Run win virtually on Mint

[yozsa]

Is there any possibility to run windows7 in a separate window in Linux Mint, but there are installed on the same computer-dual boot?

[russ553]

In dual boot, you can run either operating system but not in a window in the other.

You can download VirtualBox in LM and install Windows 7 into it.
That would allow you to run Windows 7 in a separate window inside LinuxMint.

[Anakinholland]

Sorry Russ, but it is

Never tried it before myself, but according to this it is actually possible (with windows XP in that example anyway).

Regards,

Anakin

[Kevin108]

Ctrl+T to open Terminal and

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install virtualbox

That will download and install VirtualBox. VirtualBox can install Windows either by actual CD or with an ISO.

[yozsa]

so I have to install win7 again virtually is tehre no possibility to switch OS somehow easier?

The problem is that Win 7 during teh installation is very agressive to Linux or any other OS already installed.

[Anakinholland]

so I have to install win7 again virtually is tehre no possibility to switch OS somehow easier?

The problem is that Win 7 during teh installation is very agressive to Linux or any other OS already installed.

If you read my first post, you will see that it is actually possible (at least with XP, used in that experiment).

To answer your new question: No, that install will not harm anything as it is virtual, which basically means that it will run inside a FILE, not a partition, inside your Linux OS.

Anakin

[yozsa]

and is posssibele to install any other programmes in teh virtual win7, like Adobe Creative Suit ?

[AlbertP]

After Windows 7 is installed in Virtualbox, you'll be able to run all your Windows 7 programs there.

[grraf]

Sure u can install just about anything u normally would use on a win 7(w7) installation .
To be more precise it works basically like this:
1)u install vbox(short form of virtual box)
2)in vbox u chose to create a new virtual machine (optimally u should use these settings :
a)give between 30%-50%(never more because it makes the host system unstable) of yr total ram memory
b)create a virtual hard disc for the guest os (recommended a .vdi of dinamicaly allocated size(so it grows as its needed)
3)start up yr newly created vmachine and use the instructions to install yr w7 either form a dvd or an .iso image conveniently located somewhere on yr hdd
4)upon finalizing yr w7 install a priority is the instalation of the so called 'guest additions' extreemly important (it resolves' graph card issues by providing some dx capable default driver(more details on google/vbox site) and a few cute extras such as mose integration
5)go to settings>display>video and do : give some video memory and enable 2D&3D video acceleration)
6)upon finializing step 5) u can use yr internet explorer/dvd/ to download/install any and all u need (a nice pro' tip for ya: using k3b u can turn any dir(folder i think its nowadays called by the new kids ) into a .iso u can conveniently mount for yr guest os
What to (not) expect from a vboxed w7 :
1)it cant see' any partition on yr pc except the virtual one its installed on
2)issues with graphically intensive&complex apps( games to be more precise rule of the thumb : if based on opengl /& made before 2003 then it will likely run flawless) http://appdb.winehq.org/ here u can see a list of tested and known to work apps/games; to this list u can probabli add a lot more os dependent ones.
Hope this didn't bore u to tears and its of use (pardon the english not a native speaker

[selman555]

I don't think so...
You have heard about vmware? It should be pre-installed.

[podagee]

i have installed windows after linux,but,only mint 11 and lower.i did it by using a linux/windows grub restorer.tried it on the 3.0 kernel and it failed horribly.if you could find a boot repair disc for the newer kernel it is possible.for older kernels get it here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-re ... o/download

[AlbertP]

2)issues with graphically intensive&complex apps( games to be more precise rule of the thumb : if based on opengl /& made before 2003 then it will likely run flawless) http://appdb.winehq.org/ here u can see a list of tested and known to work apps/games; to this list u can probabli add a lot more os dependent ones.

This is about running programs in Wine. It does NOT AT ALL apply to running programs on Windows 7. Windows 7 in Virtualbox can run the same programs as a normal Windows 7.

