On Windows 7 you could install Virtual PC 64 bit but unable to run a 64 Bit guest operating systems. This is quite frustrating as you could not use Hyper-V VHD provided by Microsoft on Windows 7. The lack of Microsoft virtualization application lead us to use Sun VirtualBox.
VirtualBox includes support for 64-bit guest operating systems and applications. VirtualBox supports Windows 7 as a host OS. It also has no licensing costs as it is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Another important feature is that VirtualBox natively supports Microsoft Hyper-V virtual disk image files (.VHD). This feature allows us to take a virtual machine built with Hyper-V and use it on a portable machine such as a laptop or desktop computer.
Download VirtualBox Binaries
Sun VirtualBox is available via download from the site http://www.virtualbox.org
Create a VirtualBox Virtual Machine
Creating a new virtual machine (VM) is performed by launching the New Virtual Machine Wizard.
- Name the VM and select the OS Type as appropriate. The OS Version selected must indicate (64 bit). If you are unable to select a version with (64 bit), this likely means the CPU in your host is not 64 bit. You will not be able to run a 64 bit guest if the host CPU is not 64 bit. If you are running Windows 2008 R2 guest, select Windows 2008 (64 bit).
- Select an appropriate memory allocation. The recommendation for a SharePoint 2010 server is 4096. Be sure to leave adequate memory for the host OS.
- When configuring the disk, you need to specify the existing .VHD file. Click the icon to launch the Virtual Media Manager and add the existing .VHD.
- After completing the wizard, click Settings to make a few adjustments:
- Select the appropriate Network setting – see the VM Guest Network Configuration section below for guidance
- It is suggested to disable Audio
Start the VM and Install the Guest Additions
After first starting the VM guest, it is strongly recommended to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions to improve performance and enable mouse/keyboard transitions between host and guest.
- Click Start to launch the VM guest
- Login to the VM (the CTRL + ALT + DELETE key sequence is RIGHT CTRL + DELETE)
- If you need to release the mouse, press RIGHT + CTRL
- At this time, ignore error messages indicating failure to load device drivers (installing the Guest Additions will take resolve these failures)
- When prompted to restart the computer to apply changes, click Restart Now
- Login again
- Install the Guest Additions by clicking Devices, Install Guest Additions… (or pressing RIGHT + CTRL + D). When prompted, select Run VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe. Accept all defaults and accept prompts to install Sun Microsystems device drivers.
- Restart when prompted
- Login again
- If desired, adjust the display resolution
- If you have Internet connectivity, run Windows Update and install the latest security updates
- Adjust the time zone as appropriate
