virtualbox.org

It is with trepidation that I write, having scoured this forum at great length: I fear rapped knuckles. I have read the latest User Manual also at length, & minutely studied those fragments relevant to the subject; & gathered same into a single document to help me achieve what I want to do. Bear with me.

The normal case for using VB is to have 1 Host OS, with 1 or more Guest OSs each installed into its own VM. My setup, common among Linux users, is a *multi-boot* system comprising several OSs selected at boot time. Actually...
[Code does not show on my preview, so I repeat straight]

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 63 506016 6 FAT16
/dev/sda2 64 4865 38572065 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 64 960 7205121 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 961 1859 7221186 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 1860 2759 7229218+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 2760 3026 2144646 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda9 3027 3924 7213153+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda10 3925 4865 7558551 83 Linux

• sda1/FAT16 is Novell's lovely multi-tasking DOS, NWDOS
  sda5/NTFS is a WinXP (curiously, I never use it)
  sda6,7,9,10 are various Linux's: Mandriva, Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse. I keep all data on a separate disc, mounted under each of these.

For Multi-booting I use the XP bootloader on the MBR, which is easy to manage, & whose essential bits live on the first DOS partition. Each Linux system is booted (chainloaded) via GRUB on *its partition boot sector* (to achieve which is often fraught with danger from power-hungry installers).

My immediate aim is to be able to run, using Vbox, NWDOS - later, WinXP - from within any Linux - *without* having to re-install it (& its applications) repeatedly. But it would be interesting/useful to be able to run the other Linux's from each one also. Accepting the need to install VBox in all the Linux's, and create the necessary VMs, you clearly do *not* want to have to *re-install* the other OSs in these VMs; you want to *use the existing installations* (= 'raw' VDX files).

How? A common enough scenario, hence my proposal for a HOWTO - ideally, incorporated into the admirable User Manual, which already largely describes things. Here is what I have unearthed:-

• - User Manual, section 9.7.1 "Using a raw host hard disk from a guest". This gives the basics, without actually stating the obvious (run a separately installed OS as a VM), omits a few small but vital points, is a bit enigmatic about booting (the mbr).
  - http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=8686
  Discuss VirtualBox FAQ
  - http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6888
  createrawvmdk does not work

The 2 threads cited mostly deal with complex partitioning issues, but include small important points.

I propose to join battle chez-moi, using my own cobbled document. But what about a good comprehensive HOWTO? And/or enhancement of the User Manual? I offer to do same.

Lewis Smith