System Setup/BIOS

Discussions about using Mac OS X guests (on Apple hardware) in VirtualBox.
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kyle m
Posts: 7
Joined: 25. Jun 2021, 21:46

System Setup/BIOS

Post by kyle m »

Hey Everybody,

Quick question....is there a way to access the system setup/BIOS of a virtual machine?

I've tried holding down F2 as soon as I boot it up, but it doesn't work. I'm a newb to VMs so perhaps you can't virtualize a BIOS environment ? Whenever I google search it, all the information is about VMware and there's nothing of substance for virtualbox.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks !
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: System Setup/BIOS

Post by mpack »

kyle m wrote: Quick question....is there a way to access the system setup/BIOS of a virtual machine?
That would be the VM settings, in the VM manager.

A VirtualBox VM has a BIOS, but it doesn't need a traditional BIOS user interface because VirtualBox has proper host manager dialogs for all that. There is nothing you could change in the VirtualBox BIOS that you can't change using the manager or with VBoxManage.
fth0
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Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: System Setup/BIOS

Post by fth0 »

You can use F12 when using the (legacy) BIOS and Esc when using the (U)EFI BIOS.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: System Setup/BIOS

Post by mpack »

fth0 wrote:You can use F12 when using the (legacy) BIOS and Esc when using the (U)EFI BIOS.
Wow. I wasn't aware that feature even existed - I don't recall ever seeing mention of it in the manual. Anyway I just tried it with an XP VM with MBR BIOS. Looks pretty sparse tho (i.e. none of the use BIOS config settings of a real PC): I guess the main ability it gives me is to change boot device on the fly. So for everything else my previous answer still applies.
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fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: System Setup/BIOS

Post by fth0 »

Now that you know it, you can search the VirtualBox User Manual for "F12", which gives much less hits than "BIOS". ;)

Regarding the (U)EFI BIOS, the situation is different: Having to use the Esc key is not really documented, and in some older VirtualBox versions you could allegedly also use the "Any key" (courtesy of socratis). This is especially useful if you have an OS already installed on the virtual hard disk of a VM, but want to temporarily boot the VM from an ISO file. (*) The only alternative that I know of is to change the boot order from within the guest OS, but booting the guest OS first is more awkward IMO.

(*) Note that the settings under System > Motherboard > Boot Order are only used in the (legacy) BIOS, not in the (U)EFI BIOS.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: System Setup/BIOS

Post by mpack »

fth0 wrote: Regarding the (U)EFI BIOS, the situation is different: Having to use the Esc key is not really documented, and in some older VirtualBox versions you could allegedly also use the "Any key" (courtesy of socratis). This is especially useful if you have an OS already installed on the virtual hard disk of a VM, but want to temporarily boot the VM from an ISO file. (*)
That could be useful. We've had questions before from guys who already installed Win10 having difficulty getting the VM to boot from another drive.

I'm aware that the boot order VM settings only apply to MBR, that's what makes this new info handy.
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