Learning Virtual Machines (Oracle) Questions Thread Linux Mint?

[NORD]

I'm new to the Virtual Machines and might have a few questions along the way.
I'm not doing horrible figuring it out on my own. It's always nice to have people to ask just in case.
So my question (s)
Q: How do you get the VM to see your main computer?
Like for an example I wanted to run a Windows program to change the color config on my GPU.
I'm using Linux Mint on the host computer and I have Linux Neptune,Win11,and Linux Kali in the Virtual Box program.
I'm using VM to learn about networking as well so that's why I'm playing around in my own environment as I feel like this is the safest way to learn Kali. lol!
I'm also on NORD VPN don't judge me lol!

 

[wizardfromoz]

I, for one, would never judge you, Tobey...lol.

...in the Virtual Box program.

If you can still edit your title, it would be worth mentioning that so helpers can see straight away what you are using.

My VM experience is very limited, so someone else can help better, but tell us

1. Which version of VBox?
2. Have you installed VBox Guest Additions?

Cheers

Chris

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Q: How do you get the VM to see your main computer?
Like for an example I wanted to run a Windows program to change the color config on my GPU.

For hardware direct access you need passthrough, for GPU that's PCI passthrough.

First you need to enable hardware VT-d option in BIOS (this if for Intel), for AMD the option is called something else, it allows hardware passthrough.
Next step is to do a procedure that depends on VM you're using, I don't use VBox so can't help but you can find some tutorials how to for VBox.

This is all together overkill just to change some GPU color.
hardware passthrough is for things like running a game in VM for which you want access to GPU, or if you want to read from physical USB or DVD.

 

[wizardfromoz]

@CaffeineAddict just a heads up - for all instances of "passtrough", it should be "passthrough"

Cheers

Wiz

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Thanks Wizard, I corrected it.

Long ago one forum member was so king to tell me about my spelling of "below" which I consistently misspelled as "bellow" in instances such as "see link bellow", not realizing I'm shouting at people all the time lol.

 

[f33dm3bits]

Like for an example I wanted to run a Windows program to change the color config on my GPU.

The easier option for this would probably to boot from Hirens Boot CD.

Hiren's BootCD PE

It gives you a Windows live environment to boot from then you can install the software you need and change whatever you want to change without needing to do pass-through to a vm. I used it with Ventoy as a test and with that it saves the installed application to a location on the usb drive so next time you boot you won't have to reinstall it again.

 

[NORD]

For hardware direct access you need passtrough, for GPU that's PCI passtrough.

First you need to enable hardware VT-d option in BIOS (this if for Intel), for AMD the option is called something else, it allows hardware passtrough.
Next step is to do a procedure that depends on VM you're using, I don't use VBox so can't help but you can find some tutorials how to for VBox.

This is all together overkill just to change some GPU color.
hardware passtrough is for things like running a game in VM for which you want access to GPU, or if you want to read from physical USB or DVD.

I agree it's over kill LOL! I was just trying to see if it could be done.
Thanks for the advice

 

[gvisoc]

Q: How do you get the VM to see your main computer?
Like for an example I wanted to run a Windows program to change the color config on my GPU.

Going down that path, I think you are going to run onto a wall sooner rather than later.

VM only share the CPU, as that's the only hardware capable of virtualisation, which to this effect means that "several operating systems can share the same hardware resource in kernel mode". The rest of the hardware only supports being handled by a single operating system kernel, and thus:

• By default, hypervisors / VM software will create virtual devices, that are software emulators for all the hardware: PCI controllers, graphics cards, etc.
• If you want to share a GPU, you then need to have:
  • 2 physical GPU: one for the host computer, and another one for the single VM you want to have a dedicated GPU
  • as far as I understand, 2 physical displays: one for the host computer, and another for the VM you want to have a dedicated GPU.
  • The rest of the VM will have to resort to an emulated GPU --each their own.

If you want to share GPU for multiple virtualised environments, then you are looking for containers instead: as all the containers share the same kernel, they can all access the GPU through that kernel as far as I understand. But then you will have another limitation: a linux host only supports linux containers, not Windows containers. If you want to have windows containers on a Linux box, you will have to install a windows VM to host all those containers, and then... back to the point of needing 2 physical GPUs.

 

[gvisoc]

I think you don't need a second display if you can connect a virtual one to your physical GPU through the virtual... insanity

 

[bob466]

You don't want your VM to see your main System. A VM is a file that is isolated for a very good reason...security and safety.

You can create a Shared Folder to transfer files etc from one to the other or use a Flash Drive to do the same. I recently downloaded the windoze version of Ventoy in Mint Cinnamon and put it in my shared folder and took in out in my w7 VM and installed Ventoy on a Flash Drive in w7 and it worked.