> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://predator-os.gitbook.io/predator-os-beginner-guide-book/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://predator-os.gitbook.io/predator-os-beginner-guide-book/chapter-5.md).
# Chapter 5
### Chapter 5
### Installation in virtual machines
### In a Virtual Box
**Introduction**
VirtualBox allows you to run an entire operating system inside another operating system**.** Please be aware that you should have a minimum of 2 GB of RAM**.** 4 GB of RAM or more is recommended**.**
**Comparison to Dual-Boot**
Many websites **(**including the one you**’**re reading**)** have tutorials on setting up dual**-**boots between Windows and Predator**-**OS**.** A dual**-**boot allows you**;** at boot time**,** to decide which operating system you want to use**.** Installing Predator**-**OS on a virtual machine inside of Windows has a lot advantages over a dual**-**boot **(**but also a few disadvantages**).**
**Advantages of virtual installation**
The size of the installation does not have to be predetermined**.** It can be a dynamically resized virtual hard drive**.** You do not need to reboot in order to switch between Predator**-**OS and Windows**.**The virtual machine will use your Windows internet connection so you don**’**t have to worry about Predator**-**OS not detecting your wireless card if you have one**.** The virtual machine will set up its own video configuration**,** so you don**’**t have to worry about installing proprietary graphics drivers to get a reasonable screen resolution**.** You always have Windows to fall back on in case there are any problems**.** All you have to do is press the right Control key instead of rebooting your entire computer**.**
For troubleshooting purposes**,** you can easily take screenshots of any part of Predator**-**OS **(**including the boot menu or the login screen**).** It**’**s low commitment**.** If you later decide you don**’**t like Predator**-**OS**,** all you have to do is delete the virtual hard drive and uninstall VirtualBox**.**
**Disadvantages of virtual installation**
In order to get any kind of decent performance**,** you need at least 512 MB of RAM**,** because you are running an entire operating system **(**Predator**-**OS**)** inside another entire operating system **(**Windows**).** The more memory the better**.** I would recommend at least 1 GB of RAM**.**
Even though the low commitment factor can seem like an advantage at first**,** if you later decide you want to switch to Predator**-**OS and ditch Windows completely you cannot simply delete your Windows partition**.** You would have to find some way to migrate out your settings from the virtual machine and then install Predator**-**OS over Windows outside the virtual machine**.**
Every time you want to use Predator**-**OS**,** you have to wait for two boot times **(**the time it takes to boot Windows**,** and then the time it takes to boot Predator**-**OS within Windows**).**
**Installation Process**
Follow these instructions to get a Predator**-**OS disk image **(.**iso file**).**
**Steps to Install Predator-OS On VirtualBox**
After you launch VirtualBox from the Windows Start menu**,** click on **New** to create a new virtual machine**.** When the New Virtual Machine Wizard appears**,** click **Next.**
You can call the machine whatever you want**.** If you**’**re installing Predator**-**OS**,** it makes sense to call it **Predator-OS,** I guess**.** You should also specify that the operating system is **Linux.**
VirtualBox will try to guess how much of your memory **(**or RAM**)** to allocate for the virtual machine**.** If you have 1 GB or less of RAM**,** I would advise you stick with the recommendation**.** If**,** however**,** you have over 1 GB**,** about a quarter your RAM or less should be fine**.** For example**,** if you have 2 GB of RAM**,** 512 MB is fine to allocate**.** If you have 4 GB of RAM**,** 1 GB is fine to allocate**.** If you have no idea what RAM is or how much of it you have**,** just go with the default**.**
Click **Next.**
If this is your first time using VirtualBox **(**which it probably is if you need a tutorial on how to use it**),** then you do want to *Create new hard disk* recommended 30 GB disk space and then click **Next.**
Click **Next** again**.**
Theoretically a dynamically expanding virtual hard drive is best because it**’**ll take up only what you actually use**.** I have come upon weird situations though**,** when installing new software in a virtualized Predator**-**OS**,** in which the virtual hard drive just fills up instead of expanding**.** So I would actually recommend picking a **Fixed-size storage.**
Predator**-**OS**’**s default installation is less than 25 GB**.** If you plan on adding software or downloading large files in your virtualized Predator**-**OS**,** you should tack on some buffer**.**
Click **Create** and wait for the virtual hard drive to be created**.** This is actually just a very large file that lives inside of your Windows installation**.**
The next thing to do to make the **(**currently blank**)** virtual hard drive useful is to add the downloaded Predator**-**OS disk image **(**the **.**iso**)** boot on your virtual machine**.** Click on **Settings** and **Storage.** Then**,** under *CD**/**DVD Device***,** next to *Empty***,** you will see a little folder icon**.** Click that**.**
Select the Predator**-**OS **.**iso you downloaded earlier**.**
Once you**’**ve selected it**,** click **OK.**
Then double**-**click your virtual machine to start it up**.**
You may get a bunch of random warnings**/**instructions about how to operate the guest operating system within VirtualBox**.** Read those**,** and then you may also want to mark not to see those again**.**
**The installation of the Predator-OS will be beginning now.**
### In VMware workstation
As more as the technology develops it gives more flexibility**,** usability**,** and portability**.** With the introduction of cross platform technology like virtualization and remote computing**,** any program can be run on any platform irrespective of compatibility**.** Hardware virtualizations allows to create a fully working virtual machine on any platform**.** VMWare Workstation is one such hardware visualization platform available in the market on which any virtual machines can be created**.**
