The Joys of Virtual Machines (VMs)

MikeK61

Thank you very much for this detailed information Wetgeek.
It is much apreciated.
Since i don`t use window much anymore this could be the way to go.

If i will ever get this to work i could use the 2 TB NVME for Solus.

WetGeek

Keep in mind that Solus' resource requirements are very modest. I create my Solus VMs with a virtual hard drive size of 32 GB. That even allows for a swap partition that's big enough for hibernation.

I do my heavy data lifting with a NAS (network attached storage) server, so my VMs don't need a lot of memory beyond the operating system itself. So you use a NAS, or "cloud" storage, you could fit a LOT of VMs into your 2 TB SSD. If you only need one VM, you'll have room for a lot of personal data, like documents, videos, pictures, etc.

BuzzPCSOS

Personal choice. I would always try to make the host OS the one with the lowest system load. Therefore Solus as host, Windows as VM.
If you run Windows as host then much of the performance of Linux is soaked up by Windows resource sucking.
Solus is also my preferred OS so it works out well for me.

WetGeek

BuzzPCSOS I would always try to make the host OS the one with the lowest system load.

I make that decision differently, as I've mentioned, but the result comes out the same as yours. I use Solus as the host, because that's my daily driver, and Windows is something I rarely have any need for. We may have different criteria, but in the end, the outcome is the same.

MikeK61

I installed win 10 in VirtualBox in the morning.
But since i switched to fullscreen i have no mouse anymore.
I have no chance to configure anything in win.
Any ideas ?

BuzzPCSOS

MikeK61 For your mouse (and other stuff) to work reliably you need to install VBoxGuestAdditions_7.1.2.iso onto the guest OS.
Do this by clicking on the menu at the top, select Devices and use the 'Insert Guest additions CD Image' dialogue. Alternatively it can be downloaded from here and mounted as a CD image (again using the Devices menu) and run as a CD.
Right Ctrl C should get you out of full screen and able to use your mouse again.
Make sure you have added yourself to the vbox users group with sudo usermod -aG vboxusers $USER
A reboot and everything should be working.
Edit: There seem to be some issues using full screen and a mouse on the current version.
Right Ctrl+F Fullscreen
Right Ctrl+C Scaled mode
You can generally manoeuvre round Windows without a mouse using Tab, Space bar and arrow buttons.

WetGeek

MikeK61 i have no mouse anymore

Sorry, I'd like to help, but I've never seen that happen. How is the mouse connected? Bluetooth, wired, or wi-fi? Knowing that might help someone to suggest what to do about it.

If it's Bluetooth or wi-fi, do you also happen to have a wired mouse you could try, just to help diagnose the problem? (I keep one of those on hand to help with installing a system, before Bluetooth becomes available.)

MikeK61

Seems to work Thanks much.
A few things bothering me.
Display settings are sub optimal.
I can only choose lower settings than on the host.
Also i have no access to local hard drives.
Is there a chance to share at least one drive so i can share some files ?

BuzzPCSOS

MikeK61 VMs are a bit of a steep learning curve. Best to write some of it down for the next time.
Under the Devices menu there will be Shared Folders. For safety and security it is better to share as little with the Host as possible. I usually set aside one folder for sharing on the Host and copy everything I need there. Use Shared Folders to navigate and select your chosen folder.
I seem to remember there are a lot of settings that can be tweaked with for display optimisation from the VirtualBox settings page. At this point it is probably best to export your VM to a single file just in case the whole lot gets messed up while you are learning. That way you have a datum that can be reinstalled on any machine running VirtualBox.
VirtualBox makes a good second OS alternative for things that can't be done on your primary OS. For best results don't expect to play games, music or run any graphic intensive programs. All your resources are being shared with the host and will always take a performance hit because of that. You are also dependant on the power of the software to make a good job of the resource sharing. Sometimes an update will make things better, sometimes not.

WetGeek

MikeK61 Also i have no access to local hard drives.

In order to access my NAS from a VM, I need to use the Network setting "Bridged Adapter." That way it shares a connection on the host that already has access to the local network, instead of a virtual network. That's probably what you need for accessing local drives, too. That's trivial to do with VirtualBox (one mouse click), but a real pain with other virtualization schemes - one of the reasons I like VBox so much.

