How do you install Windows10/11 as guest any time through VirtualBox?

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Hello Friends

This post is for the scenario where the Host is Linux and the Guest is Windows 10 (it would be Windows 11 too - it for either a new laptop or Mini-PC)

If you buy a laptop which it has installed from the beginning Windows 10/11 Home and if you want format the SSD and install Linux - it either Ubuntu or Fedora - but you want keep the original Windows available through VirtualBox. If you have available an original Windows with its respective license key - why not keep this OS just in case to be used through VirtualBox?

Now, I arrived until the Download Windows 10 page and the indications are based with the current OS available but to put more simple the scenario:

  1. You have the License key thanks to the wmic path softwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey command and
  2. the pendrive with the .iso file created according with the Download Windows 10 page disappeared or is not functional anymore or
  3. the .iso file was never generated and saved in a pendrive.

Then your current SSD crashed, you buy a new SSD, install Linux in peace, same as VirtualBox but

  • How to reinstall Windows 10/11 in the new SSD through VirtualBox but taking in consideration either the 2 or 3 points?

Of course with other Linux distribution you can go in peace to the respective homepage and get anytime the .iso file but how do you this for Windows?

  • How do you handle this situation?

Thanks for your understanding

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Hi Manuel,
It may be possible to make an image of the installed W10 and install the image directly into Virtualbox, without going to an iso file. I have read that virt-manager can install from an image, but I am not sure about Virtualbox.

I have installed tiny W11 in virt-manager. The performance was somewhere between very slow and unusable.
I went back to W7… it runs OK in VM.

Regards
Neville

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I haven’t done this in VirtualBox - but I’ve done it in VMware Workstation.

12+ years or so ago - I got VMware Workstation, on Linux, booting the Windows 7 physical install, when I still dual-booted (i.e. I could choose to boot Linux from GRUB, then in Linux [Ubuntu 10 or something?] using VMware Workstation, boot up the Windows 7 instance on the hard drive).

Then about 10 years ago - I used VMware converter to convert Windows 7 to a VMware image (it was HUUUGE!) which I could then boot up in VMware Workstation on Linux - I did this with my work laptop - and used our NAS to offload the huge Windows 7 image file (VMDK).

There are various scripts around to convert VMware VMDK to OVA / OVF for VirtualBox…

I think the VMware converter might be called something like P2V (physical to virtual).

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Thanks for the replies.

It may be possible to make an image of the installed W10 and install the image directly into Virtualbox, without going to an iso file

Interesting, do you have a suggestion of a tool to create that image? I am not sure if it is a non .iso file. Is it about of .img file?

I have read that virt-manager can install from an image, but I am not sure about Virtualbox.

About virt-manager it is on my “todo” list yet.

I used VMware converter to convert Windows 7 to a VMware image (it was HUUUGE!)

According with my link share, for windows 10 is suggested have a pendrive of 8GB …

Thanks for the replies.

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Yes a .img file.
I think there may be a tool in QEMU to create it from a .iso file.
If you look inside an .iso file , you will find, among other things, a squashfs image. That is it.

You can make a squashfs image of any linux partition. Not sure how you do it for a windows partition. Maybe use clonezilla… it makes image files.

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