Hi

I have available:
hardware:
ThinkPad T470s with 20GB RAM, 512GB SSD NVMe
external monitor 1920x1200

OS license:
one Windows 10 Pro (64-bit, with downgrade right to win7) OEM with the licence in the BIOS of the above machine

I plan to install a linux OS with GUI as a host for running virtual machines, I guess using KVM/QEMU.
I don't run any RAM or CPU intensive applications nor games.
The set up I'm considering is:
- VM with a Linux OS (e.g. Linux Mint LTS) for most usages.
- VM with Win10pro to use only where really inevitable
- main data partition/container accessible from both VMs

I'm looking for recommandations for
- best suitable host linux OS with GUI (e.g. would Lubuntu LTS be suitable?)
- setup for the main data partition/container accessible from both VMs
- any recommandations for win10pro install

Thanks in advance for your help.

You can't run the wind10 most likely. It's tied to the hardware.

Why don't you just install a vm on windows 10 and run linux?

Or you can dual boot.

Windows 10 pro does have ways to run and install linux. It also has services for linux if you need linux support. I'd run a ntfs drive to share between.

1 members found this post helpful.

With a 512 GB SSD why not just dual boot?

You'll need to shrink your Windows partition first for your Linux install.
Once Linux is install you will need to run grub-update with elevated privileges in order for your Windows os to show in grub.

BTW, Linux Mint Mate runs great in VBox.

-:::-If you do decide to dual boot you can try as many distributions as you like with a vm installed.-:::-

Cheers:-

Thanks for the comments.

@jefro: Do you mean that most likely I will have to buy a new win10 license for the VM or than win10 will not be able to run legally licensed on a VM hosted on a Linux system at all?

@Ztcoracat: My plan is to move away from MS Windows as far as possible and have a VM available on spot when really indispensable and only for the time required for the task to be accomplished. Therefore a dual booth is not an option.

The idea to have the main Linux OS running as a VM is the ease of a full back-up and robustness.

You're Welcome.

I'm with jefro; run Linux in a vm on your Windows machine and call it a day:-

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Good luck.

Depends on how you got the software. Might be able to use it if you bought it from full retail copy.

Try some live usb's maybe to start?

Nothing really wrong with putting linux on but you may wish to keep the option of windows on it.

I am always in favor of people who prefer to put Linux on their box and run Windows in a VM

If your windows is an OEM version then you cannot re-activate it. AFAIK since Windows 8.1 or W10 it is tied to the hardware and that is it. I was in the same situation, tried to call MS for re-activation, and got lost in 20 levels of telephone menus and gave up. Apparently that is their policy. Eventually it cost me more in time than the price of a retail version.

A retail version should install in a VM. I have not tried it (yet) but I don't see any reason it would not. It seems retail versions can be had for quite a low price on EBay. Retail versions can be moved from one platform to another and re-activated.

For the shared drive, create a shared folder in VBox (assuming you will use VBox). That works quite well. It simply means you can access one or more of you Linux directories as a mapped drive in Windows. Do not create a file system which is mounted in both OS-es. I mean, do not create a NTFS or FAT partition and mount it both in Windows and Linux. Access to your Linux folder from Windows should exclusively be through the VBox shared drive. If you directly mount a common partition you create chaos because neither OS knows what the other does. Non-network file systems are not meant to be shared among OS-es!

jlinkels

PS. after submitting my post I see you want to use KVM. The learning curve is steeper than VBox, but performance is better. I don't know if KVM provides access to a Linux folder like VBox does. If not, install Samba server on you Linux box, and map a Windows drive to the Samba folder. It is the same as VBox does, but you have to do it explicitely.

Jlinkels thank you for your suggestions.

Yes, it makes sense to me that to mount simultaneously the same partition from 2 operating systems might not be a good idea. If I understand correctly you do suggest to have the data in one folder on the host Linux OS and share the folder with the Linux guest OS and the Win10 guest. Does then matter how the partition, where the shared folder resides, is formatted?

No it is not relevant how it is formatted. The host OS takes care of access to the file system as a server. Het guest OS uses it as a client. The clients are not aware of the underlying file system.

I have only studied KVM somewhat and not actually used it, so check my statements. AFAIK KVM runs on top of a normal unmodified Linux installation. So when you install the Linux host you format the disk according to your preference. Ext4 seems to be the standard nowadays with very few disadvantages, if any. If this setup is more or less permanent I would suggest to use LVM. So you are not faced with disk space problems later on.

jlinkels

FWIW, I started with a processor that has VT -- Virtualization Technology, for I need that for KVM -- Kernal-based Virtual Machine, so my virtual machine runs as close to the hardware as I can get it. VMWare runs under another O/S, adding another layer of interpretation, they have another version, ESXi which is their KVM, running on top so as to get as close to the hardware as possible.

I like CentOS as my Linux of choice, as it supports all this. Their KVM of choice is QEMU, an open-source machine emulator and virtualizer. Whereas ESXi is top dog, makes the machine a server, so I can only have clients connecting to it, I use CentOS with my top level running "as server" running only KVM/QEMU, all my computers are VMs, so I'm protecting the 'server' by doing no development and have only one machine, rather than at least two (the ESXi model).

Although Windows is tied to the hardware, it seems to understand the difference between REAL and Virtual. To answer your question, I've installed my Win/7 several times and it seems to be without problem. I'm mostly Linux, and use Windows when I must, so my situation may be unique and not applicable to your situation.

What I don't like about dual-boot is it's one or the other, and so, painful if you just need to go to 'the other side' for a short excursion. For years my Epson scanner would only work on my windows, so I'd have to switch there, scan, somehow transfer it to my linux side. (It now works on my linux, but it was many updates later before all sides were excellent to each other.)

Personal bias, I'm opposed to installing virtualation under windows with Linux being the VM; windows doesn't play well with others, I think Linux by definition plays well with other.

Finally LVM is essential. You have no idea what you'll need tomorrow, what technology will be necessary tomorrow, available tomorrow. To expand/change disk allocation on the Linux side is a piece of cake (first changing within the KVM, then in the VM to recognize & use). Windows is more painful, after KVM gives more/different disk to the VM, a painful (to me) powershell script is necessary within the VM to recognize and use).

LVM is extremely powerful yet reasonably easy to use for most things. Use it!

Have been trying for a long time to find a way to run and install linux mint 19, can you point me in the right direction so I can also run and install a windows 10 pro and linux. Want to learn all of this but am not sure where to do the research.

EDIT: comment removed, missed the date