http://download.virtualbox.org/virtu...111374-OSX.dmg won't work?

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Hi,
I am dyed-in-the-wool Linux bigot. I use (and have used for many years) Thinkpad laptops. In many ways they are the antithesis of the MAC .. they are heavy, bullet-proof and have no problem running Linux. I use virtual box to run VM's under Linux .. I too used VMware for years .. I was a beta tester for their original offering way back in the late 90's .... and for a number of reasons I changed to virtual box about 6 years ago and have had no cause to change back. My current Laptop is a Thinkpad W530 with 32G of memory, 1.5 TB of spinning disk and 128GB of msata SSD. This machine will handle several simultaneous VM's with no problem. I usually have a couple of Linux VM's running and always have Windows 7 running in a VM .... for those things that only MS can handle.

If you want to experiment go get a cheap Thinkpad of ebay .. Get a T61p with a 1920x1200 display if you can, spring for 8G of memory .. the T61 machines can take it ... and try out Linux with VM's

Remember as always YMMV

cheers
pete

pete hilton
saruman@ruvolo-hilton.org

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I've got my VM Ubuntu installation working the way I like and I really like it. So fast.

My next problem is finding a high quality laptop, not a portable computer. I currently use a MacBook 11" Air. Love the size, sure wish it had more than the 8gb of Ram. My Air turns 4 y/o in 1 month. I feel it's irresponsible of me to depend, and my customers also depend, on a 4 y/o laptop. I have my wife's Air setup as a backup in case of emergency, I had to use it last month when my logic board went out. Put a burden on her.

I've looked at, and read user reviews for:
system76. User reviews on Reddit point to quality issues
asus Zen. Some quality issues and checking Canonical the Zen 3 is not supported
Dell. They're huge even the 13" Alienware is over 15" wide and it's not listed on Canonical. Several of the guys I work with use Dell's and their experience has been, on the performance laptops, that you better buy the longest warranty offered. We regularly have a Dell Tech replacing motherboards.

I guess this is why Apple can build a "Pro" laptop and the only thing of note is fast access to Emojis.

I want in order of priorities:
High quality, prefer alloy case, with a decent none button trackpad
Linux compatible
32 GB Ram
4 core processor

Would like:
Under 5lbs
24 hours of battery life while running 3 VMs..... just kidding

My none retina Air display is plenty good enough for me
I expect this mystical box to be expensive.

All advice appreciated!

Dell has:

XPS 13 Developer Version
Functionally same size as my Air
Kaby Lake i7
16 GB DDR3 Ram
512 SSD
Comes loaded with Ubuntu 16.04

Blah
Blah
Blah

It's a Dell so service plan is mandatory for me. I'd rather have 32 gb Ram.

Theres also the HP Spectre, Acer Swift 7, and Acer Predator 21 X

Yes it works and wow, was that ever easier than what I've been doing. Thanks!

You can certainly find pre-installed Linux from several vendors. However, I think you'll find that you can load Linux onto most laptops suitable for the VM deployment you are planning.

1. Choose a distribution, download, make a DVD or USB install kit
Most distributions are a "live media" configuration that will boot-up
2. Use the DVD or USB and boot into the "live media"
This will let you play with that distribution on the laptop you are using.
Have trouble? Have access to another laptop? Boot there and try again.
3. Once your are comfortable with your choice of distribution and laptop,
accomplish the installation using the same DVD or USB.
4. After the installation, install the over-the-net updates [this is painless compared with WinXX.]

Reboot and you are ready to start adding your VM parts.

You may want to top-off your laptop installed RAM first. Linux will make efficient and effective use of whatever RAM you have, and VM operation will want as much RAM as you can make available.

Enjoy,
~~~ 0;-Dan

PS/
I run Linux Mint 17.3 on a Thinkpad X220 Convertible. Prior to that I
used Ubuntu April-2008 edition, but switched to Mint (an Ubuntu cousin) in 2014. This was on a Thinkpad X61T Convertible.
My desktop and tower boxes are all either Ubuntu or Mint something.

I bought the XPS 13 pre loaded with Ubuntu. I ordered the fastest processor and max ram they offer. It's got a 30 return on it, plenty of time for me to make sure it works for me.

Is there a howto or other useful docs to tell me the steps to get win-7 running in a VM on Linux?
Will you/ can you share how you run win-7 in a VM?

Also, do you run a base Linux then have one or more VMs that is your Linux "workstation" environment -- adding a win-7 VM when you (grin) need (/grin) it?

I've looked a the several VM suites and like what I see in VirtualBox™. That seems to be your suite-of-preference as well. I'd welcome your comments on VirtualBox vs. my own workstation. (see below)

My workstation is a Thinkpad® X200T "Convertible" i5™ Laptop running Mint 17.3 (soon to be 18.1) with the Cinnamon Desktop. I dual-boot Win-7 Pro 64bit from its own partition on the laptop's 1TB sata drive. I'd love to shed the dual boot and be able to fire a win-7 VM on demand. My win-7 use usually requires USB drives, audio and video (camera & playback).

Thanks in advance,
~~~ 0;-Dan
Austin, TX

Windows in VMs are usually installed. In my experience.
Recovery partitions and restore images created from them aren't suitable for Virtualization on them. In my experience.
"Pre Loaded" is not suitable for Linux as VM. In my experience.

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I have a couple of Win 7 VMs in VirtualBox on my systems, they all work very well. As Habitual noted, it's generally best to use a retail copy of Windows for the installation, preinstalled machine-locked copies don't usually play well with virtualization.

The process is pretty simple:
1) Install VirtualBox (this depends on the distro, but usually it's a matter of adding the Oracle repo to your package management system and then installing VirtualBox like any other software package)
2) Create a new VM, give it access to however much RAM you want, however many cores you want it to be able to use, and a disk file that's as large as you think it'll need
3) Boot it up, it will then ask you for an image to use for the install. You can either rip an iso of the Windows install CD/DVD, or you might be able to pass the CD/DVD or USB straight through to the VM
4) The installation itself works just like any other Windows install, once it's up activate it with your key, install the guest additions, and you're done

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I understand. I have OEM (not Thinkpad) media for Win-7 Pro 64bit that I plan to use in my VM.
Thanks for the reminder.

It would be nice {aka, wonderful} If one could simply point the VM at the win-doze partition and say, "use that" and walk away. After all, that is what real hardware does, isn't it. But that would make too much sense.

Thanks for the reply and reminder,
~~~ 0;-Dan

I'm glad to hear this. Are you using audio and video in your win-VMs?

If my linux mounts the win-ISO, can I point the VM installer there?

Thanks in advance,
~~~ 0;-Dan

Audio/video out, yes (watching videos, playing games). I've never tried feeding audio or video in from a mic/camera, like trying to do a skype call inside the VM. It would probably work, but I've never looked into it.


If you have a Windows installer iso file that's all you need, no need to mount it, you just point VirtualBox to the iso file itself.

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You could probably do that with a Linux partition, since it's pretty hardware-agnostic and loads most drivers on demand. Windows is pretty tied to the system hardware though, trying to boot a physical installation in a VM environment would be pulling the rug out from under it, ALL of the hardware it's so used to would become virtualized (video, audio, network, etc), it would probably give Windows a seizure.

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