Clone VirtualBox with a GUI Interface

So you have the right setup for your Virtual Operating System and you need another OS added to your Virtual Computer.  This software does that in minutes and lets you know the progress.   After completion of the clone, open VirtualBox, Click on New, walk through the wizard and attach the hard drive (clone you created) and you are done.

Cloning your VirtualBox is easier than the command we listed in an earlier post this week.  There is a GUI interface someone created to do just this.

• Reads VDI,VHD,VMDK or RAW, writes VDI.
• GUI Interface.
• A CLI interface if you want
• Ability to discard unused blocks from the clone (no need to run SDelete/zerofree first).
• Ability to enlarge the maximum size of a virtual disk.
• User choice to either keep the old UUID or generate a new one (this identifies your VM).
• Diagnostics about the original source VDI, including the partition map and the fileystem.
• A Progress Bar

Link to Download

http://forums.virtualbox.org/download/file.php?id=1359

Export in VirtualBox

Exporting an installed operating system that has been configured in VirtualBox is easy.    After an operting system is installed and configured with programs, this is called an ‘applicance’.  Exporting the applicance shrinks the OS and its applications.    Why would you do this?    If you had another site or you were moving the ‘applicance’ between servers.

Click on File – Export Appliance -  Select a path and name your applicance.  This is time consuming and resource intense.    To import, follow the above steps of starting VirtualBox and select import applicance.

The exported file is approximately 50% of the size of the original OS.  Also the import will appear to do nothing for a few and then the (10 minutes or so of hard drive activity) suddenly the progresss moves quickly.

Clone a VirtualBox Operating System

Need more than one operating system in VirtualBox to test software, networking or for other reasons?

• Make sure VirtualBox is not running
• Open a command prompt (type cmd.exe at the run line or search box)
• Hit Enter
• type cd\program files\sun\virtualbox
• type vboxmanage clonehd c:\users\yourusername\.VirtualBox\HardDisk\ubuntu.vid C:\Users\yourusername\.VirtualBox\HardDisks\ubuntu clone.vdi  
  Example:  vboxmanage clonehd C:\Users\Steve\.VirtualBox\HardDisks\ubuntu.vdi C:\Users\Steve\.VirtualBox\HardDisks\ubuntu clone.vdi
• Hit Enter  – this is time consuming and can take a GREAT deal of time, CPU and other resources -  Be patient and wait for it to finish (Change the UUID before attaching the drive -see below), open virtual box and create a new operating system.  Attach the drive (during the new OS wizard’s setup)
• After completing this step you will change the UUID on the drive by typing the following at a cmd prompt-
  -VBoxManage internalcommands sethduuid C:\Users\yourusername\.VirtualBox\HardDisks\ubuntu clone.vdi
  (the above two lines will be on one line.)

This now allows you to have two identical operating systems.

Teleport Your Operating System with VirtualBox – Move your VM without Shutting it Down

VirtualBox 3.1.0 introduces teleporation.  It allows you to move the running operating system from one computer to another without shutting it down during maintenance.  Now think about that, you can service your hardware or guest computer without closing the operating system with VirtualBox’s live migration.   VirtualBox has included the ability to change the network attachment type while it is running.   Oh did I say it can teleport across multiple platforms (OSs).

VirtualBox

How?  Start Virtualbox on the second computer

Source Computer:
VBoxManage startvm the_vm_host

Destination Computer :
VBoxManage modifyvm the_vm_host –teleporter on –teleporterport 6000
VBoxManage startvm the_vm_host

Source Computer:
VBoxManage controlvm the_vm_host teleport –host physical-dst –port 6000

Ubuntu only showing 800 x 600 resolution in VirtualBox

If you have installed Ubuntu in VirtualBox and 800 x 600 is the max resolution, Start Ubuntu (VirtualBox).  Click on add Guest Additions.  The CD ROM on the Ubuntu desktop will say Guest Additions.  Right click and open.  Double click on autorun.sh.  Click on Run.  Wait for the process to finish.  Restart.  Adjust your resolution.

