[SOLVED] Installing debian in virtual machine

Piyush M · 06-13-2012, 09:51 PM

I am having laptop with core 2 duo, 2 gb ram, 2.2 ghz, ddr3, 320 gb hard disk.
Currently windows 7 is installed on my laptop.
I wanted to know that is it safe to install debian 6 in virtual machine?
Would you recommend any name of virtual machine for windows which is free and best?
Will you please explain the exact concept of virtual machine?

nixblog · 06-13-2012, 10:43 PM

Yes it is safe to install Debian in a virtual machine on Windows. I would suggest VirtualBox as your VM software.

See this Wiki article to explain the concept of virtual machines.

Piyush M · 06-13-2012, 11:30 PM

thanks for reply.
I have downloaded the virtual box.
any more suggestions expected

Piyush M · 06-14-2012, 01:13 AM

I am having windows 7 32 bit but I have downloaded debian 6 of 64 bit.

do you think it will work???

nixblog · 06-14-2012, 01:33 AM

See here for the possible answer.

jefro · 06-14-2012, 03:15 PM

As nixblog says but with a VM you are kind of safe to try any install. It will tell you if it will work.

A bios setting or a supported motherboard/cpu may work.

nixblog · 06-14-2012, 03:42 PM

If you have a fairly modern motherboard and find you cannot run 64bit guests in VirtualBox then the most likely answer is that Intel VT is turned off in the BIOS, this was the case for my ASUS Maximus IV motherboard. Once enabled it was fine.

TobiSGD · 06-14-2012, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piyush M

I am having windows 7 32 bit but I have downloaded debian 6 of 64 bit.

do you think it will work???

The answer is: It depends. You state that you have a laptop with Core 2 Duo and this can be a problem, depending on which Core 2 Duo you have exactly. Especially in laptops the presence of hardware virtualization support was rather rare, especially if it was a somewhat cheaper laptop (the reason I went with AMD the last time I bought a laptop was especially support for that in the lower price-classes). If you don't have hardware support for virtualization you will not be able to run a 64 bit guest system on a 32 bit host OS.

Piyush M · 06-14-2012, 10:12 PM

I am having core 2 duo t6600. Detail about motherbord I dont know.

I am having only 2 gb ram (and not in the mood of upgrading it), do you really think virtual box will slow down my system ?

Till now I have decided to try debian in virtual box but if this is so then neither of them will run properly. I have to dual boot then.

For me more use of windows is expected.

For upgrading, what is minimum ram required to run virtual box fine?

nixblog · 06-14-2012, 10:22 PM

64bit guests might not work with that CPU as Intel VT is not enabled.

You will probably need at least 4GB RAM on a Windows 7 host machine to run guest machines in a VM.

You could dual-boot Debian with Windows 7. Either Google it, search the forums or if stuck, ask

Piyush M · 06-15-2012, 12:54 AM

Ok nixblog.
Here ends the whole discussion. Now I will dual boot debian with windows 7. I dont want to mess them both and get very poor output.

Thank you all for your answers.

nixblog · 06-15-2012, 03:39 AM

Well you wont do any harm to your Windows install by trying to boot 64bit Debian in a VM. It will either boot in the VM or just tell you it cannot because you are trying to boot 64bit guest on a 32bit host.

Just for reference here is the Intel spec page for your T6600 CPU

TobiSGD · 06-15-2012, 04:46 AM

You don't need to try it. You can't boot a 64 bit guest OS on a 32 bit host OS without support for hardware virtualization. Here the relevant information from the handbook:

Quote:

VirtualBox supports 64-bit guest operating systems, even on 32-bit host operating systems,[11] provided that the following conditions are met:

You need a 64-bit processor with hardware virtualization support (see the section called “Hardware vs. software virtualization”).

You must enable hardware virtualization for the particular VM for which you want 64-bit support; software virtualization is not supported for 64-bit VMs.

If you want to use 64-bit guest support on a 32-bit host operating system, you must also select a 64-bit operating system for the particular VM. Since supporting 64 bits on 32-bit hosts incurs additional overhead, VirtualBox only enables this support upon explicit request.

On 64-bit hosts (which typically come with hardware virtualization support), 64-bit guest operating systems are always supported regardless of settings, so you can simply install a 64-bit operating system in the guest.

nixblog · 06-15-2012, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobiSGD

You don't need to try it. You can't boot a 64 bit guest OS on a 32 bit host OS without support for hardware virtualization. Here the relevant information from the handbook:

Already posted a link to that earlier in the thread but sometimes it doesnt hurt to give it a go and see what the result is regardless - adds to experience.