Earlier this month, Microsoft made the Windows 7 beta available for anyone to download and test drive it. Unless you have a spare computer, it can be somewhat inconvenient to test out new operating systems on your main system. Although it is possible to dual boot Windows 7 with Vista or XP, you may still prefer to install it on a separate machine. VirtualBox is just the separate machine you’ve been looking for, and it’s free! So, how to install windows 7 on a virtual machine using Virtualbox?
VirtualBox is a free and open source virtualization program. Essentially, it is like having a complete and separate computer within your computer. You can install any operating system on it, including Windows 7. The latest version of VirtualBox (2.1.2) has support for Windows 7, which makes it very easy and convenient to install.
First, you’ll want to download VirtualBox and install it. VirtualBox is available for multiple platforms: Windows, OS X, Linux, and Solaris. During the installation on a Windows system, you may receive a warning that untested software is being installed. Be sure to click continue when those boxes appear, as essential components for VirtualBox to function properly are being installed.
You’ll also need to download the Windows 7 beta. It is a large file, so it may take quite a while to download depending on your connection. The file you will download is a CD disk image. Fortunately, since you’re going to use it on a virtual machine, you won’t have to actually burn it to a CD to use it.
On the software market there is a plenty of applications, eligible to run the external platforms: VMWare, Virtual PC and others. But this time I would like to make a pause and describe, how to download and use Oracle VirtualBox for Windows 7 for free. VirtualBox is one of the best software virtual emulators.
Download VirtualBox. Installing VirtualBox is no rocket science. Just double-click on the downloaded exe file and follow the instructions on the screen. It is like installing the regular software on Windows. Step 2: Download Linux ISO. Next, you need to download the ISO file of the Linux distribution.
Once you have VirtualBox installed and you have the Windows 7 beta CD image, you’re ready to create your virtual machine amd install Windows 7 beta. Launch VirtualBox and create a new machine. Be sure to select Windows 7 as your operating system.
Click Next. On the following screen you will select how much memory you would like the virtual machine to have. I believe the minimum requirement for Windows 7 is 1GB of RAM, so be sure to set it to at least 1024MB.
Click Next. On the following screen you will create a new virtual drive for the system. I would recommend using the default option of a Dynamically expanding storage. This way you won’t use any more disk space (on your main system) than necessary. Since you’re using a dynamically expanding drive, the size of the disk is somewhat arbitrary. You just want to be sure not to make it too small, so set it to 100GB to be safe.
Once you’re done creating the virtual machine, you’ll need to configure it to use the Windows 7 disk image you downloaded. Select your virtual machine, click Settings, and navigate to the CD/DVD-ROM section. Check the Mount CD/DVD Drive checkbox and click the ISO Image File radio button. Then click the folder icon and then browse to where you saved your ISO image and select it.
Steps to install Windows 7 on VirtualBox. First, you need to download Virtual Box (it’s free) and also Windows 7 RC (download Windows 7 RC). Just follow the onscreen instructions to install Virtual Box (it’s very simple). Run the Virtual Box program to see the Virtual Box Registration dialog.
If you have a multi-core processor, there’s an option you’ll want to enable to speed things up on the virtual machine. Go to the General section and on the Advanced tab enable the Enable VT-x/AMD-V checkbox. This allows VirtualBox to take advantage of machine virtualization capabilities of your processor, and improves the performance of the virtual machine.
You may also want to add sound to the virtual machine as well. Go to the Audio tab, and click the Enable Audio checkbox and select Windows DirectSound for the Host Audio Driver. Once you have the machine configured, click the Start button to turn on the virtual machine.
You should see the Windows 7 installation begin. Just follow all the prompts and install Windows. If you need to get back to your main computer at any time, the hotkey to release control of the virtual machine is the Ctrl key on the right side of your keyboard.
Once you’ve installed Windows 7, you can install the guest additions. The guest additions will provide better video and audio support to the virtual machine. The guest additions also allow you to better integrate the virtual machine with your main system.
To install the guest additions, press the right Ctrl key on your keyboard, go to the Devices menu and select Install Guest Additions”¦
During the guest additions installation, when prompted if you would like to install drivers, click the Install button. Once you’ve installed the guest additions, reboot the virtual machine. Upon rebooting, all of the virtual devices should be working.
Windows 7 Iso Image For Virtualbox Download
Now that you have the guest additions installed, you will be able to share the clipboard, access to files on the main system, and move the cursor seamlessly in and out of the virtual machine. You can press the Right Ctrl-F and see the virtual machine full screen. What a pretty fish!
Have you tried Windows 7 with other free virtualization programs? Did you try to install Windows 7 as a virtual machine with Virtualbox? If so, let us know which ones and what sort of hacks were required to get it to work.
Explore more about: VirtualBox, Virtualization, Windows 7.
Windows 7 Iso Download For Virtualbox
Jorge,
Thanks so much for the information. I got everything working pretty well but I'm having trouble installing applications on my shared drives.
