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Anyone can easily run multiple operating systems on one host simultaneously, provided they have VirtualBox installed. Even for Ubuntu 24.04, you can install VirtualBox and utilize it to run any supported operating system.The best part about VirtualBox is that it is open-source virtualization software, and you can install and use it anytime. Whether you are stuck on how to install VirtualBox on Ubuntu 24.04 or looking to advance with other operating systems on top of your host, this post gives you two easy methods. Two Methods of Installing VirtualBox on Ubuntu 24.04 There are different ways of installing VirtualBox on Ubuntu 24.04. For instance, you can retrieve a stable VirtualBox version from Ubuntu’s repository or add Oracle’s VirtualBox repository to install a specific version. Which method to use will depend on your requirements, and we’ve discussed the methods in the sections below. Method 1: Install VirtualBox via APT The easiest way of installing VirtualBox on Ubuntu 24.04 is by sourcing it from the official Ubuntu repository using APT. Below are the steps you should follow. Step 1: Update the Repository In every installation, the first step involves refreshing the source list to update the package index by executing the following command. $ sudo apt update Step 2: Install VirtualBox Once you’ve updated your package index, the next task is to run the install command below to fetch and install the VirtualBox package. $ sudo apt install virtualbox Step 3: Verify the Installation After the installation, use the following command to check the installed version. The output also confirms that you successfully installed VirtualBox on Ubuntu 24.04. $ VboxManage --version Method 2: Install VirtualBox from Oracle’s Repository The previous method shows that we installed VirtualBox version 7.0.14. However, if you visit the VirtualBox website, depending on when you read this post, it’s likely that the version we’ve installed may not be the latest. Although the older VirtualBox versions are okay, installing the latest version is always the better option as it contains all patches and fixes. However, to install the latest version, you must add Oracle’s repository to your Ubuntu before you can execute the install command. Step 1: Install Prerequisites All the dependencies you require before you can add the Oracle VirtualBox repository can be installed when you install the software-properties-common package. $ sudo apt install software-properties-common Step 2: Add GPG Keys GPG keys help verify the authenticity of repositories before we can add them to the system. The Oracle repository is a third-party repository, and by installing the GPG keys, it will be checked for integrity and authenticity. Here’s how you add the GPG keys. $ wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add - You will receive an output on your terminal showing that the key has been downloaded and installed. Step 3: Add Oracle’s VirtualBox Repository Oracle has a VirtualBox repository for all supported Operating Systems. To fetch this repository and add it to your /etc/apt/sources.list.d/, execute the following command. $ echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list The output shows that a new repository entry has been created from which we will source VirtualBox when we execute the install command. Step 4: Install VirtualBox With the repository added, let’s first refresh the package index by updating it. $ sudo apt update Next, specify which VirtualBox you want to install using the below syntax. $ sudo apt install virtualbox-[version] For instance, if the latest version when reading this post is version 7.1, you would replace version in the above command with 7.1. However, ensure that the specified version is available on the VirtualBox website. Otherwise, you will get an error as you can’t install something that can’t be found. Conclusion VirtualBox is an effective way of running numerous Operating Systems on one host simultaneously. This post shares two methods of installing VirtualBox on Ubuntu 24.04. First, you can install it via APT by sourcing it from the Ubuntu repository. Alternatively, you can add the Oracle repository and specify a specific version number for the VirtualBox you want to install. View the full article

What is VirtualBox? VirtualBox (VB) is a cross-platform hypervisor or virtualization software developed by Oracle Corporation. Basically, VB allows user to run guest operating system on another host operating system virtually without need for partitioning of hard drive or running another OS on dual boot which involves risk of crashing host system. VirtualBox creates virtual hard drive and installs guest OS on it. Virtual hard drive is nothing but the big size file stored on the computer hard drive. This file works as a real hard drive for the guest OS. Running any application software or video game on virtual machines is sometimes not as smooth as running them on OS installed on full hardware. Everything depends on amount of hardware resource allocated to virtual machine. Why to Use VB? I know many of us have heard of VirtualBox but always have apprehensions of trying or using it just because we think it is a messy task to setup Virtual Machine and it might harm our whole computer system. However, it is the misconception because setting up virtual machines is easy and it won’t affect your computer system if you setup it correctly. VirtualBox can be very useful for people like me who always like to try and mess with different application software’s and operating systems because: It can also be very useful tool for application developers who can test their application on different platform before releasing it for public. Software reviewers like me can also use this to try and test software’s on different platforms under one single window. Installation First, head over to downloads page on VirtualBox’s official website and download the installation package depending on your operating system. I am going to install virtual box on latest Microsoft Windows 11. So, I will download virtual box installation file for Windows. Once the downloading is complete, run the installation file and follow the steps as the installer guides you through the installation process. You