After a long pause (my job kept me very busy lately), here we are again to talk about virtual machines. This time I will tell you where to get and install an effective software package, called VirtualBox, that is capable of running almost any type of Operating System that a PC can support.

It is important to say that the best performance from such a package is obtained if you run it from a 64 bit PC, i.e. a PC equipped with a 64 bit OS, either MS-Windows or Linux. It is possible to use this package also on a 32 bit machine but, in this case, please make sure that the CPU of your computer is virtualization technology enabled, as not all the CPUs can do that.

Here is some reference for you. This is an Intel web site listing all the virtualization technology enabled CPUs. And this is the official VirtualBox web site.

Now, from the VirtualBox web site, search for the version of product you need to download, based on the OS you are running (i.e. MS-Windows or Linux) and whether it is the 32 or 64 bits version. Note that 64 bit versions of the package are labeled with AMD64. This is the right version also for Intel CPUs.

Once you find what you are looking for, download it and install it according to the procedure for your OS. For example, in MS-Windows, just double-click on the installer.

Please just note the following, when you run the installation:

1. The installer will ask you for installing options; usually the default choices are good enough. Don’t play with the choices if you don’t know what you are doing.
2. You may be asked to choose the driver where to install the application, if you have more than one. Usually the installer will suggest you the right one, but you may choose a different one if you like. Just make sure it has enough space in it; the installer will tell you how much space it needs and how much is available in each drive.
3. The installer will shut down the network interface of your computer, will make some modifications to its setup, then it will reactivate it. This is done to give transparent access to the network to the Virtual machines. The installation will suspend waiting for your OK to continue, to avoid network services disruption in case you are accessing the network with some other application.
4. If you are installing on MS-Windows, you will see a warning saying that the software you are installing is not Microsoft certified. You may continue the installation anyway, as VirtualBox is not going to cause you or your computer any trouble. However, the final decision is yours and yours only. If for any unforeseen reason the software misbehaves and causes breakage on your computer, I will not take any responsibility on that. You have been warned
5. After the installation is complete, when you start VirtualBox for the first time you will be presented with a registration form. You may choose whether to register or not. VirtualBox will work either way.

For your reference, here is a set of snapshots of the installation procedure executed under MS-Windows XP.