I have an application drive that I share with both Windows7 and Ubuntu, I want to also use it for installing applications on my virtual Win7 machine. From my Win7 VM I can see the drive and access files and even execute files from them. However when I try to browse to the shared drive to install applications it shows up with an x on it and says that it not connected. Also when I execute a program from the shared drive, the program can not access any of it's required data on the same drive, and I get errors saying that it can access the drive. Is there a problem fully connecting these drives, or is it just a limitation of Windows 7 preventing me from installing onto shared drives?
i have successfully installed windows 7 as guest OS on my windows XP system . however i am not able to access folders of my host OS within the guest OS. i have tried sharing folders but now i dont know how can i see them any help?
Thanks Jorge, yea I took the plunge and used EASEUS partition manager to create a 10gig NTFS partition, it was dead easy and Win7 installed straight up. Best ssmokin
Sorry, didn't finish note.
Has anyone else experienced this and if so is there a work-around? Thanks
I am running latest Version of VirtualBox in WinXP(Fat32) on my laptop and attempting to install Win7. I notice that you say that to run on USB it needs to be NTFS. Is this the same for a standard hard drive? There is no mention of this in the forum except for USB use. My VB is setup 1024Mb Ram (I have 2gb installed) and 10Gb Drive space(Dynamic sizing).
I continually get the error 'Hard disk full' and this is when the installation is at 4GB file size(85% installed). I have deleted files off C and D drives to free up space, altered the ram setting down to give more to the host
Jorge,
Hope you can help me. I've installed WIN7 RC in VirtualBox but have been unable to get the network to connect.
Walah.gampang banget Thankzz ya bro..
Thanks Jorge I have got it figured out - and thank you for your help
Hi - I cannot get my network recognized with VM in Windows 7 - I am running a wireless setup.
How do i get my wireless internet to work on Windows 7 Microsoft Vitual Machine im running Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 and i wanting to know
So, Windows Aero (In the 7 RC) does does not work in VM 3.0, but no installation of guest additions is required for audio, mouse, etc to work correctly, and both 64 bit and 32 bit versions of Windows 7 RC work on VM 3.0?
Hi I installed Windows 7 with the latest Version of VirtualBox (2.2.4r47978) and it works fine for me but I have no aero support since Windows 7 trouble shooter sais 'The current video card may support Aero with a driver that is compliant with the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM). Contact the manufacturer of your computer or video card for a WDDM-compatible driver.'
Is this a known issue with virtual box or does anybody know how to work around?
Kind regards Patrick
So, I did this, my main problem is that my video card isn't registering, even though I checked the box to let it, so I can't use aero.. any chance you could help me out, my card is a ati x1550 (they have a driver that supposedly works w/ win 7, but I can't install it in my vpc)
****Edit**** after reading the guy above me, it is clear that I'm just an idiot and should read - no directX in the VPS - sad :(
Jorge, I installed Win7 RC on VB following your instructions and all went smoothly. However, once Win7 was installed, I can't get the Audio to work (whatever settings I use for Audio under Settings in VB). Also, I can't activate Aero. Win7 tells me 'it might work with a different driver for my graphics card', but the latest VB driver does not do the job. Needless to say that my host Vista PC has perfect Aero and sound. Any suggestions?
Jorge - Great tutorial!! A few questions: 1. Win7 RC is out. It comes as a 2.36GB DVD image. Are your instructions still the same? 2. My PC has two hard disks, 100GB each. The primary disk (with Vista) is pretty full. Can VB be installed on a secondary disk? 3. My PC has 2GB RAM. When I allocate 1GB to VB, is that permanently unavailable to the host system, or only when I am using the VB. I mean, when I want can I just run Vista with 2GB, by not activating VB? Thanks in advance
Hello to everybody!)) i just wanna make sure if im doing all rite before i start installation. i have Vista and im trying to install Virual Windows 7 on top of it. all i need is just dnload Windows6.1-KB958559-x64.msu , and follow the instructions?? what bout Window 7 beta? just wanna be be sure that im doing it correctly. TNX ahead for ur help!!!!
PLEASE HELP!!!!! I'm new to Virtualbox I need help installing Windows 7 On VM I'm Using XP!!!! URGENT!!!!!
Calvin, Could you be more specific? Jorge's page is all about installing Win7 on VM ! What's the part that has you baffled?
Yeah, but when I try and allocate that single gb I still get the error telling me to close applications.
and that doesnt even work...
idk, maybe I just need more ram.
so is there a way I could split the use, 1gb for host 1gb for virtualbox
Hey Jorge, I have 2gbs of ram on my PC but when I try and run windows 7 on Virtual Box it gives me a 'cannot allocate sufficient memory' error.
Do I need more memory?
What should I do?
also, I have an intel core duo 2.66ghz and more then 100gbs of free space.
Thanks alot keep up the good work mate.
