virtualbox.org

..And I tried, I really tried to find my medium and boot it! I cannot get past this FATAL FLAW-- although over the last three days I have spent many hours reading the manual and this board, watching install videos, installing, un-installing, re-installing, adjusting, blah, blah, blah…My favorite Raj-wanna-be “malicious infection” scammer is going to re-call me tomorrow and I am desperate to play with him on a VM! HALLLPPP!!! What am I screwing up? Thanx!

Host: COMPAQ MINI 2009 running: WINDOWS 7
VIRTUAL BOX: WINDOWS XP: SYSTEM: 230 MB, CD BOOT.
STORAGE: IDE Primary: vdi KARMA KAFE (Normal 10.00 GB)
IDE Secondary: CD VBoxGuestAdditions ISO 61.55 MB

Read Chapter 1.7 onwards and especially 1.8.1.

Dear Socrates, Thank You so much for your prompt response! I have REALLY read/studied that a number of times--even with my failing vision, (cue violins), which is like seeing through a greasy windshield. I just cannot understand the boot problem--do you have a clue to share from your experience, Please. I am a not-Geek-ish Great Gramma....we used straight pens and bottles of ink in the holes on our desks in school... So if you will hold my hand and Kindergarten me with this new-fangled stuff I will be eternally grateful! (..and I can see Eternity from my 24/7 bed----but I want to skewer my scammer before I "cross the bar"!)

It's simple: to install an Operating System on a PC you need an OS install/setup CD (or these days: DVD).

Do you have one for the OS type you selected? Is this CD currently mounted in the VM? The error message says not, and that particular error message has never been known to be wrong.

Dear Socratis, Thanks for hanging in here with me--- I don't have an actual cd/dvd drive , but I do seem to have the virtual one installed as seen on my "Systems" page ..or is this a different one that neither the VM or I can find?
Bueller.. Bueller..Bueller..

Host: COMPAQ MINI 2009 running: WINDOWS 7
VIRTUAL BOX: WINDOWS XP: SYSTEM: 230 MB, CD BOOT.
STORAGE: IDE Primary: vdi KARMA KAFE (Normal 10.00 GB)
IDE Secondary: CD VBoxGuestAdditions ISO 61.55 MB

Greetings, T Phord!
Mpack has your solution: you're going to need an install disc for an operating system or an ISO image file of such a disc.
Virtualbox doesn't provide the operating system for the virtual machine. It just simulates the hardware the virtual operating system would see.
So if you want to dance with your scammer in XP, for example, you're going to need an XP CD. (And since the computer you're using doesn't have a cd drive, you'll need to borrow someone else's computer to make an ISO of the XP CD, or buy a USB CD drive to attach to your computer) Or you could cue up Ubuntu or some other Linux operating system, which can be downloaded as an ISO and attached to the virtual machine's CD drive.

Thanks for leading this IT first grader and showing me where to hang my coat and stash my paper lunch bag! First--Sorry Mpac that I missed your virtual name on your reply --I must have had an antique moment--I wasn't aware until I read scottgus1's answer---THEN, I thought it was a Brand Name This is why "Shady Pines-The Home" insists on me wearing a name-tag-in-bed-at-all-times.

Greetings back at ya scottgus1! Thank you for expanding on Mpac's answer. SO..."Virtualbox doesn't provide the operating system for the virtual machine. It just simulates the hardware the virtual operating system would see." OK! Now I understand that I need a really real OS besides VirtualBox's, virtual, virtual OS! I did not know this

If I make my VB for Windows 7 instead of XP, can I access the W7 OS on my Compaq Mini? ....and how would I do that?..you knew I was going to have to ask that! (yes, I know I am Smiley happy, but it IS my religious icon...In my Driver's Licence photo I am wearing my Smiley Tiara...Government cannot define one's religion ("religious headgear only") LOL/LOL Little Olde Lady/Laughing Out Loud.

Thankfully my Raj-wanna-be "Microsoft" scammer did not phone today. I will tune my VM, decorate it with virtual files, put on my genuine rhinestone 5 Starr Tiara and waltz him around some more! Thanks again for your IT gui-dance

LATER---I have been researching some more, re: Windows 7 ISO file (containing Windows 7 setup files)
http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/topic/ho ... de-hatryst
When I start my VM (green arrow or double click) a couple of screens flash by, then the VB Logo appears but doesn't stick and then THE FATAL message (that has never been wrong) ..in all my -/+10 VM creations/removals it has been the same--I have never seen the lauded "First Run Wizard"! Any ideas? Thanks!

VirtualBox is not an operating system itself. VirtualBox provides what is called a Virtual Machine or Virtual PC. For all intents and purposes this is a separate PC and you should think of it as such, and not think of it as an application on your physical PC. The template you chose simply ensures that the hardware recipe of your new PC will be suitable for running that OS. The OS still needs to be installed by you, from a normal install CD.

So the answer to your question about accessing the Win7 host - and nearly any other question in the "can I" vein, is to ask whether you could do it if you had a second physical PC. If the answer is yes then the answer is nearly always yes for the virtual PC as well. In this case, if you network the two PCs together then PC B could access selected folders on PC A, but obvious security issues should be considered. If your question was whether you can install the PC A's copy of Win7 on PC B... then mostly likely yes, but Microsoft might object when it comes time to activate the copy.

Speaking as mod: please try to keep the discussion on topic. This is a VirtualBox forum, I don't think we need to know about your dealings with phone scammers.

T Phord, I have a vague feeling that when you said,

"I understand that I need a really real OS besides VirtualBox's, virtual, virtual OS! .... If I make my VB for Windows 7 instead of XP, can I access the W7 OS on my Compaq Mini?"

it sounds like you're thinking of borrowing the operating system on your Compaq and re-using it in your Virtualbox guest. At this stage in the game, the answer would be No. (The real answer is, likely yes, but there's a lot of stuff to do to make that happen if it can happen at all, and you're just starting off with virtual machines...)

I'd recommend going and buying or permanently borrowing an XP disc and product code from an older computer you or a friend have lying around but no longer use. I'd suggest not using Windows 7 unless your Compaq is strong enough to run two Windows 7's at once. How much memory does it have, and what kind of processor is in it?