[grraf]

Not sure where u got yr info AlbertP but trust me u can't run anything on a virtualised system and some actual field testing easily confirms that. Let me enlighten u with just 2 of my recent encounters : 1) morrowind truly a charming rpg game and perfectly functional except for any in game cinematics witch regardless of settings cause an imediate halt(abort) of the vmachine 2)a lovely CCG (colectible card game) named ether lords 2 witch upon initialization checks for a device he can use for graphic rendering , naturally he finds none to suit its tastes as after all vbox uses its own generic accelerated graphics card. I could continue the listing with a few more names but for them i don't recall the exact errors that prevented them from running.
Then there are those other groups witch seem to respond only to 'shock therapy' like say : ToEE absolutly refuses to function properly with an integrated mouse ; divine divinity refuses to operate when 2D graph acceleration is enabled ...
So please trust me when i say graphic intensive apps/games tend to be problematic/refuse to work under a virtualised sistem.

[AlbertP]

You need a proper graphics driver on the host OS (Linux) to get graphics intensive applications working. And sometimes the Linux driver for a certain card just sucks. When the graphics performance on Linux is bad it'll be bad as well in anything that runs on top of Linux, including Virtualbox.
And it's always a bit slower to run programs in a virtual Windows than in a real Windows, let's say around 10% to 25%.

This is not at all related to Wine. Pointing to Wine's application database does not make sense. A failing program there is often caused by a Wine bug, which of course does not exist when you do not use Wine.

[grraf]

AlbertP, friend are u intentionally attempting to mislead people or i'm missing something?
Here is a small discovery of mine : if u search yr virtual partition (yes from within yr guest os(the one runned in the vmachine) ) for: (let's keep a short list shall we ) libwine.dll and wined3d.dll (conveniently located in .../system32 folder) the presence of those two little buggers indicates a partial if not complete integration of wine's d3d graphics rendering into vbox (again this is real life fact extracted from my own vbox experience (debian 64bit+xfce as host and vboxed winxp sp3 as guest) hence the educated guess that if it works under wine it will also work under vbox adding to wine's list of supported app/games those that are even more OS dependent(hope that clarifies why i threw that link to wine appdb )
I admit my knowledge so far is limited to a virtualised xp (haven't virtualised a vista or w7) , curios if the same holds true for vista/w7 graphic rendering ??

[grraf]

Humm about apps always running slower on a virtualised system then on the native system i also tend to disagree : from personal experience they don't necesarily run slower on the contrary(imagine my shock when i realized that ,as an example my native xp booted in 8sec while the vboxed xp bots in 5sec or less, not to mention processor intensive apps performing significantly faster as well ) but then again native xp isn't all that famous for handling multicore x64 processors optimally while debian certainly does
Not sure of the exact/all causes of why something vboxed can run faster then smth native but it can certainly happen(at least in my case anyway) rather curious about it myself if anyone can explain it to use pls kindly do so
PS: naturally no sane person seriously thinks about 3d rendering with a nouveau driver in place of his real nvidia/ati/../ driver

[AlbertP]

I just found that Virtualbox indeed uses a bit of Wine code to render Direct3D on Linux as host.

But this code is just 2% of Wine. The other 98% is provided by Windows itself. That way you only get 2% of Wine's problems. 98% of the problems in the AppDB does not affect Virtualbox.
By the way, with the code being part of Virtualbox's graphics driver it must be tested thoroughly and shouldn't contain too much bugs.

[podagee]

i tried installing virtualbox from software center and from the deb. file from virtualbox.org,couldnt find it in my applications also tried the terminal(not found).
it also made my system drag a lot by just installing it.dont know the reason for that.im talking about everything from the boot up to the desktop?how can i install vb in my mint 12 without all these issues?

[AlbertP]

Just get virtualbox from the Software Manager and it's OK.

[podagee]

okay gonna give it another shot