Windows 7 Installation on Virtual Box – No DVDs, upgrades or partitions required
There are basically three ways to install Windows 7 – a clean install, upgrade or better still a dual boot.
Clean install as the name indicates is a fresh installation of Windows 7 on a clean PC. Simply following the install wizard is enough to get the job done.
An upgrade on the other hand upgrades your existing Vista machine to a Windows 7 client. Upgrading from XP is not a direct process though; you will have to migrate to Windows 7 from XP.
While the first two options will result in only one OS on your system, the dual boot allows you to continue using your previous Windows operating system as well as Windows 7. You will be required to create a new partition for Windows 7 installation though, in case you are working out of a single hard disk.
Still undecided on what type of Windows 7 installation you should settle for? Here’s a fourth option you could try without the hassles of burning DVDs or creating partitions – install Windows 7 on Sun’s VirtualBox. This will allow you to take a trial run of Windows 7 without investing too much resources or time. But if you are looking for that Windows 7 experience with system performance, speeds, visual effects etc. then dual boot is the least invasive installation that you could opt for on your existing PC.
To install Windows 7 on VirtualBox, download and install the latest VirtualBox version compatible with Windows Vista. Also get a copy of Windows 7 Beta .ISO from the Microsoft website.
Create a new virtual windows configuration for Windows Vista and allocate the required memory (RAM), anything close to 1 GB should be good. Then create a disk for Windows 7 installation, with a size of at least 8–9 GB, allowing sufficient space for the installation process. The RAM and disk size depend solely on your PC configuration; however, the more memory available, the better. Proceed further and map the downloaded .ISO image as the CD/DVD-ROM from where Windows 7 should be installed. Activate the new VirtualMachine configuration you just created, use the “Install new” option to indicate the drive on which Windows 7 should be installed and let the wizard complete the setup.
After a couple of reboots you will be presented with a login screen where you can create user credentials for accessing Windows 7. Once you are through with login, enter the Windows 7 license key and set a few other custom parameters. Install the required guest utilities based on these instructions and after one more reboot, you are all set to explore Windows 7 on VirtualBox.
Tried windows seven on virtual boxit. window size is small when running windows 7 on virtual box. How we can increase the window size on virtual box.
I still wait purchased windows 7 from $m. It sounds like it should be better than vista when it came out, I can’t wait!!