i want to install windows xp inside linux what should i do i am stuck please help me. mafshep

Hello and Welcome to LinuxQuestions,

You cannot install Windows XP inside Linux! I think you got that idea running Ubuntu from within Windows using Wubi.exe. Well that doesn't work the other way around. If you want to have Windows kind of inside Linux, you'll need to look into virtualization. The easiest one is to install VirtualBox in your Linux and then install Windows in a virtual machine.

Kind regards,

Eric

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Use VirtualBox.

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Either VMware Player (which is free) or Virtual Box (which is also free).

Download these one of these players and install

run it.

It will ask you "where" your ISO image is, or "where" your CD/DVD boot disk is. (Both will scan your dvd/cd rom drive first.

click yes, that is where my operating system is. .

Both will automatically load up the system and create a Virtual drive for them. It will take about 1 hour total for some systems to install completely.

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Hello first take back up grub run this
1.root@rinku]#dd if=/dev/null of=backup.bin bs=512 count=1
2.After make any empty partition in linux and boot from windows cd and install windows without any problem
3.After installation windows make his own mbr and linux will not run
4.boot from linux cd in rescue mode and restore backup.mbr with this command root@rinku]#dd if=/path of file of=/dev/null bs=512 count=1
5.make entry in grub file for windows that all

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The OP asked how to install it WITHIN Linux, not dual boot.

And your instructions are incorrect...if the OP followed them, they'd be left with a non-booting system. Even if Linux was booted, Windows would NOT boot, since the Windows MBR MUST be first on the disk, i.e., Windows has to be installed first, THEN Linux.

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Actually his steps WILL work, but you are quite correct in that he answered the question that was NOT asked.

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Really?? Thankfully I've been MS free for many years, but I've NEVER seen an installation work where Windows wasn't the first player in the game. Good catch.

Firstly i say sorry to mafshep,hello maf you can instll xen kernel and virt manager after you can install windows in virt-manager.
TBOne we can install windows after linux installation but we should have free space minimum 10Gb and you say windows make his own mbr this is right but in above i show how to take backup of mbr before windows installation .This is practical work not fake .

In Linux CD you can create a partition that you can install windows.
I have tried it many times.

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A good solution would be to install virtualbox as most people said. It is light enough, and supposing you don't have a very very old machine you will not have any problems (I have virtualbox with winXp in my 8 year old machine although I almost never use it).

After creating virtual disks proceed with windows install as usual.

Tip: using an antivirus program may cripple performance for low end machines. An alternative is making a "backup" virtual disk (a simple copy with other name) after you have fully set up winXP and in case of a virus "disaster" you just delete the old virtual disk and point virtualbox to the new...

Really?? You can create a partition on a Linux CD to run Windows on?? I'm sure we'd all love to hear about how you did that. Do share.

Also, if you're going to try to answer the OP's question, how about actually telling them some useful information about it, rather than just saying "yes, you can do it".

I didn't say it was fake...but I have NEVER heard of that working at all in the past. Also, it seems like a good bit more work to accomplish a dual-boot, rather than a Windows install first, then installing Linux (where it will prompt you, and make your machine dual-boot through the Linux installer).

Also, things like VirtualBox can be installed at any time, and answer the OP's question...how to install Windows INSIDE of Linux. Dual-booting doesn't.

you know .I am beginning to think that all these one line posts are bots


there are many many more that there used to be

TB0NE: generally, you can always count on being wrong (soon, if not at the time) if you claim something CANNOT BE DONE in this crowd. There is almost always someone who HAS made it work, if WILL (if only because you said they cannot) and is smart enough to find a way. In this case, the problem is an old one and was solved back when LILO was common and GRUB was new: we just do not run into it as often these days. I must agree with you about one thing: installing windows first, then linux (which is smart enough to notice and allow for Windows) and its (smarter) boot loader is DEFINATELY the EASIER way!

We have gone far afield. None of this dual-boot discussion pertains.
The consensus is that the bes solution is to install virtualization and install your windows as a guest of Linux in a virtual machine. We may not agree on what virtualization is best for this job, but the free VMWARE, XEN, KVM, and VIRTUALBOX solutions have been mentioned.

Virtualbox is my tool of choice for client machines (not always servers) as I find it easier for what I do. (YMMV) If you are more familiar with a different solution, I can understand that preference.

mafshep: if you agree with and decide to evaluate the virtual solution,
Please pick one, give it a try, and let us know what happens.