Installing Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) on Mac OS X Using VirtualBox

As some of you may know, I've upgraded or should I say tried upgrading my Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) desktop to 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat). Sad to say, the result was a disaster. Although the whole installation process was successful, I ended up having an unbootable system. Since I'm not yet in the mood to fix it, I decided to just try Ubuntu 10.10 by installing it on Mac OS X as guest OS using my favorite free virtualization software VirtualBox.

To those of you who would also like to install Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) on Mac OS X via VirtualBox, here is a step-by-step guide (with screenshots) on how to do it:

1. Download the latest version of VirtualBox for OS X from HERE, and then install it.

2. Run the VirtualBox application and create a new virtual machine.

3. Allocate RAM to your virtual machine. The recommended amount of memory is 512MB but I decided to portion out 1024MB since my total RAM is 4GB.

4. Create a new virtual hard disk for Ubuntu.

5. Select the type of virtual hard disk. I recommend you use dynamically expanding storage for a more flexible disk space.

6. Decide on the size of disk space that will be allotted to your virtual machine.

7. The virtual disk will be created once you click on the "Done" button.

8. Turn on the virtual machine by clicking on the "Start" icon.

9. The first run wizard will appear to help you install the OS, in this case Ubuntu 10.10.

10. Select the media that contains the Ubuntu 10.10 ISO installer.

11. Since the installer was saved on my hard drive, I added it using the virtual media manager.

12. Once you are done, the Ubuntu 10.10 installation process will follow. If you are already familiar with Ubuntu, just install it like you normally would.

For those of you who have not used Ubuntu before, watch out for the Ubuntu 10.10 installation walkthrough on my next post. I will also give a screenshots tour and share with you my first impressions of using Maverick Meerkat.

Where to Download Free VirtualBox Images (.vdi) and How to Use Them

Where to Download Free VirtualBox Images (.vdi) and How to Use Them: VirtualBox, arguably the most popular free and open-source virtualization software for Linux is a great tool for trying other operating systems without the need for additional hardware. I utilize VirtualBox for installing and running Windows 7 as guest OS on Ubuntu, and also use it for testing other Linux distributions.

To run an operating system inside VirtualBox, you will need a CD/DVD or image installer of the guest OS so you may have to download it, and then set it up and wait until the installation is finished. If you are always in the mood to try other Linux distros or operating systems, you may find this a time-consuming process.

So what should you do to save some of your precious time? You may download a VirtualBox disk image (.vdi) file of your preferred operating system. Now, where can you download free VirtualBox images? You can go to torrent sites like isohunt.com and search for .vdi. You can also go to virtualboximages.com and virtualboxes.org where you will find direct links to tons of VirtualBox images of different Linux distributions and also BSDs. You may also use Google if you are not lazy enough.

How to use VDI file?

Run VirtualBox and start by adding a new virtual machine the way you normally do. But once you reach the “Virtual Hard Disk” part, select “Existing” to open up the VirtualBox Virtual Disk Manager. Using the VirtualBox Virtual Disk Manager, simply attach or add your downloaded .vdi file, and then finish it up. You can now start the virtual machine with your guest OS already installed, so no more waiting.

That’s about it. I hope you will find this useful.

PS. When looking for.vdi torrents, always get it from trusted torrent sites like isohunt, mininova, et. To be safe, read comments associated with the torrent file to find out if it's the real deal. Lastly, use common sense to avoid malware.

View the original article here