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Windows

Creating your first virtual machine

Professor S

• 3 min read

Virtual Machines (VMs) are a way to run a computer inside your computer. Often with cloud computing these computers are running on a server somewhere far away in a data center. In this activity, you're going to install a VM on your own machine using free tools.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand what a virtual machine is
  • Be able to explain concepts of virtualization, including hypervisors, and host and guest operating systems
  • Be able to install and interact with a virtual machine on your computer

Installing the Hypervisor

A hypervisor is a program running on a computer that allows it to take the physical resources (e.g., storage and memory) of a host machine and divide them up between multiple guest operating systems. You can think of it like splitting one computer into a bunch of smaller computers. We're going to take your host operating system (likely either Windows or macOS) and install a guest Linux operating system in a virtual machine.

There will be two different paths for installing this VM - one for Windows and Intel Macs, and a separate one for Apple Silicon (M1/2/3) Macs. Make sure to follow the instructions appropriate to your computer. If you are unsure which version is right for you, ask.

Installing VirtualBox (Windows and Intel Macs)

Button to create a new VM in VirtualBox
  • Give it a useful name like "Ubuntu", then select the ISO image for Ubuntu Desktop that you downloaded. Check the box to "Skip Unattended Installation."
Click the little arrow on the right of ISO Image to find the file you downloaded
  • On the Hardware tab, give the VM 4096MB of Base Memory, and 2 Processors. (you can do less, but it will make things run slower)
  • Create a Virtual Hard Disk that is at least 15GB (preferably 20 if you have the space for it).
  • Click Finish and the virtual machine installation will begin. Continue with "Installing Ubuntu" below

Installing UTM (Apple Silicon M1/2/3/4 Macs)

  • You can choose to install UTM from the download at https://mac.getutm.app/ or by paying $9.99 on the Mac App Store. They are the same version; the App Store version just allows auto updates and allows you to support the UTM project.
  • You can download Ubuntu Server for ARM from the Ubuntu project website (https://ubuntu.com/download/server/arm).
  • Once the download is complete, follow the instructions on the UTM website (https://docs.getutm.app/guides/ubuntu/) to create a new virtual machine.
    • Allocate at least 15GB of drive space (20 or more if you have the space for it), 4GB of RAM, and 2 CPU cores.
    • If you see a blank screen after the VM reboots, you may need to open the VM settings and remove the ISO file as described in Step 9.

Installing Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a version of the GNU/Linux operating system. If you've never installed an operating system, this will be a fun new experience.

  • In the menu that opens up once you start running, select "Try or install Ubuntu"
  • Through the installation menu, you can use tab to navigate between options, space to toggle options, and Enter/Return to select. You are safe to select the default options for everything (and select a language that works for you).
  • When prompted, choose a username and password that you will remember.
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Don't worry if you make a mistake in the install. This is all happening inside the virtual machine, and you can always delete the VM and start over.
  • If asked at any point in the installation if you want Ubuntu Pro, you can select "Skip for now."
  • Once the installation is finished, restart the virtual machine (you don't need to restart your host machine)
  • If you installed Ubuntu Server for ARM (on an Apple Silicon Mac), after installing and booting the VM, you'll need to install Ubuntu Desktop to get the nice desktop things like a point-and-click interface. See the UTM guide (https://docs.getutm.app/guides/ubuntu/#installing-ubuntu-desktop) for instructions.

Once you're through the installation and have installed Ubuntu Desktop, starting up your VM should present you with a login screen, then show you something like this:

The Ubuntu desktop