             

After running the additions, right click and unmount the icon on the desktop.  Then use the virtualbox menu to mount the CD as your drive letter.

Depending on your computer you may have to modify the file -xorg.conf if the above solution does not work.

Editing this file could cause issues with your computer!

Open Terminal and type-

gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf     

Add the following information Replacing any Section with Screen…(do not copy and past this…make sure you type it)

Section “Screen”
Identifier “Default Screen”
Device “Generic Video Card”
Monitor “Generic Monitor”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
Modes “1280×800″ “1024×768″ “800×600″
EndSubSection
EndSection

Save the file under the /etc/x11 folders as xorg.conf

If Ubuntu fails to start and a terminal interface (No GUI) request a login, login using your username and password.

type sudo nano /etc/x11/xorg.conf

Enter the information above (Section Information).   Use the Ctrl-X to exit.  Save the file in the etc/x11 folder as xorg.conf.  Reboot.

Not available in the current data – Ubuntu Software Center

Not available in the current data – Ubuntu Software Center

Karmic Koala (Ubuntu 9.10)

An issue, is that on using the new Ubuntu Software Center, you may get the following error messages:

Not available in the current data

and

Not available for your hardware architecture

You may try this in a terminal window :

sudo apt-get update

If you are in VirtualBox, you can bridge the network connections in Windows by holding the ctrl key down and click on your LAN and VirtualBox Adapter and right click and Bridge the connections.

Windows 7 and Ubuntu – An Excellent Combo

Any IT professional or student should study Linux.  A perfect marriage to begin working with Linux is Ubuntu, VirtualBox and Windows 7.  Working flawlessly together,  Windows 7’s stability along with VirtualBox allows you to work with Ubuntu and to begin to learn the very basics of Linux.

With LinuxSurvival.com (learn basic commands) and the various flavors that are on the web, Linux will eventually come through and begin to compete heavily with Windows.  A mixture of Windows and Linux will land in the workplace quicker than ever.   Because of the Ubuntu project, more and more average users can do a basic installation and use this OS.

 

More information on VirtualBox -

What is a Virtual Machine?

VMWare

VirtualBox

Microsoft Virtual PC

Microsoft’s Virtualization Website

Windows 7 Beta – Installing and Testing on VirtualBox

Installing Windows 7 on Virtual PC vs. VirtualBox

How to Network Virtual Operating Systems in Sun’s VirtualBox

Answers to Licensing Questions for Sun Micro’s VirtualBox

How to Optimize VirtualBox on Your Windows PC

Learn How to Set Up USB and Networking Options in VirtualBox

How To Connect to VirtualBox using Remote Desktop Connection

VirtualBox Configurations for running Three Operating Systems on a PC

VirtualBox: How to Expand Your Servers with Virtualization

VirtualBox on this Blog.

Ubuntu

Virtualbox 3.0.6 Review

Sun Microsystems Virtualbox 3.0.6 is the latest virtualization application from Sun.   Computer users are beginning to see the development and use for multiple operating systems on a single computer.  In today’s world cloud computing and virtualization are two of the fastest growing technologies.  VirtualBox supports Linux, MAC and Windows.

Benefits of Virtualization

• Power Cost Savings
• Hardware Cost Savings (Multiple computers on a single physical computer)
• Development of applications (Running Server OS on Client OS)
• Quick Recovery Time (recover vdis allowing users to return an operating system in minutes)

Features of 3.0.6

• Browse your virtual machines and inspect their settings (Remote Desktop)
• Start virtual machines in headless mode
• Pause/resume VMs
• Save the state of running VMs
• Terminate VMs (hard power off or ACPI)
• Remote control your VMs using the integrated RDP Web Control
• Multiple processor support (32 – Growing – Currently 64 bit supports one processor only)
• Shared Folder Support
• USB Support
• Multiple Networking Features
• 3D Graphic Support

Installation

The installation of VirtualBox is fast and easy.  You should take into consideration the amount of RAM on the host computer including hard drive capacity and CPU speed.  The installation of 3.0.6 was on an HP Pavilion Laptop with 3GB or RAM, 160 GB Harddrive powered by a dual core AMD 2 Ghz processor.  This independent installation reviews the install of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 committing 25 GB for hard disk space and 1 GB of RAM.

