How to install Virtualbox and XP in ubuntu to run windows apps.


Things you need:
-A pc with Ubuntu 8.4 install as the main OS fully updated with (at least 1GB of RAM and enough Disk space)
-A genuine Windows installer CD (I used xp) with valid license key.
-Sun xVM VirtualBox for Ubuntu linux
-Any windows app in my case (Photoshop cs4 portable)

First you need to install VirtualBox go to the Virtualbox download site
and select virtualbox-2.0_2.0.4-38406_Ubuntu_hardy_i386.deb
after is done downloading choose to open it with GDebi Package Installer then hit install package or just double click the download.

Once the installation is done VirtualBox will create a group call vboxuser click forward.

You will need to add your name to the group. To do it go to System > Administration > Users and Groups.

once the Users and Groups menu pops up click unlock

Enter your password and click on “Authenticate"

then Click on “Manage Groups”

in the Group Settings menu scroll down to the bottom to "vboxusers" select it and click on properties

make sure to check the box beside your name

Now you should have Virtualbox install and ready to use.
note: you don't need USB Support for this tutorial.

How to create a New Virtual Machine in Virtualbox.

Go to Applications > System Tools > Sun xVM VirtualBox

The first time you open Virtualbox you should see the license agreement screen click on “I Agree”

then the registration dialog, fill out the information and click on Confirm

after that a small menu will pop up saying Virtualbox Registration was Successful, click on ok.

Once it opens you should see a similar screen.


In this next menu You need to select VMname and OS Type then click next

next you need to select the memory size for your Virtual machine, I would a make it as big as your pc would allow since you're going to be working with graphics.

in the next menu you need to select the Virtual hard disk details, if this is your first time installing Virtualbox you will have to create a new Virtual disk.

click on new to start the wizard and create a new Virtual Disk

Now you have two options to create a virtual drive. The first option is to dynamically expand the space and the second one is to create a fixed size. If you have enough space, then select the first option.

click next to select the size of your Virtual Disk

Click Finish in the next step to finish the virtual disk creation and Click Finish again to finish the Virtual OS creation.

Now comes the xp installation part. Before you install it click on the virtual machine settings button on top, it’ll show you all the settings. Under the general setting, you can resize the RAM settings and you can also adjust the video memory setting.

next click on CD/DVD-ROM on the left side. Once you are there, Check Mount CD/DVD drive and select your CD/DVD drive from the drop down box make sure is the right one or the installation won't start.

The next step is Audio. Click on Audio on the left side, Check Enable Audio and select ALSA Audio Driver.
note: you don't need this step but is always nice to have audio

Click OK. You are now ready to start the installation of virtual OS. Put the Windows XP installation CD in the CD drive. Select the virtual machine you created from the Virtualbox and click the Start icon on top. It’ll will show the Virtualbox Welcome screen and start the installation of Windows.



Follow all the steps and install windows XP if you need a detail guide with screen shoots go here official microsoft xp installation guide
after the installation is done you should see a screen some what similar to this one

Virtualbox starts the virtual OS in a small window. You can run it full screen by pressing CTRL + F key on the right side of the keyboard.
Note:make sure you have internet connection and update Windows Xp with at least service pack1 or photoshop won't work.
Now that you have Windows Xp running inside Virtualbox download the 45 day trial version of Winzip HERE and install it.

you will need Winzip to open the photoshop download you can choose to unistalled it after you're done opening the folder also you need an antivirus I suggest AVG is light in resources and is free

Next download Photoshop cs4 from HERE it should take about 9 to 10 minutes to download.
When it opens save it to your Desktop instead of opening it that way you'll always have the file.


Once is done downloading double click it to open it, use WinZip evaluation Version

after WinZip opens the folder it would look like this

double click on the Photoshop Application another screen would ask you if you want to access the file click yes


then it will ask you if you want to run the application click RUN

it will ask you to extract the files another time choose where you want them to go I picked my desktop


After you get the folder completely unpacked and is on your desktop double click it to open it you should look like this

Double click on the blue Photoshop icon to start the program you should see the license agreement page click accept

shortly you will see Photoshop start



Thats it you should now be able to use Photoshop CS4 Portable the only downside is there is no BRIDGE but I can live with out it.