So I only use Windows for a small number of things that only run on Windows (like tax-return prep software, Quicken, Adobe software) I bring up the Windows VM 1-2 times per week to run apps I need there, then use Linux apps for everything else like browsing, reading, movie and sound editing, managing investments, email, and so forth. My computer runs much faster, and MX Linux supports Virtualbox very well. Windows 10 does not run natively on my nine-year old hardware as the motherboard lacks a TPM, so to migrate off of Windows 7, I was forced into Linux, which I am now grateful for – it’s fast, secure, and quite easy after a short learning curve. I’m running Windows 10 as a guest on a system that runs MX Linux as the host. How To Perform a Clean Install of Windows 10 If you’re not sure how to perform one, check out our article: Installing Windows 10 in a virtual machine is no different from making a clean install of Windows. Once you’re ready to install Windows, select your VM and click on the Start button. Afterward, press OK to confirm the changes and exit from VirtualBox Settings. Now navigate to your ISO location and double-click on it. From there, click the small disc icon in “Attributes” to mount an ISO. Navigate to the Storage category and click on the empty DVD drive in the Storage Tree. But we’re not done just yet – we need to show VirtualBox the path to our Windows 10 ISO.īegin by clicking on the “Settings” button. I left mine to the defaults - you can do so as well.Īfter clicking the “Create” button, you should be able to see your created VM.

I highly advise you to stick with a dynamically allocated virtual hard disk since you’ll save a lot of space and won’t impair the VM performance that much.Īt the final virtual hard disk screen, you’ll be able to change the location of the drive as well as its size. You can leave the next two screens at their default settings since they work just fine with the new OS. I went ahead and gave it double that amount for the sake of performance.Ĭonfiguring the HDD, you have to pick “Create a virtual hard disk now,” assuming you don’t have one created previously. The default is 1GB, which is the minimum amount of RAM for Windows 10. On the next screen, you’ll have a chance to configure how much RAM that the Virtual Machine will be allowed to use. I advise you to stick with 32-bit if you don’t have a lot of RAM. You’ll be able to choose between a 32-bit and 64-bit install. Pick a name for the VM as well as the type and version. Start by opening VirtualBox and clicking on the “New” button.

Installation media for Windows 10 (ISO or DVD).

Free windows 10 iso for virtualbox