do not need to change anything during installation. So, just click Next every time it asks for and finish the installation. Once the installation is complete, start the VirtualBox from the desktop or Start Menu and the home screen will appear as shown below. Setting Up VirtualBox for Ubuntu Installation Now, we will see how to setup Virtual Machine for installing Ubuntu on VirtualBox. You can follow these steps to install Windows 10, Mac OS, and others too. Create Virtual Machine To start, click on the NEW button on the top of VirtualBox’s home screen. Then, Create Virtual Machine window will appear where you will have to give Virtual Machine a name like Ubuntu. Then, select the type and version of operating system you are going to install. Here, I have 64 bit ISO file so I selected 64 Bit version. I am going to install Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Long Term Support) edition which is 64-bit operating system. RAM Allocation Click Next. Then, you will be asked for RAM allocation. Always remember, allocate more than half of your total RAM memory else it will affect your computers performance and in some cases, it might crash host system. I have total 8 GB of RAM, so I will allocate 1 GB i.e., 1024 MB which should be enough to run Ubuntu. According to your usage, you can allocate preferred RAM size for your virtual machine. Again, click Next. Then, it will ask you to create Virtual Hard Disk. Set Up Virtual Hard Disk Now, you will need to create Virtual Hard Disk to store VM data. Just select Create a virtual hard disk now option and click on Create button. On the following screen, you will be asked to choose Hard disk file type. Just select VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) and click on Next. On the next screen, you will be asked whether to create a dynamically allocated or fixed size hard disk. If you want VM to always perform smoothly, then you should select fixed size where you will have to set size of the hard disk. But it will consume more disk space for better performance. With dynamically allocated disk, you will have to set maximum disk size but file will not consume more than allocated disk space. If you want VM with high performance, then select Fixed size and then click Next. Then, you will need to select the size of virtual hard disk. Selecting disk size always depends on how you are going to use VM. If you are going to install lot of applications on Ubuntu for various purposes, then you will need to allocate at least 25GB of disk space else you can allocate less space too. Here, I am selecting only 10 GB because I am creating this virtual machine for this tutorial. Then, click on Create and you are ready to install Ubuntu on Virtual Machine. As shown in above screenshot, you can see Ubuntu VM is added on VirtualBox. Before we start Ubuntu installation, we need to tweak some settings to ensure Ubuntu VM performs at its best. Click on Settings button then the following window will appear. Head over to Processor tab under System menu. Here, increase Processors value to 2 and click OK. Now, select Motherboard tab where under Boot Order, you will notice Floppy set on highest priority. Now, unselect Floppy and move Optical to top using Arrow button. Set the priority for Optical and Hard Disk as shown in the screenshot below. Then, select Display menu. Under Screen tab, you will have to allocate full Video Memory i.e., 128MB. Also, mark the checkbox next to Enable 3D Acceleration and Enable 2D Video Acceleration. Now, we will mount .iso file for Ubuntu installation. To do that, go to Storage menu where you will notice Empty disk under Controller: IDE, select Empty. Besides that, from the Optical Drive, drop down click on Choose Virtual Optical Disk File and find your Ubuntu installation file. You can download Ubuntu installation .iso file from here. Now, you can see VBoxGuestAdditions.iso disk is created in place of Empty disk. Finally click OK and you are good to go with Ubuntu installation. Now, we will start with Ubuntu installation. This process is not any different to normal OS installation we do using installation media or bootable pen drive. Installing Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on Virtual Box To start, click on the Start button on VirtualBox home screen. This will initiate the first boot of Ubuntu. Next, you will be asked to Try Ubuntu or Install Ubuntu. You just need to click on Install Ubuntu. On the next screen, you need to select your preferred language and head over to next screen, which is Updates and Other Software. Select Normal Installation and click on Continue button. Next, select your time zone and on the next screen you will be asked to provide user details. Insert the details and click on Continue. Now, Ubuntu installation will start. Wait for the installation to complete. Once the installation is complete, you will be asked to restart the computer. Just click on the Restart Now button and VB will do the rest. Latest Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is now successfully installed on Virtual Machine. Install Guest Additions To enable all the features of VirtualBox, you need to install the Guest Additions in Ubuntu. Select Devices tab from VirtualBox’s window and click on Insert Guest Additions CD image. Prompt will appear on Ubuntu screen asking you Would you like to run it? Click Run and enter password to Authenticate. Then, Terminal window will open up and it will perform some installation automatically. When you will see Press Return to close this window… press Enter to finish the setup. You are done with all the setup and now you can enjoy Ubuntu inside your Windows. All the steps and process are performed on Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. You can follow same steps on older Windows and Ubuntu versions also. View the full article

The post How To Enable 64-bit Version Option in VirtualBox first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides .Are you trying to install a 64-bit operating system in VirtualBox and you can’t seem to see the 64-bit version option in the drop-down list as shown in the following screenshot? The solution to The post How To Enable 64-bit Version Option in VirtualBox first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides.View the full article