5

I use Windows 7. I also run Ubuntu 12.04 in VirtualBox. The other day I wanted to try Lubuntu. Is there a way to dual-boot Ubuntu 12.04 and Lubuntu in VirtualBox?

3 Answers 3

4

If you just want to test the Desktop Environment of Lubuntu (LXDE) you can follow this how-to and get an lubuntu desktop on top of your current Ubuntu installation.

In this way you don't have the need of a second operating system. If this is not enough for your tests I'd suggest to install a second Virtual machine is much more easier than having one with dual boot.

3
  • 3
    Ubuntu + LXDE ≠ Lubuntu. The latter distribution has different packages installed that standard Ubuntu.
    – To Do
    Jan 3, 2013 at 13:28
  • 1
    You are right, in the how-to i Linked the command to use is: sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop that should install not just LXDE.
    – ricciocri
    Jan 4, 2013 at 10:19
  • 1
    Not even installing lubuntu-desktop will render Ubuntu exactly like Lubuntu. There will still be many, many packages which are not included in lubuntu. Running Lubuntu desktop would render Ubuntu faster though.
    – To Do
    Jan 4, 2013 at 13:16
4

VirtualBox runs GRUB on startup. GRUB is capable of dual-boot. Therefore, VirtualBox would be more than capable of dual booting.

2
  • 2
    Just confirming this: I am running a dual-boot Ubuntu/WindowsXP VM for years now.
    – Takkat
    Jan 3, 2013 at 15:21
  • Since when did VirtualBox run on GRUB? Plus, I do not have GRUB as I only run one real OS: Windows 7.
    – horIzoN
    Jan 5, 2013 at 14:18
3

With VirtualBox you can have any number of virtual machines, each with its own OS. There's absolutely no need to complicate things with dual boot unless you want to play with configuring dual boot.

Keeping OSes separate makes it much easier to play with different distros etc. - you can just delete the whole machine when you're done with it.

As a bonus, if you have enough RAM, you can run multiple virtual machines at the same time, no need to reboot from one to another.

2
  • I disagree with this claim. Dual-booting a virtual machine can be useful to test the bootloader.
    – fffred
    Dec 17, 2018 at 16:07
  • @fffred: this is exactly what I said in my answer: "no need to complicate things with dual boot unless you want to play with configuring dual boot".
    – Sergey
    Dec 17, 2018 at 19:26

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .