Test TUXEDO OS in VirtualBox, VMware or Gnome boxes - TUXEDO Computers

To test TUXEDO OS without obligation and without changing the installed system, boot your computer from a bootable USB stick. You can use tools like Etcher or the USBImager to prepare a USB memory stick accordingly. Instructions for creating a live boot medium can be found on our pages. Alternatively, load TUXEDO OS in a virtual machine. In contrast to the live system, in this case the system only sees virtual hardware. Thus, you cannot test your computer for compatibility this way, but with a VM you do not even have to restart your computer for initial tests.

There are a number of applications for operating virtual machines. Open source and established are VirtualBox, which is available cross-platform for Linux, Mac OS and Windows, and QEMU, which can be configured and controlled from the Linux terminal and with a number of frontends such as Gnome Boxes. QEMU supports kernel-based virtual machines (KVM) on Linux hosts, which means it doesn’t require administrative privileges and kernel modules to be installed separately to set up and run virtual machines. We will therefore cover these two tools below and also take a look at the VMWare Workstation Player, which is popular among Windows users.

Note: For optimal virtual machine performance, you must ensure that virtualization support is enabled in your computer’s UEFI BIOS. Usually this is the case ex works, if you notice that the VM works exceptionally sluggish, boot your computer into the UEFI BIOS (on computers from TUXEDO press F2 or ESC depending on the model) and enable the corresponding option. Depending on the processor and mainboard manufacturers, the configurations are always a little different. Look for menus with the names VT-x, AMD-V, SVM or Vanderpool. In our example, the option is simply Intel Virtualization Technology.

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is part of the standard installation for TUXEDO OS. With other distributions, you can usually find the application in the package repositories. If you work with Mac OS or Windows, then download VirtualBox from the download section of the project’s homepage. For seamless integration of the virtualized system, you also need to download and install the Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack (under File ” Tools ” Extension Pack Manager). Under TUXEDO OS we have already done this step for you.

From the icon bar of VirtualBox, start the installation of a new virtual machine via the New icon. Under ISO image, select the previously downloaded ISO file of TUXEDO OS. Then select Linux as the type, for the version Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish (64-bit). In the next step you determine the size of the virtual RAM, we recommend at least 2048 MByte for TUXEDO OS.

Then create a virtual hard disk: select at least 20 GBytes as capacity, if you want to test the encryption, then we recommend a size of at least 25 GBytes. Leave the option Pre-allocate Full Size unchecked so that the virtual system grows as needed and does not occupy the full space on the real hard disk right from the start.

Now install TUXEDO OS on the previously configured virtual machine. Download the current image for this in the form of an ISO file from our servers. Then start the virtual machine by clicking on Start. Since no system is installed in the VM yet, the system boots the live system selected in the configuration.

The virtual machine boots into a boot manager in the first step. There you select the option TUXEDO OS 2 Try & Install with the arrow keys. TUXEDO OS then loads the graphical desktop. Here you can now test TUXEDO OS like a computer booted from a USB stick. However, changes to the system and data stored in the home directory will be lost after restarting the virtual machine. To work with TUXEDO OS, you must therefore install it permanently in the virtual machine – nothing is changed on the guest system.

For the installation, you now proceed as if you were installing the system on real hardware. You start the installation routine by clicking Install TUXEDO OS on the desktop. The installer of TUXEDO OS recognizes that you are installing the system on a foreign device – in this case a virtual machine – and informs you that the TUXEDO Control Center and TUXEDO Tomte will therefore not work. You then have the choice to encrypt the installed system. Note that in this case the installation will require more disk space.

In the further course of the installation routine, you can usually accept the default setting. You do not have to be afraid when deleting the hard disk: The virtual hard disk is just a file on your computer. You cannot damage anything on the host system. After formatting the hard disk, you set up a user with password towards the end of the installation process. In the last step of the installation process, you restart the virtual system. If the virtual system still boots the live system, remove the ISO file from the virtual DVD drive.

Gnome Boxes, VirtManager, QEMU

Gnome Boxes and the VirtManager are primarily frontends for QEMU, a free virtualization software with hardware virtualization – under Linux hosts based on Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). The programs need therefore no own drivers, the most important functions supplies the Linux Kernel directly. Boxes is part of the standard installation of many Linux distributions that use Gnome as a desktop environment.

To install TUXEDO OS in Gnome Boxes, tap on the plus sign in the window bar and open the option Install from File. In the following dialog, you then select the previously downloaded ISO file of TUXEDO OS. Finally, in the wizard, in the Operating System section, pick Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (as of June 2023) as the template for the VM’s settings. You can accept the remaining configurations unchanged.

After starting the VM, TUXEDO OS automatically loads as a live system. You then permanently install the system in the VM as an operating system via the installation routine. Gnome Boxes/QEMU has the advantage that functions such as adjusting the virtual resolution or synchronizing the clipboards between the guest and host systems usually work without special tools, kernel modules or extensions.

VMWare Workstation Player

The program VMWare Workstation Player, which is free for private use, is particularly recommended for users of Windows computers. However, it can also be installed under Linux. The installation of TUXEDO OS in a VMware VM is similar to that of VirtualBox. You start the program and select the Create a New Virtual Machine option from the sidebar. In the New Virtual Machine Wizard you then select the downloaded ISO image of TUXEDO OS via Installer disc image file (iso). With Next you jump to the next step.

VMware automatically recognizes a Linux as “Guest Operating System”, then you select Ubuntu for the version. You can freely select the Virtual machine name (here TUXEDO OS), the Location (i.e. the storage location of the VM) as well. As Maximum Disk Size we recommend at least 20 GByte, for a longer test increase the storage capacity of the virtual hard disk to 25 GByte. In the summary you have the possibility to change the hardware configuration of the VM via Customize Hardware. Usually the standard configuration is sufficient.

After clicking Finish, VMWare Workstation Player exits the wizard and goes back to the main window. There you then start the TUXEDO OS VM via the green play icon under the window bar and install the operating system in the virtual machine as described before. Under TUXEDO OS, the Open VM Tools are automatically preinstalled so that, for example, the virtual resolution automatically adjusts to the window size.