2

I'm in the process of moving from Windows to Ubuntu (14.04) for my web/mobile development and realize that I might definitely screw my PC up at some point. Rather than start over from scratch, I would like to have a base starting point that I can quickly copy over. I understand that you can create a disk backup/image of an Ubuntu install that you can use a boot disc for installation on the same PC/another one.

I'm wondering if I can create this base installation inside a VirtualBox configuration, and then create a "disc image" by burning to a disc in the host optical drive. I would then use the disc image to quickly install on my PC. The reason behind this is that our connection at home is heinous (3Mb/sec), and consistently downloading Android Studio, Webstorm, MonoDevelop, etc. etc. can take forever (hours/day). Because of this, I would like to have a VirtualBox I can create at work (fibre-optic connection) and then create a disc image from the VirtualBox install to use on my PC.

This way I could simply insert the disc containing the image into my computer when I screw up, and install the disc image onto my hard drive. I'm hoping that this would allow me to skip the setup phase and have a development ready Ubuntu installation ready for me.

Is this possible? If so, how?

Secondly, I currently have a 250 GB SSD where /, /root/, and swap currently reside, in addition to a 500 GB hard drive where /home resides. Would this cause any issues with what I am attempting to do?

Let me know if I should include anything else! Thanks!

Kendall
  • 163
  • This seems overkill if you're using VirtualBox. You can make snapshots of a VM in it, which you can later restore to. – muru Apr 14 '16 at 14:59
  • @muru, My apologies if I was unclear. I'm hoping to make a disc image from the VM, and then use it on a real system (PC) to speed up the starting process and get straight to development. Updated question to hopefully reflect this. – Kendall Apr 14 '16 at 15:02
  • 1
    Possible duplicate of Migrate from a virtual machine (VM) to a physical system – muru Apr 14 '16 at 15:03
  • Ah, did not find that one. I'll check it out and possibly close this one. Thanks – Kendall Apr 14 '16 at 15:04
  • From your first para, it seemed the real reason was that you wanted to recover easily from screw-ups. That's why I held back from flagging as a dupe before. – muru Apr 14 '16 at 15:05
  • Yes, I'm hoping to create a single DVD/USB containing a disc image of a Ubuntu installation, and then be able to quickly transfer it to a hard drive in the event that I destroy it. What I'm wondering is how to create that DVD from a VirtualBox installation. – Kendall Apr 14 '16 at 15:07
  • Then you might be interested in http://askubuntu.com/questions/158865/how-do-i-convert-my-ubuntu-installation-into-a-live-usb-or-live-cd as well. – muru Apr 14 '16 at 15:10

0 Answers0