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Installing Ubuntu Server in the Virtual Box

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Installing Ubuntu Server in the Virtual Box

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ShishirB
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4 min read

Table of contents

In this article, we will install Ubuntu Server 20.04 in the VM Virtual Box. You can also follow these steps to install Ubuntu Desktop in the Virtual Box. Some troubleshooting tips have been provided at the bottom.

Prerequisite

  1. Virtual Box installed on the computer (Download from here )
  2. Ubuntu Server 20.04 iso image (Download from here)

Let's begin

Open VirtualBox Manager

When you open the installed virtual box manager, following window will show up. image.png

Click on New

After clicking on New, fill up the field values for the new virtual box as shown below. Then click on Next button. image.png

  • Name: any name you like
  • Machine Folder: the folder in which the new virtual machine will be stored
  • Type: Linux
  • Version: Ubuntu (64-bit)

Memory Size

Select Memory(RAM) size to be allocated for the virtual machine. I am allocating 1GB Memory. You can allocate more if you require more RAM. It is a good idea to not allocate more than half of your actual memory size. Then click on Next

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Hard Disk

Then choose Create a virtual hard disk now option and click on Next, then choose VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) option in the Hard disk file type and click on Next.

image.png image.png

Storage on physical hard disk

In this section, you can choose either of the options according to your preference. I am choosing Dynamically allocated

File location and size

Choose the disk size to be allocated for the Ubuntu Server virtual machine file. I am allocating 8GB but you can allocate more if you need more size.

Note: This cannot be altered once the virtual machine has been created, so define the size wisely.

Click on Create

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Now, a new virtual machine has been created and can be seen on the left panel of the VirtualBox Manager.

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Click on Start

After clicking on Start(green right arrow) button, following window shows up.

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In this window, we have to provide the Ubuntu Server 20.04 iso image (download from here if you haven't yet).

Choose the downloaded iso image

Click on the folder icon image.png

This will open a new window. Click on Add button and choose the Ubuntu Server iso image. Then click on Choose button.

image.png

Start the virtual machine

Then click on Start as shown below. This will start the virtual machine using the chosen Ubuntu Server iso image.

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Installing process

The installation process is fairly straight forward. I will note down some important steps here.

  • Choose your language. I chose English.
  • If prompted for updating to the latest installer, you can choose to do so.
  • In subsequent steps, continue selecting default options.
  • In storage configuration step, make sure there is (X) before the Use an entire disk option and then using down arrow key, press Enter on Done

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  • Press Enter on Done again, and Select Continue.
  • Enter server's name, username and choose a password. The username and the password will be required when accessing the server later. Then continue with Done.

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  • In SSH setup, press Enter key to select Install OpenSSH server, then continue with Done

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  • Then press Enter on Done again
  • The system should be installing now

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Restart and login

After the installation is complete, the virtual machine will restart and login screen will show up as shown below. Enter your username and password.

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Server installed successfully

After successful login, this screen shows up and the installation process is complete.

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Now, you can safely delete the Ubuntu iso image that was downloaded earlier.

Troubleshooting

  1. If you are experiencing virtualization error similar to the error shown below, follow this article to resolve it.

    Not in a hypervisor partition (HVP=0) (VERR_NEM_NOT_AVAILABLE).
AMD-V is disabled in the BIOS (or by the host OS) (VERR_SVM_DISABLED).
Result Code: E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component: ConsoleWrap
Interface: Console {345aef7d-2c8a-3345-eb4a-7da887fe477b}

  2. If the installation is stuck in Installing security updates, you can cancel the update and restart. This is safe. Then you can update the system after logging in by entering the following commands.

    sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

  3. In case the installation process starts all over again after restarting the virtual machine, follow these steps to resolve it.

    • In the VirtualBox Manager window, right click on the Ubuntu Server machine and click on Settings.

      image.png

    • Click on Storage tab on the left panel.

    • Then in the Controller: IDE section, click on the Ubuntu iso image image.png

    • On the right panel, click on the disk icon in the Optical Drive option.

    • Then click on `Remove Disk from Virtual Drive'
    • Click on Ok

On the next start of the virtual machine, it will boot up correctly.

Any questions?

If you have any questions, or if you have any feedback and suggestions, please feel free to comment. Thanks for reading.

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