Comments on: Virtualization on the Ubuntu Desktop: An Overview

By: Christopher Tozzi

Christopher Tozzi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:25:45 +0000

Paul: using an OEM copy of Windows can cause problems because OEM versions are valid only for a certain hardware configuration–the one in the computer that the OEM disk shipped with–and your virtual environment will appear to have totally different hardware from Windows’s perspective. I’ve never dealt with this issue personally but I believe you can get it to work, however, if you call Microsoft and are willing to go through a bit of a hassle. You might want to take a look at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=381315

I’m not sure what you mean by your second question: are you asking whether it’s legal to run Windows 7 Home in a virtual machine, as opposed to Windows 7 Ultimate?

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:10:28 +0000

To run Windows in a virtual machine, what license is required ?

I’ve tried with a valid Windows XP OEM license (on the same machine XP was delivered with) but it didn’t work (could not make the Windows registation or whatever name it was called). Is a full licence required (not OEM) ?

For Windows 7, does EULA allows to run each Windows 7 version in a virtual machine ? I could not find that information on Microsoft website.

Thanks.

By: Pat

Pat — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:52:26 +0000

Correcting an error in my previous post:

I wrote that “having an Ubuntu page that says the 9.04 LTS release can be installed on my MacBook changes everything!”

I meant 10.04 LTS. (Previously the most current instructions for the MacBook 3.1 were for Ubuntu 9.04.)

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:03:40 +0000

Christopher, thank you so much for reading my comment in the previous post and for writing this article. As you noted and others have said, the word “virtualization” was one of those key words that whenever I saw I would just skip to the next thing since I felt like it didn’t relate to me and I wouldn’t understand it. Now it seems not as daunting and much more understandable. Much appreciated!

By: Pat

Pat — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:22:26 +0000

Christopher:

Thanks very much for your helpful, encouraging reply. One of your links contains the GREAT news that 10.04 Lucid Lynx can be installed on my model of MacBook.

Previously the newest version available for a MacBook 3.1 seemed to be 9.04 Jaunty. (Or to be more specific: the newest for which an Ubuntu Community page was available, and the amount of tinkering in terminal mode made it seem like it would be more trouble than it was worth for a non-technical person.) But having an Ubuntu page that says the 9.04 LTS release can be installed on my MacBook changes everything!

To clarify whether I want dual boot or virtualization: Whichever would be easiest and cheapest. Virtualization if it saved me technical hassles or hours of tinkering. Dual boot would avoid the cost of a RAM upgrade.

The ideal solution would be porting the software to the Mac. To that end, I tried the Fink Project, which ports open-source Unix software to the Mac. But the problem is there are far more people wanting things packaged and ported than there are volunteer developers to do the work. Here’s the request I submitted in the spring:

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=371315&aid=3005826&group_id=17203

By: Christopher Tozzi

Christopher Tozzi — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:18:28 +0000

Also, Pat, for more step-by-step instructions regarding Ubuntu in VirtualBox on OS X, check out http://moxiefoxtrot.com/2009/01/05/installing-ubuntu-810-in-virtualbox/

I also reread your post and it seems your ultimate goal is to install Ubuntu directly on OS X to create a dual-boot system. I’ve also seen that done and I don’t think it’s particularly hard (maybe it was in the past, and it might be more difficult if you wanted to run a less-mainstream distribution than Ubuntu). Take a look at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook

By: Christopher Tozzi

Christopher Tozzi — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:13:51 +0000

David: glad the post was helpful. As I wrote, it’s easy to take virtualization for granted if you’ve already been using it for a while, and forget that it’s not something that everyone knows about!

Pat: virtualizing Ubuntu on another operating system is definitely also possible, and can be a good way to give Ubuntu a try without having to install it to a hard disk. I’ve never owned a Mac so I’m not too familiar with the virtualization scene there, but I know that VirtualBox is available as a free download for OS X; my advice would be to give that a try. It’s pretty simple to use.

I’ve also not heard of anyone having too much trouble running Ubuntu on OS X. According to http://rc3.org/2008/02/13/installing-ubuntu-on-os-x/ for example it seems pretty easy. The opposite direction–virtualizing OS X on Ubuntu–can be difficult because OS X is so proprietary, but that’s not what you want to do.

By: Pat

Pat — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:00:57 +0000

Thanks for the clear, helpful piece on virtualization on Ubuntu.

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on virtualizing in the opposite direction. I have an Ubuntu desktop, but my laptop is a Mac. I have one device driver that runs on Ubuntu, but not on the Mac.

I gather that installing and running Linux on a Mac is a pain in the posterior. Would virtualization make it any easier for a non-technical person to run a Ubuntu on a Mac?

Thanks.

By: David

David — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:39:01 +0000

I absolutely needed this article. It became like a reflex movement to read whatever about ‘virtualization’ and go over the next thing … Now I have understood how interesting it is … really interesting !!!

Thanks.