# Any cons against double OS install



## dbuff (May 29, 2014)

Hi,

I a_m_ totally new to FreeBSD, and I want to install it to learn it. Are there any cons to installing FreeBSD on top of Windows? Thanks.


----------



## wblock@ (May 29, 2014)

"On top of" is not clear.  FreeBSD can be installed in a dual-boot setup, provided there is unused space on the drive that can be partitioned.  Installing a multi-boot loader to choose which operating system depends on the version of Windows.  Please do a full backup of the Windows system first.

An easy alternative is to install VirtualBox on Windows, then create a VM and install FreeBSD in that.  This requires no disk partitioning and allows both operating systems to run at the same time.  RAM must be shared, but a FreeBSD VM can easily be run with 512M or 1G.


----------



## dbuff (May 31, 2014)

Thanks. I would like to learn how to become an expert FreeBSD administrator (a tall call I guess). I want to use Absolute FreeBSD book. My question: is a VirtualBox install in any way inferior from a regular install? Are there any limitations, any stuff that one can't do on an a VirtualBox install? How a virtual install is different, in practical terms, from a regular install? Many thanks. 
My first thought was to go all out and just switch entirely to FreeBSD and by that to force myself to really learn FreeBSD, but on second thought I decided that this could be be too radical an approach.


----------



## wblock@ (May 31, 2014)

The biggest difference between VirtualBox and a physical machine is that a VirtualBox VM appears in a window.  It can be set to use the full screen.  VMs are not quite as fast as physical hardware, but the difference is usually insignificant.  The VM also sees standard virtual hardware provided by the host.  Sometimes, this lets the VM access hardware through the host which is not supported directly by FreeBSD drivers.

The convenience of being able to use the host at the same time is not a small thing.  A browser on the host can be used to read installation or configuration instructions on the web while the VM is running.

A VM can be backed up and restored to a physical machine if desired.  VirtualBox is free, so it's really a very low-overhead way to add one or several virtual machines for testing.


----------



## dbuff (May 31, 2014)

Many thanks.
Eventually I would like to wipe out Windows, install FreeBSD, install VirtualBox on FreeBSD as a host operating system, and then install Windows in that VirtualBox. Is it advisable to install VirtualBox on FreeBSD as a host operating system? But first I will probably try to install both Windows 7 and FreeBSD in VirtualBox on my Windows 7 as a host operating system - to test and practice. Does it make sense? Thanks


----------



## wblock@ (May 31, 2014)

FreeBSD as a host for VirtualBox works.  There are some features that may be unavailable, like a shared clipboard.  There might be ongoing work on those.  But yes, VirtualBox on FreeBSD can host Windows VMs quite well.

The other way around, with a Windows VirtualBox as a host, also works well.  emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions can be installed in the VM guest to provide additional features and drivers, but is not required.


----------

