Get Your Hands Nerdy

-To download the Xubuntu ISO (an iso is an image file of a CD or DVD), visit Xubuntu.org, Click the big “Get Xubuntu” icon, make sure that you meet the system requirements, and pick the Xubuntu mirror country where you currently are of the latest version. In my case, I chose 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope from the United States mirror. On the next screen, under “Desktop CD” depending on your current operating system, choose either the x86 or 64-bit version of the software (If you don’t know, you’re most likely x86).

-Choose where you want to save the iso and start the download. This is quite a large download (616MB), so depending on your connection speed, it could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours. Just be patient.

-Once the download has completed, open Sun VirtualBox (if you don’t already have it installed, follow the link in the reference titled “Install VB…”). Click the big “New” icon in the upper left corner, and click “Next” at the Welcome to the wizard screen.

-Now you’ll choose a name for your machine, as well as the machine type. I recommend keeping the name simple, as it may make things easier in the long run. Under OS type, choose “Linux” in the “Operating System” menu, and “Other Linux” in the version. Don’t worry that it’s not on the list – it’ll work just fine.

-Here’s where it starts to get a little hairy…just a little. Xubuntu will run very lean, but I highly recommend you allocate at the very least, 256 MB of memory. The machine that I’m currently using to host the virtual machine is on Windows XP and has 2.5 GB RAM available. I’ll bump the memory allocation up to 1 GB (1024 MB). That way, as long as I’m not using any highly demanding applications while running my Xubuntu virtual machine, my PC should be in plenty good shape

-At the “Virtual Hard Disk” screen, I recommend going with the default settings unless you have a specific reason not to. Hit next to go on to the “Create New Virtual Disk Wizard”

-At the next screen, when choosing between “Dynamically expanding storage” and “Fixed-size storage”, I’ll leave it up to you. If you’re using Xubuntu casually, and aren’t anally monitoring your free drive space, I recommend dynamic. If you have specific plans for your virtual machine, our you’re tightly budgeting your hard drive capacity, consider the fixed option. Remember though, when you go with the fixed format, your hard drive automatically sets aside the space that you decide on in Step eight – there’s no easy way to go back

-At the “Virtual Disk Location and Size” screen, you get to choose the location of your virtual disk, in this case, where you’d like to keep your Xubuntu VM (by default, it’s created in your local account folder in the .VirtualBox folder in vdi file format). Unless you want to store it in an alternate local partition, external storage device, or a network share, just go with the default. When choosing the size, you need a bare minimum of 1.5 GB to run Xubuntu. I’m using the operating system mainly to surf the internet in a virus protected environment, so I’ll just use the default 8 GB. If you give yourself tons of space to load up on and your local drive will allow it, be my guest!

-Confirm your settings at the two summary screens, and hit “Finish” if you’re satisfied. The main VirtualBox console should appear with your Xubuntu VM in the left pane, and its virtual hardware specifications in the right pane.

-Now we need to install the operating system. Select your virtual disk from the left pane and hit “Settings”. You’re presented with all of the configurable hardware settings, ranging from network to display. Right now, however, we’re concerned with putting a disk in the optical drive. Select “CD\DVD ROM” from the left pane, select “Mount CD/DVD Drive”, and select the “ISO Image file” radio button.

-Click the little folder icon. In the new window, select the “CD/DVD Images” tab and choose the “Add” button, navigate to the location where you downloaded the Xubuntu ISO file, and select it. Once back in the settings window, select “ok” to exit back to the main console. Let’s fire this sucker up – go ahead and hit “Start”.

-You’ll be presented with an auto capture keyboard message. All this means is that when you have the virtual machine selected, any keys pressed will be registered by the Guest OS, and not you Host PC. To toggle back and forth, just press the Right CTRL key. The same message appears when you click the mouse. Again, you just press the toggle key when you want to switch back.

-The machine will start, you’ll see the splash screen, and you’ll encounter an additional message regarding 32 and 16 bit color modes. Don’t sweat it, you can worry about color quality later if you want. Hit “ok”

-Allow the Xubuntu to load it’s initial boot. This time may vary depending on the specifications you set on your virtual machine in earlier steps. Wants loaded, you’ll get to the desktop. Pretty ain’t it? If you’ve never used a Linux OS before, you may be wondering how you’re already running the operating system without an install. You’re in a “Live” session – a test drive if you will. Screw around for a while if you want, but when you’re ready, double-click “Install” on the desktop.

Tags: linux virtual machine, virtual box, virtual machine, virtualbox, xubuntu