### What Is VMWare Workstation?
VMWare Workstation is an application developed by VMWare to create virtual machines**,** containers**,** and Kubernetes clusters on any desktop or server system**.** VMWare released VMWare Workstation in two products**:** VMWare Workstation Pro and VMWare Workstation Player**.** VMWare Workstation Player is released on a free license with limited features**,** whereas VMWare Workstation Pro is an enterprise paid version that has loaded with a lot of features**.** Full documentation is published on the VMWare portal for free**.** Refer the documentation from here**.**
**Can I install Predator-OS in Vmware Workstation on other Windows versions?**
Yes**,** you can install Predator**-**OS in Vmware Workstation on Windows 8**,** 8**.**1**,** and 7**.** In the past I have not only installed Predator**-**OS but also Windows XP**,** 7 and Fedora on my Windows system**.**
Virtualization is a good way to try Linux from the comfort of Windows**.** WSL and WSL2 might be easier but not everyone has access to them**.** And for a relatively better desktop experience**,** a VM is better**.**
You don**’**t have to make actual changes to the disk partition**,** no changes in the boot and Linux runs like any other application inside Windows**.**
In this tutorial**,** I will show how to install Predator**-**OS inside Windows using VMWare**.**
**Installing Linux inside Windows using VMWare**
Your actual operating system is called host OS and the operating system you install in the virtual machine is called guest OS**.** I**’**ll use this terminology in the tutorial here**.**
The virtual machines use your host OS**’**s system resources**.** Predator**-**OS Plasma requires 4 GB of RAM to function properly**,** your system should have 8 GB to allocate 4 GB to the guest OS **(**Predator**-**OS**)** and keep 4 GB for the host OS **(**Windows**).**
**Let’s see all the requirements.**
Requirements
| | Good internet connection to download software and Linux ISO**.** **(**You can also use some other computer with an internet connection to download these files**.)** |
| - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| | Windows system with at least 25 GB of free space**.** A 25GB**+** Free space is good for installing the latest version of Predator**-**OS**.** |
| | Windows system with 8 GB of RAM**.** **(**It can work with less RAM as well**,** but your system will start to lag while using Linux in the virtual machine**.)** |
| | Make sure to enable virtualization in the BIOS |
I am installing Predator**-**OS 22**.**04 in this tutorial**,** but the same steps apply to any other Linux distribution**.**
**Step 1: Download and install VMWare Player**
Go to VMWare website and download the **.**exe file of VMWare Player**.** At the time of writing this article**,** VMWare player 16 is the latest version**.**
**Download VMWare**
Once downloaded**,** double**-**click the exe file and follow the on**-**screen instructions to install VMWare**.**
**Step 2: Download the Linux ISO**
Next**,** you need to download the ISO file of the Linux distribution**.** You can get this image from the official website of the Linux distribution you are trying to use**.**
I am using Predator**-**OS in this example**,** and you can download ISO images for Predator**-**OS from the link below**:**
**Download**
**Predator**
**-**
**OS**
Step 3
**:**
Install Linux using VMWare
You have installed VMWare and you have downloaded the ISO for Linux**.** You are now set to install Linux in VMware**.**
Now**,** start VMWare and click on **Create New Virtual Machine.**
Create new virtual machine in VMWare
Select **“**I will install operating system later**”** option and press next**.**
Select install operating system later button
On the next screen**,** set the Operating system to Linux and the version to Predator**-**OS 64bit**.**
Select Linux type and Predator**-**OS 64 type
Give the virtual machine a name and press Next**.**
Name the virtual machine
In the next screen**,** set the disk size to a minimum of 25 GB and also select **“**Store Virtual Disk as a single file**”** option**.**
Select disk size and store as single file
