virtualbox.org

I'm looking to install linux to my internal hard drive via VirtualBox. Here are the steps I've taken and where I need help.

1. Create a Ubuntu guest, selecting 'no virtual hard drive' during initial setup, hooking an .iso file to the ATA storage tree.
2. Use VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -rawdisk /dev/diskx -filename diskx.vmdk
3. Go into Guest's Settings->Storage,->Choose Existing Disk->pick diskx.vmdk --> ERROR: Empty/Unusable file

The goal is to read the Linux installer from the .iso and install the system on the actual internal hard drive partition.

Any help? (I'll be sure to post a working HOWTO.)

Good luck with that.

MacLinux wrote:I'm looking to install linux to my internal hard drive via VirtualBox.

So, let me get this straight. You want to override the system hard drive (from where VirtualBox is running), with a Linux distribution at the time that the system hard drive is used? Really? As Lou said, good luck with that.

MacLinux wrote:VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -rawdisk /dev/diskx -filename diskx.vmdk

There is no way on earth that this succeeded, because there no '/dev/diskx'. That's not the actual command you used now, is it?

MacLinux wrote:The goal is to read the Linux installer from the .iso and install the system on the actual internal hard drive partition.

The solution is to burn said .iso in a DVD, boot from it and install the system on the actual internal hard drive partition.

BTW, there are not that many Linux distros that can deal with the Apple EFI. The only one (mainstream) I know of is Ubuntu, but maybe I'm wrong. Ref: http://askubuntu.com/questions/37999/wh ... -iso-image

The irony of this topic is the reason I started using VirtualBox was to avoid installing an OS or two. Years ago I decided to try out BootCamp so I installed Windows 7 along with OSX. I had no use for Windows at the time but I wanted to see how well it worked. I eventually got bored with it and removed Windows. Then I discovered rEFIt*, which would allow booting Linux and/or Windows along with OSX. Unfortunately it also allowed one to triple-boot OSX, Windows and Linux which I did. lol

So I played with that for a bit but it got old restarting every time I wanted to switch OSes. so I deleted the Windows and Linux partitions. Then I read about VirtualBox and saw I could run multiple versions of Windows and Linux and not have to reboot and at the same time if I wanted.

And here we have someone who wants to use VirtualBox to install Ubuntu + OSX. Oh the irony.

*rEFIt is no longer in development but there is a fork called rEFInd.