virtualbox.org

I reformatted the HD into 2 partitions and loaded Mac and Windows XP. But I have to restart the computer into whichever OS I want. So I downloaded Virtual Box 3.0.2-49928-OSX.dmb which I understand will allow me to switch from one OS to the other without rebooting the computer. So I followed the prompts and installed it.

But I get confused when it asks me to create a virtual machine. After giving a name to the new virtual machine (Windows) it asks me to either create a new hard disk or use the existing one. But if I clck on "Use existing hard disk" , "Next" is greyed out and if I delete the tick from "Boot Hard Disk (Primary Master)" the next message sais I didn't attach a hard disk to the new virtual machine.

I already have the Windows disk (partition) so don't want to create a new one.

Some help to get this matter completed would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Stuartp77

Start by reading some of the FAQ documents on this site. In particular find out what virtualisation is. Reading the user manual might be useful too.

And in the end, it is possible to do something like what you want using a raw partition. A bigger question is whether you can do it and maintain the dual boot capability afterwards. Your virtual hardware will be different from your physical hardware, this may require reactivation of Windows.