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I have read about VirtualBox that in VirtualBox we can run both Windows and Ubuntu in parallel, but it seems that for this we have to make one host and install the other one in it using VirtualBox.

I am already using both Ubuntu and Windows on my PC (dual boot), and I want to run the already existing ones in parallel instead of installing one of them again (I don't want to install the programs again). So is there a way that I can do this?

Videonauth
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user3185902
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2 Answers2

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In theory, both virtualbox and KVM can boot your existing installation directly from hard drive. It is much easier to boot Ubuntu using VBox on windows then boot an existing windows install with KVM or VBox from Ubuntu.

In practice, booting an existing installation in this manor can be error prone and damage the existing install. It is much better to do an installation in a vitrual disk , as is the default behavior.

Warning

Raw hard disk access is for expert users only. Incorrect use or use of an outdated configuration can lead to total loss of data on the physical disk. Most importantly, do not attempt to boot the partition with the currently running host operating system in a guest. This will lead to severe data corruption.

See :

How to use a real partition with Windows 7 installed, in a virtualbox vm?

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/31260/booting-the-already-installed-windows-from-the-virtualbox-installed-in-ubuntu

http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/784138-howto-boot-existing-ubuntu-partition-using-virtualbox-inside-windows/

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Panther
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You can also convert an existing installation to a virtual machine version. This is less dangerous than running directly from the installation, since you will not be modifying the existing installation.

Converting a Linux installation to a virtual machine.

Virtualbox guide on converting a Windows installation (not a simple task).

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Nattgew
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