The installation of an operating system onto the VirtualBox application reguires being familiar with common settings of operating systems and having the ISO or DVD of the other operating system.

By clicking on New, you are walked through an excellent wizard that guides you through the basic setup of the operating system you are installing.   During this walk through, it is important to give yourself plenty of hard drive space for growth and a balanced amount of memory to keep your host computer and virtual computer responsive.  (You can adjust these settings later)   An added benefit is when testing beta software (OS), you can later begin to take away or add to memory to test the computer’s responsiveness.

Installation of VirtualBox

Installation of Windows Server 2008

Settings

Virtualbox makes it easy to select your settings.  One of the most important areas is the number of processors, USB (add a filter to use USB on the Virtual Computer), Networking and pointing to the ISO or DVD in order to load the operating system.

Operating System Loading/Loaded

To use the mouse, click on the Virtualbox screen (it will then be captured).  To release it, hit the right ctrl key.

Notes:  Follow the installation recommendations for the operating system you are installing.  You must protect virtual computers with updates, firewalls, correct permissions and anti-virus software.

VirtualBox is by far the best free virtualization program on the internet.  VirtualBox allows you to take computing to a new level by offering the technology that allows you to expand your network at a minimal cost and to use virtualization for servers, compatibility with other operating systems and to research different operating systems before they hit the market.   VirtualBox is hands down an excellent application for home and enterprise users.

Resources

What is a Virtual Machine?

VMWare

VirtualBox

Microsoft Virtual PC

Microsoft’s Virtualization Website

Windows 7 Beta – Installing and Testing on VirtualBox

Installing Windows 7 on Virtual PC vs. VirtualBox

How to Network Virtual Operating Systems in Sun’s VirtualBox

Answers to Licensing Questions for Sun Micro’s VirtualBox

How to Optimize VirtualBox on Your Windows PC

Learn How to Set Up USB and Networking Options in VirtualBox

How To Connect to VirtualBox using Remote Desktop Connection

VirtualBox Configurations for running Three Operating Systems on a PC

VirtualBox: How to Expand Your Servers with Virtualization

VirtualBox on this Blog.

WordPress articles on VirtualBox and Virtualization

Why Can’t We Make Software That Installs and Uninstalls Anymore

Why Can’t We Make Software That Installs and Uninstalls Anymore – Here I with Mike (who is also writing this) sit in the server room waiting for an installation that has gone bad.  It seems like this is happening more and more.   Companies seem to rush software out to be competitive without truly beta testing it.

 

Things that happen:

• The software begins to install and then the hard drive light stops blinking for a loooonnnnngggg time.
• The software stops responding (Boy the mouse moves and Ctrl-Alt-Delete Works)
• The computer spontaneously reboots
• The computer freezes (mouse and all!)
• You uninstall the application and guts are left behind
• You double click setup and nothing happens
• You double click setup and the application begins installing and disappears
• You reboot your computer “as requested” and Windows is corrupt
• You reboot your computer after installing and it (the software) is not listed in the programs
• An error pops up wanting to send the message to Microsoft.
• The program starts requesting updates immediately.  After getting them it stops functioning.
• Don’t get me started on Linux (8 thousand ways to install software and then modifying 800 files to get the proper configuration)
• After updating a program there are problems and removing the updated version breaks the previous version
• The newer version has a Java interface and when you push a ‘next’, ‘enter’ button or whatever it just blinks. (You have the latest version of Java or Flahs! – Which it seems you update daily)
• The software works on the previous workday.  There have been no updates to the OS or ANY applications and today it doesn’t work.
• We recently installed software on a MAC and got totally lock up.  YES MACS LOCK UP.  The commercial isn’t true.

