virtualbox.org

hi

I don't know if this post is in the right place in the forum as I have only just joined. I am a definite newcomer to virtual machines and have only used VMware. I have found that VMware crashes if you do not close it down properly and you have to reinstall everything which I have done four or five times in now in a week.

I tried to use a virtual box before VMware but found I couldn't install Windows because I wasn't getting the dialogue box to install the Windows ISO. Can anybody tell me what I'm doing wrong and how I can install an iso with virtual box.

Any help would be welcome

Many thanks

Keith

If you don't get the new install wizard it usually means that you changed a default setting at creation which tells the VBox installer you know what you are doing and the wizard is not presented. After that you need to know to manually go to the storage section in the guest settings and manually mount the install CD.

Hi

I'm new here and to virtualbox. On host w7x64, i've installed Vbx 4.3.8 r92456 plus extensions, to install XPsp3x32. I have a Virtual-HD.vhd of 10GB on IDE and RAM of 1GB.

I do see the newly downloaded xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_ger_x86fre_spcd.iso, and alternatively I see the CD/DVD drive containing the same iso burned to CD, alternatively using an older XPsp3 CD, but in no case the XP installation starts. "Send Ctrl-Alt-Del" initiates nothing apart from the message "FATAL: no bootable medium found! System halted"

What baffles me is the entry "OS Windows XP (32bit)" in the VM Mngr. Does that mean that XP already is installed, and if so, why doesn't it show the XP desktop?

Please remember: plain beginner...
Thanks and kind regards
flowe

There is no need to burn ISOs to a CD, just create a new VM and let the "New VM" wizard prompt you for the ISO file. If the VM is already created then delete it.

Incidentally, if that download you refer to is a pirated copy of XP then you had better not discuss that around here. If you downloaded the SP3 Service Pack Update (a common mistake) then it isn't a full XP installer. Basically, Microsoft doesn't give operating systems away for free, so if you downloaded it from an MS site then there's a catch.

flowe wrote:What baffles me is the entry "OS Windows XP (32bit)" in the VM Mngr. Does that mean that XP already is installed, and if so, why doesn't it show the XP desktop?

When setting up a new machine, you are asked to tell VirtualBox what operating system you are going to install on it. VirtualBox then selects a template (ie a reasonable set of options) to start you off. You can change practically all of these from the machine settings if you wish, but the suggested options will work with the operating system you plan to install.

You still have to install the operating system, and it is usually best to do so from a bootable ISO image. As mpack suggests, make sure you have a genuine bootable image and not just an image of the SP3 upgrade CD. (The SP3 upgrade is free from Microsoft; a bootable image or CD you must have paid for.)

Thanks for your info

mpack wrote:Incidentally, if that download you refer to is a pirated copy of XP then you had better not discuss that around here. If you downloaded the SP3 Service Pack Update (a common mistake) then it isn't a full XP installer...

Well, the download is fully legit from a MS site, and yes, I fell for the common mistake to take it as a full installer including SP3, on installation to be activated with the legit product key from a fully legit original XP CD in my possession, lying here on my table. Alas...

So, what's next. I would try to install the XP CD into the VM, provided the VM recognises the CD drive, and afterwards to load the above SP3 file.

mpack wrote:There is no need to burn ISOs to a CD, just create a new VM and let the "New VM" wizard prompt you for the ISO file. If the VM is already created then delete it.

As I understand now, it is virtually impossible to obtain a legit installer XP ISO file - or what do you have in mind? To try converting the installer CD to a working ISO file is unlikely to succeed. The MS offered Windows XP VHD Image appears as for limited time use only.

dlharper wrote:When setting up a new machine, you are asked to tell VirtualBox what operating system you are going to install on it. VirtualBox then selects a template (ie a reasonable set of options) to start you off. You can change practically all of these from the machine settings if you wish, but the suggested options will work with the operating system you plan to install.

Thanks for the clear advice - but...

dlharper wrote:You still have to install the operating system, and it is usually best to do so from a bootable ISO image...

...and back to square one: where to get such an ISO, or will the original CD and key do, with the SP3 file installed afterwards?

mpack and dlharper, many thanks for your input - flowe

If you have a genuine XP setup CD then you can use it directly. The procedure is exactly the same except you select a host CD drive instead of an ISO file. Using an ISO file is preferred for lots of reasons, but it isn't mandatory.

Though in fact, creating an image file of a data CD (a.k.a. ISO file) is very easy. Just Google for ImgBurn.

An original Windows XP CD will work perfectly well with VirtualBox. If you want to do this, then just select "Host Drive 'D:'" (or whatever letter your CD drive has) instead of the ISO file.

Personally I prefer to convert the CD into an ISO. (It is an easy job - there are plenty of little programs around that will do it for you.) The main reason for this is that if there any problems reading the CD, then you'll find them during the conversion. If they come up during the installation, then you are never quite sure whether it is the CD that is the problem. Also, converting then installing from an ISO can be a little bit quicker than installing direct from a CD.

Check which version of XP you have. IIRC you can only apply the SP3 upgrade to an installation that already has SP2, and you can certainly only apply SP2 if you already have SP1. Windows XP was often sold with SP2 already included, but not normally with SP3.

Remember that if your copy of Windows XP has been used in the past and activated, you will need to get a new product key from Microsoft before you can activate it again (assuming it is a single license copy).

dlharper wrote:Remember that if your copy of Windows XP has been used in the past and activated, you will need to get a new product key from Microsoft before you can activate it again (assuming it is a single license copy).

Not quite true. If the last activation using that product key was >120 days ago, you'll have no problem activating it again with changed hardware.

mpack wrote:Not quite true. If the last activation using that product key was >120 days ago, you'll have no problem activating it again with changed hardware.

Thanks. I didn't know that. However it is a Microsoft issue, so not for further discussion here.