Linux Within VirtualBox

VirtualBox provides an easier way to run your Linux distribution within Windows without having to dual boot as well as provide a way to easily move your Linux VM install to different machines without losing anything. Download it on Oracle's website or via Olin Software on your Desktop(Company Portal in your start menu). Download your Linux ISO from your preferred Distribution. For more detailed instructions, please see the online manual. Below are the general steps including a configuration change you will need to make for at least Ubuntu.

Install:

1. After launch, click the "New" button and enter the relevant information, then hit next
2. Configure the username, password, and hostname.
3. Modify the amount of RAM and CPU count. Most people are fine with 4 Gb of RAM and 1-2 CPUs. Please note that ou should not set these values higher than what your physical machine has. You can always change these later
4. Configure the amount of storage for the main VM hard drive, then Finish
5. For Ubuntu(and possibly others), you will need to do the below steps if you get an error on booting the VM:
   1. Power off your VM and go into the Settings for it
   2. Click on Display and in the Screen tab, you should see "Graphics Controller." Change that to VBoxVGA (or VBoxSVGA)
   3. Ensure that "Enable 3D acceleration" is unchecked.

Backup Your VM:

Method 1:

1. Turn off your VM(s)
2. In the VirtualBox Manager(The main screen on launch), Click Tools at the top of the window and you should see "Export" to the right
3. Select the VM(or multiple) you would like to backup
4. ENSURE THE "Include ISO image files" box is checked and change the "File" field to where you would like to save it to
5. The next screen will show you what's currently configured and allow you to change attributes
6. Click Finish and you should see a .OVA file where you selected. If you selected multiple and didn't change the name, it will be called "Appliance.ova." Move that to your OneDrive for backup

Method 2:

1. Turn off your VM(s)
2. Right click on the VM you'd like to backup and click "Show in Explorer"
3. You should see files such as .vbox, .vdi, etc. Go to the parent folder of these files. It should be the name you gave the VM when creating it.
4. Copy this folder to OneDrive to backup

Restoring or Importing Your VM Backup:

1. In the VirtualBox Manager(The main screen on launch), Click Tools at the top of the window and you should see "Import" to the right for Method 1 or Add for Method 2
2. Click the icon to the right of the File field and navigate to your OVA(Method 1) or VBOX(Method 2) file you saved previously and click Next
3. It will show you the settings from the VM and allow you to change anything before clicking Finish