Make your Linux Virtual Machine Productive and Useful
Saturday, 15 March 2025, 06:34 PM# tech linux
Got that Lubuntu installed on your Windows through VirtualBox? Fantastic! But do you notice, it is just a toy at the moment and is not usable at all. Let’s make this Linux instance actually useful by setting up a few things which will make things seamless between your Windows and Linux.
Linux with it's Own IP
Your Linux is technically just like any other application on your Windows. And applications don't get their own IP Addresses, they use what Windows has. For our Linux to have it's own IP (so that we can ping it, ssh to it etc.) we will have to set the network setting of "Adapter" to "Bridge".
Shared Clipboard
Your Linux will have its clipboard, but it is sandboxed inside VirtualBox. It is isolated. If you want that the clipboard is seamlessly accessible across both the OSes, you have to turn on "Shared Clipboard" setting in VirtualBox.
This will require the Guest Additions to be installed inside your Guest OS, which comes packaged in with your VirtualBox software. Think of it as a set of drivers, as VirtualBox is like the hardware on which the Guest OS is running.
Mount a Window's Folder
We are still quite isolated and files can't go in and out of your Linux. For this, you can mount a Windows folder, inside Linux, and now you have a conduit. This also requires the Guest Additions to be installed.
For exact step by step instructions for the above mentioned 3 items, watch this video.
Hope you have fun using this actually useable Linux and make something good out of it!