Creating a virtual machine with Oracle VirtualBox

Hello!
Good night!

I recently did a tutorial teaching how to create a virtual machine using VMware Player. Now, I'll show you how to do the same thing using another well-known and rival VMware freeware tool, Oracle Virtualbox (Old Innotek VirtualBox).

Oracle VirtualBox

1. Download the Oracle VirtualBox and install on your operating system.
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3. Click on the “New” button
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5. Unlike VMware Player, here we manually choose the Windows version. Note that there is no Windows Server option in the list. I will use the option "Other Windows (32-bit)".
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7. Here we can define the amount of RAM we will use in the virtual machine. The software already brings the recommended value according to the operating system. Remember that RAM is shared between the VM and your physical machine, so I never put more than 50% of your total RAM in the VM
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10. Here we will choose the type of hard disk of the virtual machine. I recommend using the VDI type, which is the default of VirtualBox. Another suggestion is to use VMDK, which is the default VMware Player and can be used by it as well.
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12. Here we will define if the VM's virtual disk will be created with a pre-allocated fixed size (already consuming all the defined disk space) as soon as we create the VM, or if it will be dynamically allocated, that is, as more is needed space, the virtual machine will automatically allocate up to the pre-defined limit size on the next screen.
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14. In this screen, we will define the name of the virtual machine and the maximum disk size.
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16. Now let's click on “Storage” to open the settings screen and select the operating system installation ISO.
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18. After selecting the ISO file, the screen should appear like this.
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20. In this screen, we can configure the amount of memory and cores of the virtual machine, shared folders, networks, etc.
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    Motherboard and memory settings

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    Processor Settings

     

23. Click the "Start" button
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25. Select the boot disk of your virtual machine. As we are installing it will be the CD / DVD drive that we will use for installing Windows Server 2008 R2.
26. Clicking OK will open another window in the background where the virtual machine will run. You can close or minimize the VirtualBox splash screen and change focus to the virtual machine execution window.
27. When you click on the window where the virtual machine is running, several alerts will appear teaching you how to use VirtualBox. Note that when you click on the window, your mouse will be “stuck” inside it. To exit, press the Ctrl screen on the right (next to the left arrow). This key can be changed on the settings screen.
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29. After Windows is installed, our virtual machine is configured and installed.
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Guest image

• Similar to VMware Tools, this tool adds the ability to automatically adjust the resolution of the virtual machine according to the size of the window and improves the integration of the mouse between the physical machine, no longer locking the mouse when clicking inside the VirtualBox window.
• Installation is manual. You need to open Windows Explorer (or My Computer), go to "CD drive" and then run the program. The installation is very simple, standard “Next, Next, Finish”, with only a few driver installation alerts appearing.
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• Restart the virtual machine for the installation to take effect.

Shared clipboard and Drag and Drop (Drag N'Drop)

• These settings allow you to enable the shared clipboard, which allows both the virtual machine and the physical machine to “see” the same information, making it possible to copy a text or file on the virtual machine (Ctrl + C) and paste it on the physical machine ( Ctrl + V) and vice versa.
• You can also enable drag and drop to transfer files between machines more easily and intuitively.
• Possible modes:
  - Disabled
  - Guest Host (The physical machine can view the virtual clipboard, but not the other way around)
  - Guest to Host (The virtual machine can view the physical clipboard, but not the other way around)
  - Bi-directional (works between the two machines)

Shared Folders

• Another very interesting and useful feature of VirtualBox is the possibility of creating shared folders on your virtual machine with your Desktop, whether sharing a folder or an entire partition.

Screenshots

• An interesting feature that VirtualBox has and which VMware does not, is the screen capture feature, which lets you take a print screen off the screen or record a video of what is done on the virtual machine, all native.

Energy options

• Turn off the machine (P): It is for abruptly shutting down the virtual machine by simulating a shutdown using the power button of your case. I do not recommend using this option as it may corrupt your VM as well as damage your physical machine by doing so. Always shut down your VM by the operating system itself.
• Send the shutdown signal: It is used to shut down the virtual machine using a shutdown command that is sent to the operating system, so that it takes care of shutting down the computer properly without risking damage to any file.
• Pause or Save Machine State: It allows VirtualBox to save the exact situation of your virtual machine (including open programs, everything), save that block of RAM on your hard drive and turn off your VM. When you turn it back on, it will start exactly where you were.
• Reset: Forcibly restarts your virtual machine, just as in Unplug the machine (P), simulating a press on the reset button of the cabinet. I also don't recommend it unless the virtual machine has crashed and Ctrl + Alt + Delete doesn't resolve.

And that's it guys,
To the next!