Enlarge Storage

[oracleboy]

THE MAIN QUESTION IS LAST ONE AT BOTTOM: I wish to comply with the rules but my question is pretty simple yet not found when searching. So, when creating a virtual machine there is the part when memory is chosen with a maximum of 4096MB. I wanted to see how I am to create a virtual machine with at least 20GB of storage but can't find where to change this setting, either with or without an already running machine. I thought I saw this adjustable option during the creation of a machine but I can't find it after I restarted and looked around for it. Does this 4096MB represent storage or memory in a different sense? Also, can I make the storage file a file on a flash drive to eliminate this problem? I want to be able to run and use an operating system to its fullest extent, not run out of storage only after installing a few packages. Thanks!

[BillG]

The amount of storage you select is the amount of physical memory on the host machine which is dedicated to the vm. How much memory you can allocate to the VM depends on how much your physical machine has. Obviously you cannot allocate more than you have, and your physical machine will struggle if you do not leave it enough for its own needs. You also need to remember that it is not the total amount of physical memory that we are talking about but the amount of memory which is available at the time you want to run your vm, and that depends on what other programs you have running on the host.

You can change the memory allocated to the vm at any time. While the vm is shut down, select the vm you wish to change and select Settings, then select the System tab. You can change the memory size using the slider, by using the up-down buttons or by simply editing the value in the box. If you select more that your machine has available your vm will not load.

Memory.PNG

[mpack]

THE MAIN QUESTION IS LAST ONE AT BOTTOM: ... Also, can I make the storage file a file on a flash drive to eliminate this problem?

Practically speaking, no. Flash drives are intended to transport data, not run continuously. They would be slow and most likely overheat. Any USB solution will be slow, except perhaps a USB 3.1 external SSD.

In general you seem to be conflating RAM with DISK STORAGE. The two are very different, like confusing your own memory with info recorded in a journal. I.e. RAM is transient memory used while programs are running, while disk storage is bulk, long term memory, typically much larger in capacity than RAM, which retains contents when the PC is switched off.

Let's cut to the chase: I see you are setting up an XP VM. For XP I would suggest 2 cores, 1024MB RAM, 64MB graphics RAM and a 32GB dynamic VDI hard drive. These numbers are selected to be good for the chosen OS and affordable on most modern host PCs.

I see you have a selection of Windows flavors created in the background. I assume you understand that you need an official installer CD/DVD for any OS you select. VirtualBox provides a hardware simulation, it doesn't bundle any Windows licenses.

[oracleboy]

Working now. Thanks for the help. I'm setting my VMs up right now.