Ubuntu – http://tinyurl.com/8k9n57 http://ff.im/-zuZP
@Dale:
Thanks for the quick trick.
Instead of typing CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE to reload your session, just hit CTRL-F2 and type `killall gnome-panel`. This restarts the panel so that the VirtualBox Icon will be on the System Tools menu.
oops – i meant ALT-F2.
@Dale:
Thanks for the quick trick.