🚀 VirtualBox (Ubuntu VM) Essentials as Dev Env

🎯 Purpose

VirtualBox is a free, open-source virtualization software that allows you to run multiple operating systems on a single machine.

🌱 Origin

The name “VirtualBox” reflects its role as a “virtual box” for operating systems. Originally developed by Innotek GmbH in 2007, it was later acquired by Sun Microsystems and then Oracle, which maintains it today.

🧠 Essentials

⚙️ Installation

• On Windows/macOS: Download from the official website and follow the installer.
  • https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads (if not reachable with error “502 Bad Gateway Error, use the following link)
  • https://www.oracle.com/in/virtualization/technologies/vm/downloads/virtualbox-downloads.html
  • Follow the installer (default params are usually sufficient)
  • “Network change/restart warning” is normal. VB needs to create network adapters for its VMs, which requires a brief network restart. You can safely proceed; your internet connection will return automatically.
• On Linux: sudo apt update; sudo apt install virtualbox

🖥️ Creating an Ubuntu VM

1. Download the latest LTS version of Ubuntu Desktop ISO file from official website:

• https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
• The choice between AMD and ARM depends on your computer’s processor.
  • For Intel or AMD CPUs (the most common for Windows and older macOS): Use the AMD download.
  • For newer Macs with Apple Silicon CPUs: Use the ARM download.

2. Open VirtualBox and click “New” to create a new VM.
3. Name your VM, select the Ubuntu ISO file, and set a username & password.
4. Allocate memory (RAM ≥2GB) and CPU cores, then set the virtual hard disk size.

• These settings can all be changed later in the VM’s configuration.

5. Install Ubuntu Guest Additions: To improve performance and integration. These tools provide several key features, including better screen resizing, shared folders…
6. Start the VM and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the Ubuntu installation. Choose the following options

• “Install third-party software”: adds drivers & codecs for better hardware support
• Installation type “Erase disk and install Ubuntu”: formats the selected virtual disk and delete all data.

🖥️ Configuring a VM

• 3 VM States

• Powered Off: The VM is completely shut down, like a physical computer that is unplugged.
• Saved: The VM’s state, including its memory, is saved to disk, allowing it to be quickly resumed exactly where it was left off.
• Running: The VM is currently active and the guest operating system is in use.

• VM Setting

  • Memory >= 4GB
  • Processors >= 1
  • Video Memory >= 16MB
  • Configure a shared folder between local machine & VM
  • Shared Folders (Guest Additions required)
  • Networking Modes
    • NAT: Easy internet access for VM.
    • Bridged: VM appears as separate device on the network.
    • Host-Only: VM can only communicate with host.

• General Settings in VM

  • Multitasking -> active screen edges.
  • Keyboard -> change keyboard lang if needed

• Devices Settings Menu in VM:

  • shared clipboard -> bidirectional
  • drag&drop -> bidirectional

• Quick access in VM:

  • Pin e.g. VS Code & Terminal & Text Editor
  • Set your default search engine: e.g. https://duckduckgo.com/

• Update Packages in VM:

  • Exec in Terminal sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade -y

• Fix/update guest additions after installation:

  • Documentation: https://wiki.debian.org/VirtualBox#Installation
  • Open terminal
  • Check Guest Additions by executing lsmod | grep vboxguest → no output means not running or installed correctly. If correct, skip the rest
  • Install Build Utils: sudo apt install -y build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)
  • Method-1: sudo apt install -y virtualbox-guest-dkms virtualbox-guest-utils virtualbox-guest-x11
  • Method-2: Download Iso and exec sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-additions-iso
  • Restart VM

📈 Performance Tips

• Enable VT-x/AMD-V in BIOS.
• Allocate sufficient RAM & CPU cores, but leave resources for the host.
• Use SSD for VM storage if possible.
• Take snapshots before major changes → Allows quick rollback.

🧰 Troubleshooting

• On general VirtualBox errors, read Virtualbox Menu -> Log.
• On Load VM error, close VM with the open “Power off the machine” and restart