Installing VirtualBox

Problem

Under Ubuntu you want to use another OS (like Windows) in a virtualized environment.

Solution

As a free solution you can use VirtualBox. Be aware that it has two versions! A proprietary (also free) and an open-source edition (OSE). Some features are missing from the OSE, so I suggest using the other one.

Installation:

• visit the download page and fetch the install file that matches your host system
• when the installation is done, launch the application with the command VirtualBox (pay attention to the capital ‘V’)

Other Products

There is another great (though proprietary) product called VMware Workstation. It also runs on Linux.

Troubleshooting

When I wanted to increase the number of processors available to a guest system, I got this error message: VERR_VMX_MSR_LOCKED_OR_DISABLED. It means that virtualization is disabled in the BIOS. Steps to follow (under Dell):

• Restart the machine and enter the BIOS by pressing F2.
• Go to Performance -> Virtualization, and set it On.
• Go to Security -> Execute Disable, and set it On.

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