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Install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on Oracle's VirtualBox in Windows10 (2021)

 

Why would you need a Ubuntu Virtual Machine?



There are many reasons to use Ubuntu as an additional virtual machine along with your current Operating System. Apart from being free and open source, Ubuntu offers lots of things compared to Windows/MacOS. 

1. Secure and Community support

Since it is open source with great community support, Ubuntu is more secure and you don't even need to install an Antivirus to protect your system. 

2. Customization

You can customize your system to your liking. There are lots of Linux distributions you can choose from like Ubuntu, Fedora, LinuxMint, Manjaro and more. Or you can simply replace the desktop environment in any Linux based OS with other Desktop environment of your choice.

3. Low System Requirements

The recommended hardware requirements for Ubuntu are 700 MHz processor, 512MB RAM, and 5GB hard disk. So you can install Ubuntu and make even your 10 year old computer as useful and fast as it was before.

4. Ubuntu Software Center

Finding a software of your interest is much easier in Ubuntu Linux. You simply need to open the Ubuntu Software Center and find all the useful software. Alternatively, you can install many software with few simple lines of command. For basic usage, Ubuntu comes pre-installed with lots of software like LibreOffice, Gimp, Chromium, VLC, and Firefox.

5. Driver Compatibility

The new versions of Ubuntu comes with the latest Linux kernel and it can be run on more number of older hardware as well as the new systems with latest chips. Ubuntu also comes with many pre-installed drivers that save time and frustration.

Before installing Ubuntu let's see what is VirtualBox?

Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free virtualization application program, developed by the Oracle Corporation. You can use this software on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris. For example, you can run Windows on Mac or Linux on Windows while running your existing OS.

What is the system requirement for installing Ubuntu on VirtualBox in Windows 10?

  • 2 GHz dual-core processor or better

  • Windows system with 4 GB RAM

  • Windows system with a minimum of 15 GB free storage

 

Step 1: Download and Install VirtualBox

Download Oracle VirtualBox from their official website and install it on your Windows 10 PC/Laptop.

                                    Download VirtualBox

Step 2: Download Ubuntu ISO file 

Download latest Ubuntu ISO file from Canonical's Official site

                                    Download Ubuntu

 Step 3: Open VirtualBox 

Open VirtualBox Manger and click on "New" button




 Step 4: Setup your virtual machine

Setup the virtual machine by giving it an appropriate name and choose correct the OS type and version. In our case, we are giving the name as Ubuntu, OS type as Linux and version as Ubuntu(64-bit)



Next, you need to allocate the RAM size, I am allocating 4 GB of RAM but if you want, you can increase the RAM size as per your requirement even at later point of time as well.


Next, I will go with the default hard disk option that is “create a virtual hard disk now” and click on Create. 



 Next, also I will go with a default setting that is VDI and click on next.

Next, you can either choose dynamically allocated or fixed size, I will go with Dynamically allocated. 


Next, you have to select the size of the virtual hard disk. I will allocate 50 GB but you can choose whatever size you want, just make sure it’s more than 15 GB.

Step 5: Insert the Ubuntu ISO file

Now under Storage section. Click on [Optical Drive] Empty.

Next, click on the option “choose a disk file”.

Now go to the location where you have downloaded Ubuntu and select the Ubuntu ISO file and click the OK button.

 


Step 6: Select the Ubuntu OS file

Now select the Ubuntu OS and click on the Start button.


 

Step 7: Setup Ubuntu OS

Once the machine boots up select your preferred language from the left side-bar and click on the Install Ubuntu button.


 

Step 8: Setup Keyboard Layout

Next, select your preferred keyboard layout option and click on "Continue" button.

 

In the next window, you will see several options, here I will also check the “install third-party software” and click on the continue button.


 Next, in the installation type window, keep the default setting as it is and click on Install now button.

Next, you will just receive a warning, which says if you continue the changes listed below will be written to the disks. Just click on the continue button.

 


Next, select your location and click on continue.

The last thing you have to do is enter your name, computer name, username, and password and click on the continue button.


It may take more than 20 minutes based on your network speed and processor speed as it will download and install any pending software updates as well. Once it is installed, you will see a pop-up message to restart the machine.


Once it is rebooted, you may see the below image. Just click the "Enter" button and it will boot into your newly setup Ubuntu machine.


Step 8: Additional Setup - Install VirtualBox Guest additions in Ubuntu 20.04

Whenever you start your Ubuntu virtual machine, you will be greeted with the below logon screen. Click the username and type the password you have setup during the installation process then click "Enter" button


Once you successfully logged in, click the "Show Applications" icon from the left side and search for "Terminal".



In the terminal window, type the below command and press "Enter"

    sudo apt install build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)

You need to enter your password and press "Enter". It will ask you whether you want to install the selected dependencies, press "Y" and press "Enter" again so that the dependencies installation will begin.

Click "Devices" and select "Insert Guest Additions CD Image" 



From the next pop-up screen, Click "Run" button to install the VirtualBox Guest additions. You need to enter your password in the next pop-up screen and click "Enter"


Press any key once you see the below screen and restart your Ubuntu machine



Now, once the Ubuntu system is restarted and logged in you can use it in maximized mode or in Full screen mode.


 
Additionally, you can enable drag and drop option to copy files from your host system to Ubuntu and vice versa, and Copy Paste option to copy paste text from host system to Ubuntu and vice versa. Enable these options under

Devices -> Drag and Drop -> Bi-directional
Devices -> Shared Clipboard -> Bi-directional


 
That's it, now we have successfully installed Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on VirtualBox with Guest additions in Windows 10. If you face any issues, let me know in the comments.

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