Installing Ubuntu under VirtualBox

Ubuntu 9.10 in VBox 3.1:

• Install VBox, download Ubuntu ISO, mount iso, create new machine (first starting from CD-ROM, installation manual!).
• Install Guest additions inside Ubuntu: a) Host menu Devices, Install Guest additions. b) Open terminal, type "sudo /media/cdrom0/VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run". 2. Fixing Screen color issue: Increase graphics mem to 16 MB, allow 3d, but then disable in ubuntu appearances: effects. (Note: VBox 3.1.0 had problems with Ubuntu Screen sizing and color. Problems disappear when Updating to VBox 3.1.2 and reinstalling Guest additions inside Ubuntu).
• Add additional repositories as of https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
• Create shared folders like C_DRIVE using the VirtualBox graphical user interface. In ubuntu root terminal:

 gedit /etc/fstab

and add

C_DRIVE  /mnt/c  vboxsf defaults 0 0
users_gh /mnt/gh vboxsf defaults 0 0

It is often desirable to hide at least the statusbar, perhaps also the menu bar of the VBox window around Ubuntu. In principle, the commandline methods described on the net might work, but in our case they did not:

(open CMD)
cd C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox
VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/Customizations noMenuBar,noStatusBar
# (instead of global one can put the machine name)
# getextradata for machine ubuntu:
VBoxManage getextradata ubuntu enumerate

What did work, was to edit the global xml file manually: C:\Users\YOURNAME\.VirtualBox\VirtualBox.xml then add the line

<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/Customizations" value="noStatusBar"/>

after <ExtraData>.

Networking from Host system (Vista) into the Guest system

• Execute in commandline in Host (e.g. C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox):

VBoxManage setextradata "ubuntu" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/HTTP/Protocol" TCP

VBoxManage setextradata "ubuntu" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/HTTP/GuestPort" 80

VBoxManage setextradata "ubuntu" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/HTTP/HostPort" 8080

VBoxManage setextradata "ubuntu" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/ssh/Protocol" TCP

VBoxManage setextradata "ubuntu" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/ssh/GuestPort" 22

VBoxManage setextradata "ubuntu" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/ssh/HostPort" 2222

• Set Windows Firewall to allow Application Virtualbox
• Install Firewall Firestarter under Ubuntu
• Install ssh using apt-get under Ubuntu
• Start putty or WinSCP (127.0.0.1 and Port 2222 - localhost does not work with WinSCP) and allow in Firestarter