VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a free means to create and manage VirtualMachines.
It's compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac systems.

Installing VirtualBox

Windows

Follow the steps on the VirtualBox Downloads page.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu comes with a repository of VirtualBox included, but the version it pulls is generally fairly outdated. It can be installed with:

• sudo apt install virtualbox virtualbox-ext-pack

To use a repository that uses current versions of VirtualBox, run the commands:

• wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
• sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib"
• sudo apt update && sudo apt install virtualbox-<version>
  • Where <version> is the latest version of VirtualBox available. You should be able to just tab complete in the terminal to see versions available.

Using VirtualBox

• Download the iso for your desired operating system.
• Setup a new VM and run through the standard OS setup process.
• Remember to proper memory, processors, and vram, otherwise it may run poorly/incorrectly.
  • For example, VMs running Ubuntu18 may black screen if only allocated the default 16 MB vram.
• Once installed, launch the VM and:
  • Install the Guest Editions CD through the menu with Devices > Insert Guest Editions CD Image...
  • Run normal system updates on your VM.
• Finally, restart the VM to be ready for normal use.

Ubuntu Quirks

To make use of Guest Editions in ubuntu a few additional steps might be needed.

• Install additional apt dependencies on the VM:
  • sudo apt install build-essential dkms
• Add the logged in user to the VirtualBox group:
  • sudo usermod -a -G vboxsf <user_name>

Sidenote: Unattended Upgrades

For any Ubuntu VMs, it's probably worth disabling "unattended upgrades". You should be regularly running manual updates anyways. See Apt-Get Automatic Updates & Notifications.

Possible Errors

Updated Ubuntu and Now it's Giving Nonsensical "Wrong Kernel" Errors

Try the steps at https://askubuntu.com/a/1131716