Currently I'm using Windows 7 OS, in the same hardware I have RedHat ISO Image, is there any possibility to boot Linux ISO image directly from the same hardware?(not by using live CD,USB or any VM Workstation). I have 4 drives in my windows OS, I have ISO image in D: drive and E:drive I allocated for Linux, please try to help me out any one .....

Awaiting for your valuable Support........

I don't think you can do it as a "dual boot" directly from the iso, though I may be wrong.

If you install VirtualBox and start it up, hit "New" and follow the prompts, pointing at the iso on your D: or E: drive or wherever you've download it to, when asked for the install media, it'll install as a virtual system. You then run it under VirtualBox obviously.

Hope that helps.

Play Bonny!

It is possible to boot 'some' iso files directly but, that is using the Linux Grub bootloader. I don't know if that is the case with Red Hat but it is possible with some Linux distributions. I doubt a windows bootloader has that capability. I don't boot windows very often so I don't know. Have you ever booted a windows iso from the hard drive with a windows bootloader? To boot even an installed Linux system from windows you need to either install third party software such as EasyBCD or manually create entries in the windows boot file and modify the bootloader.

Conversely, it is a simple matter to boot any installed windows system from Grub Legacy or Grub2. It is also possible to boot an extracted windows iso from Grub Legacy or Grub2. Since you say you only have windows, it might be possible in a convoluted way by installing the Grub bootloader on a very small partition and using EasyBCD to chainload to Grub in an attempt to boot the extracted Red Hat iso on another separate small partition but I've never tried that as I don't use windows often or Red Hat.

The hardware and number of drives are not relevant, it is the bootloader. Simple answer, you could do it if the iso were extracted and using the Linux Grub bootloader, highly unlikely with a windows bootloader.

Some versions of grub can boot directly to an ISO image file as noted above. Grub4dos and such are similar and many ways to chain (but not always work).

Some images are not easily bootable.

Some images are really hybrid images and really will act like a hard drive image.


What you should do is contact RedHat as they offer help for subscribers.

If you are not a subscriber then just delete the iso and get an open source version or pay for their service.