Windows 7: Dual Boot Linux from a VHD file on NTFS

Hello,

For those who want to try Linux as dual boot along with Windows 7. You can do it very easily, simply drop a Linux VHD file to your hard disk, then reboot and select Linux.

1 Linux as Real Appliance

With VBoot for Linux, you can pre-install and pre-configure Linux OS and its applications, then distribute the resulting virtual disk file in VHD format. The vhd can boot a real computer, with configuration and apps instantly available. This way, operating systems are truly manageable, as simple as files. We call such a Linux VHD to be a real appliance, in the sense that it boots physical computers.

It's very easy to setup and boot a computer with a vhd file. You download the vhd file, drop it to Windows or Linux file system, then configure the boot loader, and reboot the computer.

2 Linux as Virtual Appliance

The exact same vhd file also runs as a virtual machine using virtualization software, such as VMLite Workstation, VirtualBox, Xen and Virtual PC and Hyper-V, etc. By default, it's optimized for VMLite Workstation.

If VMLite Workstation is installed, you can simply double click the ubuntu-910-desktop-i386.mop file to launch the vhd as a virtual machine with VMLite Workstation.

3 USB Boot Made Easy

You just need to store the vhd file to usb drive, then hook the USB to different computers to boot.


A sample Ubuntu VHD package is ready for download:

http://www.vmlite.com/index.php/download/22-appliances (free site registration required)

download, extract it, then double click setup.exe on Windows, reboot
On Linux, need to configure boot loaders.

detailed instructions:

http://www.vmlite.com/appliances/ubuntu-910-readme.html

screenshots:

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