From the next screen**,** you can either press Finish and set ISO file later by right clicking and Settings**.** Or you can select the ISO file on the go**.** For this**,** press **“**Customize Hardware**”** button**.**
Press Customise Hardware button
On this screen**,** you can tweak memory**,** processors**,** etc**.** But you need to select **“**New CD**/**DVD**”** button and add the Predator**-**OS ISO as shown in the screenshot**:**
Set ISO image file from customize hardware dialog box
Now**,** you can close this and press the finish button**.** Once done**,** you can now start the VMWare virtual machine and start the installation of Predator**-**OS**.**
Select the virtual machine to start install
Now**,** you can use it after installation by opening the virtual machine by name from VMWare home screen**.**
Quick note about VMWare Easy install
This is another mode of installation in VMWare**.** Here**,** instead of pressing **“**ISO file later**,”** you can select the downloaded ISO file and start the process**.**
Select disc install option for easy install
But I found both the process almost the same because the installer asked for the same steps in the previous method here also**.**
**Installing Predator-OS in VMWare will be beginning now.**
### How to Install QEMU/KVM on Predator-OS to Create Virtual
### Machines
Virtualization is one of the most widely used technologies both in enterprise and home environments**.** Whether you are a seasoned IT expert**,** a programmer**,** or an IT novice**,** virtualization can be one of your greatest friends**.**
Virtualization is the abstraction of a computer**’**s hardware resources using a software application known as a hypervisor**.** The hypervisor creates an abstraction layer over computer hardware and virtualizes various components of the system including but not limited to memory**,** processor**,** storage**,** USB devices**,** etc**.**
In doing so**,** it allows you to create virtual computers also known as virtual machines off of the virtualized elements**,** and each virtual machine; also known as a guest**,** runs independently from the host system**.**
**KVM,** short for Kernel**-**based Virtual Machine is an open**-**source type 1 hypervisor **(**bare metal hypervisor**)** that is integrated into the Linux kernel**.** It allows you to create and manage virtual machines running Windows**,** Linux**,** or UNIX variants such as FreeBSD**,** and OpenBSD**.**
As mentioned earlier**,** each virtual machine has its own virtual resources such as storage**,** memory**,** CPU**,** network interfaces**,** USB interfaces**,** and video graphics to mention a few**.**
**QEMU** **(Quick Emulator)** is a software module that emulates various components of computer hardware**.** It supports full virtualizations and works alongside **KVM** to provide a holistic virtualization experience**.**
In this guide**,** we will demonstrate how to install **QEMU/KVM** on **Predator-OS 20.04 / 22.04** distributions**.**
**Step 1: Check Virtualization Enabled in Predator-OS**
To start off check if your CPU supports virtualization technology**.** Your system needs to have an Intel VT**-**x **(vmx)** processor or AMD**-**V **(svm)** processor**.** To verify this**,** run the following egrep command**.**
**$** egrep **-**c **‘(**vmx|svm**)’** **/**proc**/**cpuinfo
If Virtualization is supported**,** the output should be greater than **0,** for example**,** 2**,**4**,**6**,** etc**.**
Alternatively**,** you can run the following grep command to display the type of processor your system supports**.** In our case**,** we are running Intel VT**-**x denoted by the **vmx** parameter**.**
**$** grep **-**E **--**color **‘(**vmx|svm**)’** **/**proc**/**cpuinfo
Enable Virtualization in Predator**-**OS
Equally important**,** check if **KVM** virtualization is supported by running the following command**:**
**$** kvm**-**ok
Check KVM Virtualization in Predator**-**OS
If the **kvm-ok** utility is missing**,** install the **cpu-checker** package as follows**.**
**$** sudo apt install cpu**-**checker **-**y
Now that we have verified that our system supports **KVM** virtualization**,** let us proceed and install **QEMU.**
Step 2**:** Install QEMU**/**KVM on Predator**-**OS 20**.**04**/**22**.**04
Next up**,** update the package lists and repositories as follows**.**