MikeK61

I have installed win 10 on VirtualBox and it works.
Can i use USB for example. ?
To share a drive i need to change permission for the drive but always get an error permission denied.

WetGeek

MikeK61 Can i use USB for example. ?

Click on the "Devices" menu item. If it's correctly set up, you can access whatever's at a USB port by selecting it there. You can also use that menu to connect with any of the other devices that are enabled in the settings (shared folders, etc., etc.).

MikeK61

Thanks much Wetgeek i`ll try that.
Tomorrow i have to get rid of the water in my lungs in the hospital first.
Not sure how long i have to stay.

BuzzPCSOS

MikeK61 Hope you are back and fighting fit soon.
While setting up VirtualBox it is probably better to stay out of full screen (ctrl + c) and use the program controls at the top of the screen. Also check the Vbox status indicators and controls in the lower right hand corner of the program window.
Mostly when sharing stuff you will not be allowed access by both the host and VM at the same time. A USB can only be made available if it is not being used by the host. Setting the USB to selected in the devices menu makes that selection for you.
Sometimes watching online videos and seeing how others are making things work can be really helpful and much quicker than reading a ton of instructions.

WetGeek

BuzzPCSOS While setting up VirtualBox it is probably better to stay out of full screen (ctrl + c)

By the way, unless I misunderstand what you're suggesting, it's RIGHT CTRL+F to toggle full-screen. That can be changed in the settings for the VBox manager application, but I've never found a reason to change it.

BuzzPCSOS Sometimes watching online videos and seeing how others are making things work can be really helpful and much quicker than reading a ton of instructions.

Indeed, it can. And the last time I looked, the VBox help file was 250+ pages. (I printed a copy of that once, when I was a new user.) It's well indexed, in the manner of professional documentation, because VirtualBox is used by enterprises that pay a lot to license it. I love that the full-featured version has always been available for free for personal use.

BuzzPCSOS

WetGeek Thanks for your correction but I was rather clumsily trying to indicate how to exit full screen not enter it. Just wanting to get the information across without looking at how easily understood it would be 🙂
As for written instructions tldr is the norm.

WetGeek

BuzzPCSOS I was rather clumsily trying to indicate how to exit full screen not enter it.

If your "ctrl+c" refers to the right ctrl key (the default HOST key), then CTRL+C indeed removes a VM from full-screen mode (or even windowed mode). It changes the VM to scaled mode, which is interesting, but not the same as just exiting fulll-screen, and it doesn't have the menu at the top or the status symbols at the bottom.

Pressing ctrl-c on a full-screen VM using the left CTRL key does nothing at all, in my experience, unless you've previously bound that keypress to a command. I was just pointing out that CTRL+F is the default toggle that enters and exits full-screen mode. Not sure why you would use one command to enter it, and another to exit it, but if that works for you, I'm all for it.

Regarding tl;dr, I agree with you that it's often true of amateur help files. I find that the indexing in the professionally-created VBox help system makes it easy to jump right to the topic of interest, often just one paragraph or two. It's also available via a keypress right from the VBox manager, so no searching for a video is needed. If you've never used it, it's worth taking a look.

Not trying to start a debate, just pointing that out for the benefit of other readers who might be new to VirtualBox.

BuzzPCSOS

WetGeek Wow, yes. My bad. I meant to edit my post to right ctrl +C, but other commitments got in the way. It should have been something else anyway.

WetGeek Not sure why you would use one command to enter it, and another to exit it

😆 Well I live and learn, must spend more time watching video tutorials. The idea of using the same key combination to enter or exit a command never occurred to me, it's like enter and exit meaning the same thing. Thank you for your correction.

WetGeek

BuzzPCSOS it's like enter and exit meaning the same thing

No worries! Again, not meaning to debate this, but I think you'll find HOST+F very useful and intuitive.

If your VM is IN full-screen mode, then HOST+F exits from that mode (it can't enter it, because it's already there). If it's NOT IN full-screen mode, then that keypress causes it to enter it (it can't exit, because it's already ... well, you get the idea).

Toggles are a very common way to turn things on and off via software. Context is your friend.

qk4-li3

Thanks! What a great read. Very informative and nicely explained. I'll bookmark this for potential future use. At the moment I think I have a bit too old machine to tinker with this (2007), but I'm sure when I eventually build new machine I definitely will try virtual machine for sure!