Where to Download Free VirtualBox Images (.vdi) and How to Use Them: VirtualBox, arguably the most popular free and open-source virtualization software for Linux is a great tool for trying other operating systems without the need for additional hardware. I utilize VirtualBox for installing and running Windows 7 as guest OS on Ubuntu, and also use it for testing other Linux distributions.
To run an operating system inside VirtualBox, you will need a CD/DVD or image installer of the guest OS so you may have to download it, and then set it up and wait until the installation is finished. If you are always in the mood to try other Linux distros or operating systems, you may find this a time-consuming process.
So what should you do to save some of your precious time? You may download a VirtualBox disk image (.vdi) file of your preferred operating system. Now, where can you download free VirtualBox images? You can go to torrent sites like isohunt.com and search for .vdi. You can also go to virtualboximages.com and virtualboxes.org where you will find direct links to tons of VirtualBox images of different Linux distributions and also BSDs. You may also use Google if you are not lazy enough.
How to use VDI file?
Run VirtualBox and start by adding a new virtual machine the way you normally do. But once you reach the “Virtual Hard Disk” part, select “Existing” to open up the VirtualBox Virtual Disk Manager. Using the VirtualBox Virtual Disk Manager, simply attach or add your downloaded .vdi file, and then finish it up. You can now start the virtual machine with your guest OS already installed, so no more waiting.
That’s about it. I hope you will find this useful.
PS. When looking for.vdi torrents, always get it from trusted torrent sites like isohunt, mininova, et. To be safe, read comments associated with the torrent file to find out if it's the real deal. Lastly, use common sense to avoid malware.
how can you be sure, these are clean systems? I mean there inst any spyware built in or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI find it both humorous and annoying when a blogging and/or commercial site only provides hyperlinks to their own previously posted articles and won't provide external links to the article's mentioned sites.
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty well known sites and if they were doing anything nefarious you'd hear about it.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't seem to do anything that qemu doesn't do, and qemu is in the fdora repositories, so you know it's clean. I would also be concerned about running a preinstalled virtual machine. How do you know what has been installed? In qemu, I run Windows XP and I test new fedora releases and occasionally tinker with other linux distros. It works great and is easy to use.
ReplyDeleteYou've covered the "how" but your title implies you have a link to .vdi files which I don't see.
ReplyDeleteThat's about the most insecure thing I have heard for a while now. Just how well can it be known those VDIs are clean? You can't, period. Not to mention the illegal aspects of those distributing proprietary OSes such as Windows.
ReplyDeleteOn the whole your suggestion is a BAD ideal all around.
Don't always trust those VDI from unknown sources. They could be tampered.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good idea if you wanna test some OSes. Sometimes it's difficult to create a good setup, sometimes because o legal limitations.
ReplyDeleteOf course, i dont suggesting someone should put personal info into that boxes (passwords). As long as you 'keep the box clean', nothing can come out of it, because it's a VM (no viruses, no trojans, etc).
Uh....who cares if its clean? Its a Virtual machine dumb ass. If you dont like, it delete it when you're done. It has no access to your system unless you allow it.
ReplyDeleteVirtualBox Images free
ReplyDeletelook this site:
http://virtualboxes.org/
http://www.virtualboximages.com/
http://vmplanet.net has a few for virtual box, but not nearly enough...
ReplyDelete