**$** sudo apt update
Thereafter**,** install **QEMU/KVM** alongside other virtualization packages as follows**:**
**$** sudo apt install qemu**-**kvm virt**-**manager virtinst libvirt**-**clients bridge**-**utils libvirt**-**daemon**-**system **-**y
### Install Qemu on Predator-OS
Let us examine what role each of these packages plays**.**
| | **qemu-kvm** – This is an open**-**source emulator that emulates the hardware resources of a computer**.** |
| - | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| | **virt-manager** – A Qt**-**based GUI interface for creating and managing virtual machines using the libvirt daemon**.** |
| | **virtinst** – A collection of command**-**line utilities for creating and making changes to virtual machines**.** |
| | **libvirt-clients** – APIs and client**-**side libraries for managing virtual machines from the command line**.** |
| | **bridge-utils** – A set of command**-**line tools for managing bridge devices**.** |
| | **libvirt-daemon-system** – Provides configuration files needed to run the virtualization service**.** |
At this point**,** we have installed **QEMU** and all the essential virtualization packages**.** The next step is to start and enable the **libvirtd** virtualization daemon**.** So**,** run the following commands**:**
**$** sudo systemctl enable **--**now libvirtd
**$** sudo systemctl start libvirtd
Next**,** verify if the virtualization service is running as shown**.**
**$** sudo systemctl status libvirtd
Start libvirtd Virtualization Service
From the output above**,** the **libvirtd** daemon is up and running as expected**.** Additionally**,** add the currently logged**-**in user to the **kvm** and **libvirt** groups as shown**.**
**$** sudo usermod **-**aG kvm **$**USER
**$** sudo usermod **-**aG libvirt **$**USER
Step 3**:** Launch Virtual Machine Manager in Predator**-**OS
The next step is to launch the **QEMU/KVM** GUI tool which is the **Virtual Machine Manager.**
**$** sudo virt**-**manager
The **Virtual Machine Manager** will pop up as shown**.** From here**,** you can start creating and managing virtual machines as we shall demonstrate shortly**.**
**Qemu Virtual Machine Manager**
Step 4**:** Create Virtual Machine with QEMU**/**KVM in Predator**-**OS
In this section**,** we will demonstrate how you can create a virtual machine using an ISO image**.** You can use an ISO image of your preferred OS and follow along**.**
To begin**,** click on the icon at the top left corner as shown below**.**
**Create a Virtual Machine in Qemu**
Since we are creating a virtual machine from an ISO file**,** select the first option – **‘Local install media (ISO image or CDROM)’.** Then click **‘Forward’.**
Choose VM Install Type
Next click **‘Browse’** to navigate to the location of the ISO file**.**
**Choose VM ISO File**
Since the ISO file is saved locally on your system**,** we will click **‘Browse Local’.**
**Browse Local Filesystem**
Be sure to navigate to the location of your ISO file**.** Click it and then click **‘Open’.**
**Choose OS ISO File.**
Before proceeding**,** ensure that you have selected the operating system from the drop**-**down menu**.** Then click **‘Forward’.**
**Choose VM Operating System.**
Click **‘Yes’** on the pop**-**up to grant the emulator search permissions to the ISO file**.**
#### Grant Permission on Emulator
Next**,** select the Memory size and the number of CPU cores and click **‘Forward’.**
Choose VM Memory and CPU Settings
In the next step**,** enable storage for the virtual machine and specify the virtual disk size**.** Then click **‘Forward’.**
**Choose VM Disk Size**
Finally**,** review all the settings that you have defined**,** and if all looks good click **‘Finish’** to create the virtual machine**.** Else click **‘back’** and make the necessary changes**.**
#### Review VM Settings
Once you click **‘Finish’** the virtual machine manager will start creating the virtual machine based on the set configurations**.**
**Creating a Virtual Machine in Qemu.**
And in a matter of seconds**,** the virtual machine installation wizard will pop up**.** You can proceed with the installation as you would on a physical system**.**
**Installing Predator-OS in VMWare will be beginning now.**