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My Laptop Specs : 8 GB RAM, 2 GB Graphics Card.

Host Operating System : Ubuntu 14.04

VirtualBox Version : 4.3.10

Guest Operating Systems : Windows 7 (with 4GB RAM) & Kali Linux (with 3GB RAM).

Queries :

  1. What is the maximum limit of Operating Systems that can be installed on Virtual Box?
  2. If i want to install another OS (with 4 GB RAM) in Virtual Box, will it effect my Host OS performance ? If so, please suggest the good solution.
  3. What will be my Host OS performance after installing two or more OS in VirtualBox.
sr1
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1 Answers1

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  1. There is no maximum limit of OSs that can be installed in VirtualBox.

  2. Since all virtual machines are separate from each other, there will be no effect on host OS performance if you install another OS in VirtualBox unless both guest OSs are running at the same time.

  3. With 8GB of RAM there should be minimal or no effect on host OS performance after installing two or more OS in VirtualBox, unless you are running multiple guest OSs at the same time.

Other considerations related to performance of the guest OS in VirtualBox

  1. Your guest OS's performance will be better if your guest OS has a lightweight desktop environment. For example, Xubuntu has better performance in VirtualBox than Ubuntu. Disable the Aero desktop experience in the Windows 7 guest OS. Fancy desktop effects use more RAM, which is a limited resource that you can't afford to waste.

  2. Your guest OS's performance will be better if you give the guest OS enough RAM. 2GB of RAM should be enough give the guest OS good performance under normal circumstances.

  3. A virtual machine installed on an SSD has better performance than a virtual machine installed on an ordinary spinning disk HDD.

  4. VirtualBox is frequently updated and occasionally there are small changes in the VirtualBox GUI. If you are following instructions from a tutorial about how to install a guest OS in VirtualBox, make sure that the tutorial is a recent one.

karel
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