Final notes- if the software vendor makes a tool that helps to uninstall a program (in addition to the Add/Remove Programs)…..well, you get the picture.

 

By the way – started at 7:22 am CST and still holding on and off – 3:32 pm CST.   The end result – I gambled and tried something that worked (I looked at Mike and got his advice “Mike this isn’t working.  Let’s try this, keep them busy.”)  The end result is this – experiment with your computer.  Use virtualbox and try freeware, opensource and go through the operating system daily.  The experience you gather from doing so may help you in the end.   We emailed the company this morning and told them how we fixed it.  They informed us yesterday that they had hundreds of complaints and dozens of people waiting for a fix.

Windows 7 Upgrades Coming to TTC Shelbyville

With the beta testing of Windows 7 by the Computer Information Technology class in VirtualBox and testing by Dawn, Pat, Mike and myself; this fall TTC Shelbyville will migrate over 50% of the computers to Windows 7.  Testing will continue in the Industrial Maintenance and CIT classrooms.

Windows 7 vs. Windows XP – Asus Eee PC

It really took some time to get use to an Eee PC.  The tiny keyboard and screen just seemed to small.  With 1 GB of RAM and a 160 GB harddrive, I decided to load and test both Windows 7 and Window XP.  With the Intel Atom and chipset, Windows XP  performed well, however,  Windows 7 appeared to outperform Windows XP hands down. 

After testing Windows 7 in VirtualBox and tweaking the memory all the way down to 256 mb, the operating system is smooth.  All of the add-ons and features makes it fun to use.   Applications such as Adobe, FoxIT, Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and Access opens significantly faster.  With a tiny netbook with a 1.6 Ghz processor and 1 GB of memory, Windows 7’s code is tweaked to use a wide variety of software and hardware.

Specs.

	Display Type:	WSVGA (LED Backlight)
	Screen Size:	10″
	Maximum Resolution:	1024 x 600

	Memory Type:	DDR2
	Memory Size:	1GB

	Capacity:	160GB Hard Drive (+10GB Internet Storage)
	HDD/SSD Drives Included:	1x 160GB, 10GB (Eee Storage)
	Drive Types:	Hard Drive

	Lifestyle:	Netbooks
	Condition:	New
	Operating Systems:	Windows XP Home
	Startup Operating System:	Windows® XP Home
	Operating System Licenses Included:	Windows® XP Home
	Platform:	Netbook

	Processor Brand:	Intel
	Processor Class:	Atom
	Processor Type:	Single-Core
	Processor Speed:	1.60GHz
	Processor Number:	N270
	Processor FSB:	533MHz
	Processor Cache:	512KB

	Graphics Description:	Integrated Graphics
	GPU/VPU:	Intel® UMA

Although I told myself that I would not like the little netbooks, these little jewels are great.   If you purchase one, get the 10″ screen and a small external hard drive.  Although a 160 GB hard drive is large enough for a small office computer, you may want to store pictures and documents on an external drive.

With today’s 64 bit CPUs, Windows 7 will support ANY amount of memory and as many processors as a motherbard supports (hundreds).

7 on Jonathan Swinford’s Dell Mini 10.

The Asus Eee PC Link.

VirtualBox Articles

Download Windows 7 and test/try it out.  Use VirtualBox to isolate the Operating System on your home computer.

VirtualBox 3.0.0 Released – Supports up to 32 processors

With guest SMP with up to 32 virtual CPUs (VT-x and AMD-V only), VirtualBox 3.0.0 released earlier this week, produces more processing power than ever.  With this update alone, computers with dual or quad core processors makes Sun’s VirtualBox the most powerful virtualization software applications available.  With dozens of fixes and improvements, VirtualBox is an ideal software to host an additional operating system on a host computer.