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Dumb question, but I just want to check: I'm thinking of switching to linux (have been using it in VMs fro several years and don't play games and prefer gnome to windows), I have several virtualbox VMs on windows 8, I'm right in assuming that I can just install VB in ubuntu and then start my VMs from my windows 8 install in ubuntu, right? I don't want to have to set them all up again.

I mean copy all my VMs to an external drive, install ubuntu (which will wipe the drives) and then copy the VMs into ubuntu and start using them.

RISC OS
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2 Answers2

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For a smooth transition to another host for Virtual Box virtual machines the following should be considered:

  • In case we had Guest Additions installed prefer to run the VM in the same or higher Virtual Box version release.

  • If we had installed the Extension Pack we should install this on the new host too.

  • Latest (and older) Virtual Box application releases can very easily be installed from the Oracle repository (also see this question for details).

  • To register the VM in the new host Virtual Box we need to first export the VM appliance as OVF to our harddrive or (recommended) to an external storage. Merge snapshots before exporting as they will not be preserved.

    enter image description here

  • Then we can proceed with importing them to the new host.

    enter image description here

  • Adjust paths to shared folders if defined.

Community
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Takkat
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Yes.

First, enable the multiverse repository (which contains VirtualBox).

Enable Multiverse (Graphically)

  1. Open "Software and Updates":

enter image description here

  1. Make sure Software restricted by copyright or legal issues (multiverse) is enabled.

Enable Multiverse From Terminal (Alternative)

If preffer command line, enable multiverse from terminal (open with Ctrl+Alt+T) and run:

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install virtualbox

Import your VM

Open Virtualbox, then go menu Machine > Add.

enter image description here

Browse and select your .box file and click on Open.

Repeat for all VMs.

Rael Gugelmin Cunha
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