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i'm shopping for a laptop, and i'm considering setting up linux on it in virtual box or a similar virtual machine, i've been told if i want to run linux on a lap top i need to make sure the hardware is all supported, but if the linux is in a virtual machine does that still apply, or does the OS in the virtual machine communicate with the hardware via the host OS.

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  • What is the reason for you to run linux in a virtual box? Do you only need a bash and certain tools or do you intend to run X-Window programs? My Answer might show some alternatives to virtualization depending on your needs
    – Tobias Kienzler
    Commented Jul 15, 2010 at 6:16

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Only the host OS is required to be compatible with the hardware.

The guest OS can communicate with certain classes of physical hardware, but the host OS must be compatible with enough hardware to get the guest running.

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  • thanks, what do you mean compatible with enough hardware to get the guest running?
    – Kirt
    Commented Jul 16, 2010 at 7:42
  • Disk, keyboard, mouse, etc.
    – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
    Commented Jul 16, 2010 at 7:48
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A Virtualbox virtual machine has (most of) its hardware supplied by the Virtualbox program.

All the versions of Linux I've used work ok with Virtualbox with a default install, and Virtualbox comes with a "driver disk" (Guest Additions) for additional features such as fancier graphics.

The virtual machine's graphics card has a model name "Virtualbox Graphics Adapter" and supplier "InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH" (the people who sold Virtualbox to Sun). You have a choice of 5 network cards which your machine can have, a choice of two soundcards, three disk controllers etc.

(In practice I tend not to change the default harware except to adjust the amount of RAM available to the virtual machine.)

The things in the host machine which are seen are the CPU model and (if you want - I tend not to) the optical drives. The virtual machine can also grab any USB peripherals that you plug in (depending on the version of Virtualbox).

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  • is that hardware you describe all um, virtual hardware?
    – Kirt
    Commented Jul 16, 2010 at 7:46
  • @Bec: By default, VirtualBox emulates hardware, but after installing the VirtaulBox tools on the VM some hardware can be looped through, e.g. USB devices (if you use the non-OSE)
    – Tobias Kienzler
    Commented Jul 16, 2010 at 8:01
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The virtual machine can simulate basic hardware which is supported by Linux. But Linux will sooner or later also support your laptop, at least if you use a well-maintained distribution like Debian or Ubuntu.

You may also want to try andLinux (based on coLinux), which is an Ubuntu distribution with a modified kernel such that it runs as a native Windows process and therefore may deliver better performance.

Depending on your needs, it might even suffice to use cygwin or minGW.

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  • Novel idea, thanks. so it runs the linux OS as a window in windows, or does it get so close to windows that linux programs can run nromally? I've got 64 bit windows on my current machine though, so might not work for it. could get 32 for the new one maybe. Seems a bit less hygenic though, i'd be running a lot of non-standard software so it seems the self contained nature of a virtual machine might be more big-resistant?
    – Kirt
    Commented Jul 16, 2010 at 7:52
  • @Bec: The Linux kernel will run as a background process and everything you open will open in a Windows window. Just have a look at the first screenshot at andLinux, showing Konqueror and Konsole running in Win-windows. andLinux currently only supports 32bit Windows I'm afraid. But if you want to encapsulate Linux from Windows I guess you can't avoid virtualization.
    – Tobias Kienzler
    Commented Jul 16, 2010 at 7:59
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For running virtual machines you need Hardware virtualization.
Virtualization may have several names, such as VT or VT-x, and is a feature of the CPU.

Although some VM products can work without it, this technology is required for some setups, such as running a 64-bits guest on a 32-bits host, and for most modern VM products.

The good news is that almost all later CPUs do support this feature, but you had better ensure that your future laptop does have it. This is best done by searching for the specification of the CPU on the manufacturer's site (for the CPU, not the computer's).

The computer should have enough memory for running two computers, the real and the virtual. In that case, it should have at least 4 GB of RAM.

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    It is never required. It simply allows the virtualization to run faster under certain setups.
    – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
    Commented Jul 15, 2010 at 5:52
  • Why all down votes? It's good idea to look for computer with hardware virtualization! Several popular programs required it until recently to work with 64bit guests! (VMware, XP mode, VirtualBox) I know I regretted many times not checking if my laptop supports VT-x. I even had to hack UEFI to enable it. The RAM point is correct also.
    – AndrejaKo
    Commented Jul 15, 2010 at 7:30
  • @AndrejaKo: Sure, those are good points. But the basic premise that hardware virtualization is required is false.
    – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
    Commented Jul 15, 2010 at 7:38
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    @Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams: I never said it's always required, just that it's required "for SOME setups". I personally had to buy a new computer with VT-x in order to let VMware host 64-bits on 32-bits. Theory is one thing, but practice may be different. And "Better safe than sorry".
    – harrymc
    Commented Jul 15, 2010 at 7:42
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    @Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams: When the poster asked for the best laptop for doing virtualization, would you recommend one without hardware-assisted virtualization?
    – harrymc
    Commented Jul 15, 2010 at 8:24

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