13 July 2016

Run Windows 10 on Linux Mint using virtualbox

The screen of my portable is acting strange from time to time. 
Maybe the video controller has a problem ...
To be sure I do not loose anything from my portable, I decided to virtualize it and check to see if I could run this virtualized pc on Linux Mint using virtualbox.

Important: my portable runs Windows 10 - 64-bit, so in order to run the virtualized version I also need a 64-bit OS. I chose Linux Mint Mate 64-bit as host OS.

The test succeeded : I can run my Windows 10 64-bit portable in Linux Mint using virtualbox.

Here is what I did:
  • Virtualize the portable
    • (on my running portable I wanted to virtualize:)Using "VMware vCenter Converter Standalone" I converted my portable running Windows 10 64-bit to a virtual machine. The result was a vmdk file. I copied the files (vmdk and vmx file) on an external usb disk.
    • The software can be found at : https://www.vmware.com/products/converter
  • Download and install Linux Mint on a USB stick
    • (on a windows pc) On the internet, search for "Download Linux Mint 18 Sarah"
    • Download linux mint :
      • https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
      • Download the Mate 64-bit version from one of the servers listed.
        I used the server in Europe > Netherlands > Triple IT
        (1.6 GB is being downloaded)
    • (on a windows pc) Burn iso to USB stick
      • Use UNetbootin to burn the downloaded ISO to a USB stick (USB stick needs of course at least 2 GB of free space)
        • [x] Diskimage  - ISO
        • Navigate to your download folder
        • select linuxmint-18-mate-64bit.iso
        • Type: USB-disk  E:\   [OK]
      • Alternatives for UNetbootin:
        see http://www.howtogeek.com/127377/the-best-free-tools-for-creating-a-bootable-windows-or-linux-usb-drive/
    • Start Linux Mint from USB stick
      • Boot the PC you want to use with the Linux on your USB stick
      • On some computers you can/need press F12 or Esc and F9   to choose the (USB) device you want to boot from.
      • If boot does not work, check bios.
    • Optionally change keyboard layout (Menu > Keyboard > Layouts > Add > Country: Belgium > Add
      Move "Belgian" above "English (US)" > Close
    • Download, install and start virtualbox
      • Start Terminal
      • Type "sudo apt-get install virtualbox-qt" to download and install virtualbox (this will take quite some time so be patient).
      • Type "virtualbox" in the terminal window to start virtualbox
        • Add and the virtual machine
          • Be sure the USB disk with the Windows 10 vmdk file is attached to your PC
          • New
            • Name : type some name e.g. vmWin10
            • Type: Microsoft Windows
            • Version: Windows 10 (64-bit)
              • Next
            • 2 GB Ram is sufficient
              • Next
            • [x] Use an existing virtual hard disk file
              • Navigate to the vmdk file on the external hard disk > Open > Create
          • Click on the Start (green arrow) (and wait at least 5 minutes ... it takes some time to start Windows 10 in virtualbox, but it works !
            P.S. In virtualbox, the Ctrl+Alt+Delete is replaced by right Ctrl+Del to login in Windows

    Using RDP (Remote Desktop) to connect to vmWin10


    • Configure virtualbox > Machine > Settings > Display > Remote display > [x] Enable Server (Server Port: 3389)
    • Configure virtualbox > Netwerk > Attached to : Bridged adapter (Name: enp2s0)
    • Enable RDP in vmWin10 : Control Panel > System > Properties > Remote Desktop > [x] Allow remote connections to this computer
    • If necessary : Disable firewall in vmWin10 (or allow RDP through) : Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall > Turn Windows Firewall on or off 
    • Verify IP address of you vmWin10 : in Windows > Start > cmd > ipconfig
      Note the IPv4 address (in most cases something like 192.168.x.y)
    • On another pc on your network : start > mstsc /v:192.168.x.y (replace by ip address of your vmWin10)



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