Questions on Virtual Machines

[Expatriate]

I'm relatively new to Linux, but close to making the jump to using Kubuntu as my primary OS (combination of frustration with Windows and increased confidence with my abilities in Linux). I only have moderate computer literacy, but willing to learn as I go. Here's the first issue. I'm thinking of taking a freshly formatted hard drive, installing Trusty Tahr as my primary OS, with the option of running Windows 7 as a virtual OS. I've been reading about VirtualBox and VMware, and although it's sounds straight forward, I am wary about my abilities to set it up and run it with my lack of experience. I have a Windows 7 installation CD. Do I need to install it first and set up a dual boot system? Do I just install Kubuntu and then install a virtual Windows 7 OS later? Do I even need the Windows 7 installation CD? Can anyone direct me to step-by-step instructions for configuring something like VirtualBox? Sorry for my lack of understanding, but after all, I am posting in the "Help the Newb" section. Second issue (more of an opinion, I guess). I plan to use Wine to install my office package, which is what I really need to keep running in Kubuntu. I'm a university professor, and need to be 100% certain that any slideshows I develop will run in PowerPoint without any formatting issues. My apologies, but from my experiences thus far, LibreOffice is just not there yet. So the question is, in your opinion, should I even be concerned with running Windows as a virtual OS? Will Wine allow me to do everything I could possibly want without having to bother with Windows altogether? What are the advantages, if any, of running a virtual Windows 7 inside Kubuntu? Looking towards a Windows-free future, The Expatriate

[Snowhog]

Welcome to Kubuntu Forums . Net.

My suggestion would be to install a Virtual Machine (VirtualBox from Oracle -- I used to run it, but don't now, as I am totally 'Windows free') as it is more robust than the Open Source version IMO. Installing it after downloading the package is pretty straight forward; just follow the instructions.

Preparing the hard drive for installation of Kubuntu is strongly recommended. By that, we mean partitioning it before installation. If you don't aleady have it, get GParted and create a LiveCD, boot into it and use it to create the partitions. Strongly recommended that you create a minimum of two partitions, three if you need/want a swap partition. The first partition is used for the root partition (core system), the second for your home partition, and if you want/need a swap partition, a third for swap.

The root partition should, IMO, be not less than 25 GB. If you aren't going to create a swap partition, then the rest of the hard drive will be used for the home partition. If a swap partition will be created, it should be equal in size to the amount of RAM you have in your PC, and the home partition would of course be reduced to accomodate the swap partitions size.

[woodsmoke]

Gparted or download a copy of Knoppix and burn it to a disk, come back and ask if your version of Windblows does not allow burning of an ".iso".

Knoppix "runs in memory" so you can decide what you want to do "externally".

Use Knoppix to split the hard drive "60 / 40"............that way you can decide "which is which"........terminology can be confusing......

default to "Fat 32" and if the OS wants to do "NTFS" let it do it.

and install Kubuntu on the "other side"....

I did that going back so far as Vista.it works.

woodsmoke

[Feathers McGraw]

I plan to use Wine to install my office package, which is what I really need to keep running in Kubuntu. I'm a university professor, and need to be 100% certain that any slideshows I develop will run in PowerPoint without any formatting issues.

Have a look at PlayOnLinux, a front-end for wine that makes installing windows programs with wine much easier, does all the config for you.

My girlfriend's laptop has Office 2010 installed using POL/Wine and the only thing I've found that doesn't work as you might expect is excel macros. Apart from that, it's all good.

I used to have the same setup when I was at uni (civil engineering student) and found it worked just fine for me. Now that I've graduated and don't need such good compatibility with Office I have dropped Wine altogether and now use Libreoffice for all those things.

Will Wine allow me to do everything I could possibly want without having to bother with Windows altogether?

Not quite everything you could possibly want! Office runs fine in wine but support for other programs varies. Some run very well and some very poorly... I guess the more popular ones attract more dev attention and are therefore more reliable.

So if you need very specific programs you might need a VM like the others were saying. Never used one myself, so I can't comment on how good they are!

BTW, since you're an academic do you ever use LaTeX? KDE's TeX editor Kile is IMO the best on any platform, and I've tried quite a few!

[Expatriate]

Thanks for the help thus far, and the time you've taken to respond. Greatly appreciated.

Snowhog and Woodsmoke, based on the first two posts, it sounds as if I need to have Windows in one partition and Linux in the other to make VirtualBox work. Is that the case (i.e. does VirtualBox work by accessing Windows in the separate partition)? If the suggestion of a root/home partition is to prevent data loss with inevitable system crashes, I'm in that habit of saving all work directly to an external that gets backed up to a cloud on a regular basis. I've dealt with several crashes/disk drive failures and have never had to concern myself with data recovery because of my concern with precautions. I'm not too concerned with data loss, if that is the reason for the partition. Still, it seems to be highly recommended, and I'm open to learning experiences as I dive into Kubuntu.

Woodsmoke, no issues with .iso burns. I have it with Windows, and am also using Kubuntu running from a flash drive. Obviously very slow, but a great way to teach myself without concern about my hard drive. It's also the reason I've become more comfortable with Linux. I've gone a couple of weeks without running Windows off my home computer, which is what is telling me to make the switch. I'm familiar with Fat 32 and NTFS, but have never been told the principle difference or advantages/disadvantages. Any comments on this?

Feathers, thanks for the info. For some reason, I had the false impression that POL was an ALTERNATIVE to Wine, not a complimentary program. I will install and play around with it a bit. Very envious that you are able to go completely Windows free. Don't think that will ever be my case, but at least as a professor, I can purchase a personal copy of the office suite for $10. LaTeX would have been helpful while writing my dissertation. My position is teaching/administrative exclusively, so not as great a need these days.

Thanks again, and if any of you could confirm what I wrote above (i.e. that I need Linux and Windows on separate partitions), I can get a start on setting up my new system.

[ronw]

You do not need Windows on a separate partition to use it in a Virtualbox guest.

Run Virtualbox, create a new guest, and add the Windows install CD/DVD to it. Windows will be installed to a single .vdi file in your home directory (by default).