How to Install Debian 10.7 on Oracle VM VirtualBox in Windows 10

In our previous post, we’ve shown you the installation process of Ubuntu Linux on Oracle VirtualBox and VMware Workstation in Windows 10. Meanwhile, in this post, you are going to learn how to install Debian 10.7 on VirtualBox in Windows 10.

When it comes Linux operating system both Ubuntu Linux and Debian Linux are the most used and important Linux versions. However, due to some reasons, we have decided to install Debian 10.7, (which is the latest version) on Oracle VirtualBox.

Meanwhile, there are different types of Virtual Machines (VM) like VMware Workstation and Parallels Desktop. Since VirtualBox is a free virtual machine and light at the same then it’s better to install Debian Linux on VirtualBox instead of Parallels Desktop and VMware Workstation.

Requirements:

• VirtualBox is installed on your computer.
• At least 4-8GB of RAM is installed on your computer.
• At least 20GB of free disk space on your computer.
• Internet connectivity.
• Hardware virtualization VT-x/VT-d or AMD-v enabled from the BIOS of your motherboard.

So, without further ado, here’s how to install Debian Linux on Windows 10 via VirtualBox virtual machine:

Step 1. Download and install VirtualBox on Windows 10

Oracle VM VirtualBox has been developed by Oracle Corporation as a free and open-source virtualization framework. Using Windows, macOS, and Linux, Solaris, as well as OpenSolaris you can mount the VirtualBox. This allows users to build virtual machines to run other operating systems. “It supports guest development and management of Windows and Linux running virtual machines and restricted virtualization on Apple hardware of macOS guests.” For certain guest operations, there is also a bundle of guest add-ons, which is typical of improving performance, especially graphics.” “Guest Additions”

A virtual machine is a virtual system or program that offers the same features as physical machines (e.g., a computer system with its own CPU, memory, network interfaces, and storage capacity). A virtual machine like a real device is used to run applications or OS.

• First, download the latest version of VirtualBox for Windows. Click Windows Hosts and the download will begin automatically.

• Navigate the folder where you have downloaded your VirtualBox and double-click on the downloaded “VirtualBox” file to install it.
• Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1.16 Setup” window will appear on the screen and click on the “Next” button to continue.
• Choose the location where you want to install the VirtualBox and click on the “Next” button to continue.
• Click Next.
• Click Yes and then click the Install button to start the installation process.

Step 2. Download the Debian Linux ISO File

The Debian Project is an association of people who have found common ground for the development of a free operating system. The operating system we’ve developed is called Debian. The operating system is a collection of simple programs and applications that make your machine work. The kernel is at the heart of the operating system. The kernel is the most simple program on your computer, it does all the basic housekeeping, and it lets you launch other programs.

Debian machines are currently operating the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software released by Linus Torvalds and sponsored by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system that contains a kernel and other applications. 

Research is in progress, however, to include Debian for other kernels, mainly for the Hurd. The Hurd is a series of servers operating on top of a microkernel (such as Mach) to introduce various functions. The Hurd is a free software product of the GNU project. A large part of the basic resources that fill the operating system come from the GNU project; thus the names: GNU/Linux, GNU/FreeBSD, and GNU/Hurd. These tools are online, too. For more info about Debian, click here.

The first thing you need to do is to download the Debian 10 ISO image from the official website of Debian 10. From here, you can download Debian 10 Live ISO images for the different desktop environments (i.e. GNOME, KDE, LXDE, LXQT, MATE, Cinnamon, Xfce) depending on your preference.

•  Click here to go to the Debian download page. For the purpose of this guide, the network installer disk image was: the network installer disk image was: debian-live-10.7.0-amd64-gnome.iso.

Download Debian Linux ISO File

• Once you click on the link, your browser should prompt you to download the Debian 10.7 Live ISO image. Select Save.
• The download should start. It may take a while to complete as the file size is around 2.47 GB.

Step 3. Creating a New Virtual Machine to Install Debian

Once you have downloaded and installed both the Debian ISO and VirtualBox, open up the virtual machine and click on the “New” option.

Now, type in a Name for the virtual machine, and make sure the Type is set to Linux, and the Version is set to Debian (64-bit). Once you’re done, click on Next.

Type in a Name for the virtual machine

Now, set the RAM size to at least 4 GB (4096 MB) and click on Next. 1024 MB is recommended.

Set the RAM size

Select the “Create a virtual hard disk now” option and click on the “Create” button to continue.

Select the VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) option and click Next.

VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image)

On the next screen, if you want a faster setup, select Dynamically allocated. If you want faster performance (which we recommend), select Fixed size, and then click Next. If you don’t know which one to choose from then leave it as it is.

Select the amount of space for your virtual machine and click the Create button.

Step 4. Installing Debian on Windows 10 via VirtualBox

Now, your virtual machine has been successfully created and it is time to install Debian on it.

Go back to VirtualBox, and then click Start.

A new window opens so you can do this manually. Click the folder with the green up arrow to choose the Debian ISO file.

Click the folder with the green up arrow

Click the Add button locate the Debian ISO file and then click Open.

Choose Debian ISO file

Make sure that the Debian ISO is selected and click Choose.

Now, you are ready to install Debian Linux via VirtualBox on your Windows 10 PC, click Start.

Start

Now, select Debian GNU/Linux Live (kernel 4.19.0-13-amd64) and press Enter.

Once it’s booted, click on Activities from the top left corner and click on the Debian installer icon.

Now, select your language and click on Next.

Select your language

Now, select your location and click on Next.

Now, select your keyboard layout and click on Next.

Select your keyboard layout

Now, select Erase disk and click on Next.

Set up your user account and select Next.

Now, review all the details. If everything looks good, then click on Install.

The installation should start. Once the installation is complete, click on Done.

Your virtual machine should reboot. It may boot the Debian 10 ISO image on the next boot. So, to boot from the hard drive, all you have to do is remove the ISO image from the virtual CD/DVD ROM. To do that, click on Devices > Optical Drives > Remove disk from virtual drive.

Now, click on Machine > Reset to reset the virtual machine.

Now, click on Reset.

Now, you can log in to your Debian 10.7 virtual machine.

Now, you have successfully installed Debian on your Windows 10 via VirtualBox.

Wrapping Up

That’s it. This is how you can install Debian 10.7 on Windows 10 via VirtualBox virtual machine. Meanwhile, the process is very easy and it might seem a bit tricky while following the above-mentioned steps but that’s not the case. If you face any kind of problem feel free to contact us in the comment section below.

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• How to Install Ubuntu on VirtualBox in Windows 10

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