Jorge you seem really knowledgeable about this so I'm actually taking a chance at making a comment. At the moment my system comprises of : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz 2.81 GHz, Biostar P4M800CE-8237 motherboard, 768 MB of RAM, 2 80GB Disk drives(C: has 11.2GB free space and D: 45.7GB free space), NVIDIA GeForce 6200 and my OS is currently Microsoft Windows XP Professional(Version 2002) SP3.
I used to have a better video card( R.I.P. XFX 7600GS) and I used to have 1GB of RAM until i fried both 512 MB chips while changing my computer case(yea it really sucked). I'm in the process of building a new system(already have an EX38T-DQ6 and an E8500) but for now i have a few questions about my current system.
1) Will i be able to use VirtualBox and install WIndows 7 on my machine without any problems? If so which drive should i install the OS on?
2) When the Beta expires will the OS cease to work?
3) Will the gaming experience versus hardware requirements be better than Vista? I may be getting another AGP video card for this old machine soon.
Wow! This is great. Now that my RAM finally came in through the mail, I can actually try this. One question, though: Should I pick custom (clean) installation or upgrade installation?
I did everything fine, but it wont let me check the multicore processor thing and also, when I click install guest additions, it does nothing :(, should I start the process over again? Will my same beta key still work if I use it on the same computer?
Hey Jorge. Can you help me out with this.... Is it possible to install Win7 on Vista notebook without errors?
Great write up, cleared out the cobwebs and got Windows 7 guest up and running in no time! Much appreciated.
Thanks, I've checked out other blogs and figured it out.
For the USB problems, I found out that the opensource version of Virtualbox does not support interaction between Guest and Host OS, also unlike shared folders, cannot capture / uncapture USB devices when the Guest OS is running. Further, I need to specify all details for the device in question and to delete all other non-specific filters, and not to specify a USB hub for capture.
As for the Network adaptor, somehow the default NAT setting interferes with my internet access. I have to remove the NAT setting and replace with Host Interface and Wireless Card option.
Hey Jorge
Thank you for the suggestions.
Unfortunately, the Virtual Media Manager did not allow me to add the translocated hard disk due to the common hard disk UUID. I tried releasing the hard disk, but it still would not work. Eventually, I went into the XML file to manually change the path, then it worked really well.
Do you have any suggestions on activating the USB drives?
I tried enabling the USB controllers and adding filters, but it only ended up with the hub being captured (how to uncapture it???) and not available for use. Could not detect the flash drives at all, though the USB hard drive was detected. Also could not share any folders on USB drives.
As for the internet connection, it's simply not working. I tried the Windows 7 diagnostics, but it simply could not detect the problem, the device has the latest driver and reports back as working well, just no connection to the Internet,, while the host's internet connection is working perfectly well.
First off, it's a really smart idea to install the Windows 7 Beta on Virtualbox. But not being familiar with VirtualBox, a few questions ..
I tried installing Windows 7 Beta on the Virtualbox, but can't help wishing that I can move the installation onto an external USB drive. Googling turned up a mention of installation on a firewire linked external drive, that's all. I have difficulties even getting access to the USB drive for data purposes. Tried Shared folders, tried USB devices (Msg : busy with previous request, fail to attach)
Other than that, also wondering whether it's possible to adjust the maximum size of the virtual hard disk post-installation. In the physical world, you can adjust using Paragon Hard Disk Manager, or clone onto a bigger hard disk, but not sure how it works here. Planning to juggle my files around to free up some space or upgrade to a larger primary disk sometime later, so that I will have more free space later.
And lastly, the installation cannot detect my wireless (Linksys/Intel)cards at all despite best efforts, nor my cable link to the router. Nothing on the device manager either except a Intel (R) PRO 1000 MT Desktop Adapter (which isn't what I have either)
I tried this, but when it came to the memory part the virtual box I had a problem. After I slid the bar past 729 mb it wouldn't allow me to click next. It has to be 729 or smaller! What does this mean, and can I do anything about it?
First of all, this is a great tutorial. I was able to successfully install Windows 7 under VirtualBox with only about two problems (that aren't the fault of the tutorial).
1) I'm unable to get Win7 to recognize my USB drive (specifically an OCZ Rally2 4GB Dual-Channel). I have installed Guest Additions twice and it's still unable to even detect it. Any suggestions?
2)Whenever I try to create a shared machine folder with my VM, I am able to select the folder(s) I want to share just fine but when the 'OK' box is not clickable or anything. I've installed Guest Additions twice and it still won't let me share it.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Getting 'cannot collect info for OSImage ..install.wim does not exist' Any ideas?
it sounds really good and efficent but could there possibly be any harm for our pc to use it? i mean, may this thing have any side effects or something? because imnot sure that we can trust these kinds('free(!)') of applications without questioning. whatever im gonna try it anyway, thanks for the article Jorge ;)
Anyone know if this might work on Microsoft Virtual PC?
is it possible to install it onto an external (USB) hard drive?
I already did this on a MacBook. Works fine, no Aero, no desktop gadgets, no screensaver; otherwise fine.
Thanks for telling me about version 2.1.2!
100% agree, virtualbox is the right and easiest way to test windows7. :)