Installing pclinuxos-kde-2012.08.iso in VirtualBox 4.2.4

[vieuxrichard]

A quick intro - I have been using Windows since 3.1 - currently using Win XP SP3 on an ASUST3-P5G9645. 3GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT running dual monitors.
Not wanting to continue with M$ post-XP I am seriously thinking about moving to Linux for my future computing, especially as I wish to get a smartphone and be able to sync between PC & mobile.
Did not want to dual-boot, am out of stock of CDs and cannot get my PC to boot from a USB key, although the BIOS says I should be able to boot from Removable media. So decided on VirtualBox.
Not knowing which flavour of Linux to try, I searched for the best Desktop system in Linux that would not feel too alien coming from Windows. It seemed that KDE might fit the bill, so I downloaded ubuntu12.10-desktop-i386.iso (thought I might compare UNITY as well), opensuse 12.2-KDECD-i686.iso and of course PCLOS as above.
Well VirtualBox installed ubuntu12.10 without a hitch, it would not recognise the opensuse.iso and with PCLOS it got as far as trying to boot the system with the PCLINUXOS splash screen and then went into BSOD (Black) and did not budge. I deleted the .vdi and started again - same result.
Apologies for the detail but I am keen to find out whether there is a simple fix to my PCLINUX OS install problem in VirtualBox. At this stage I want to test it without having to know LINUX commands to fix install problems.
What do you suggest?

[agmg]

What are your VirtualBox settings?

I have KDE2012.08 and miniME KDE2012.08 installed inside VirtualBox 4.2.4 under WindowsXP 32bit and they both work perfectly.
In fact, every flavor of PCLOS installs or runs fine (even those still in testing)...

[pags]

Did you confirm that the ISO downloaded OK?  Check the MD5 against the download...it might be corrupt.

[Xenaflux]

I deleted the .vdi and started again - same result.

Do not delete the .vdi, but use the remove button from the <file> menu

it would not recognise the opensuse.iso

Installed this one without a problem last week

and with PCLOS it got as far as trying to boot the system with the PCLINUXOS splash screen and then went into BSOD (Black) and did not budge.

PCLinuxOS....FullMonty--KDEminime--LXDEmini   all install without a problem

All 32 bit

What do you suggest?

Well, this is not a suggestion, but rather what I do ( when I don't want to ask questions here   )
I would try once more, then wipe the whole Virtualbox off the drive (  /opt and /home/name/Virtualbos VMs  and .Virtualbox )
and start over

Good luck ( if you do so )

BTW: if you want to keep some good vdi's, you can use the <export> function in the menu

[vieuxrichard]

Thank you for your help. I have "removed" the Virtual systems and reinstalled VirtualBox.

Having reinstalled from the .iso image, have managed to get as far as the PcLinux 2012 Desktop with 6 icons, including Install PCLinuxOS. When I click on this ((presumably installing is the next step?) the mouse freezes and that's it. Cannot do anything. Same thing with opensuse except there's no install option here but everything stops just the same.

What am I doing wrong?

[menotu]

Have you got enough system and display/graphics memory allocated to the  PCLinuxOS VM

Do you have the Oracle Extension Pack loaded

Lastly, in VirtualBox settings for your PCLinuxOS VM check on the Systems tab that IO-APIC is enabled - if it is and still won't boot, try disabling it.

[vieuxrichard]

Thought I was making progress. I saved the last image & restarted PCLinuxOS. I got as far as getting 4 icons under the pclinuxos logo and then the password option came up. I chose root and root for the pw and the installation continued. I have now had 11 iterations of the reinstallation of the desktop icons and password screen. Guess it must be in a loop or what?
This makes a Windows 95 installation look a piece of cake. There is no indication during the installation process of what is happening & the only indication of anything happening is the green light flashing on the bottom CD icon.
I understand why people say Linux is not user-friendly.
I'll save this current machine state and await some more help.

[Xenaflux]

Just a question:
Where are you installing the vdi's to ?....partition sdaX ? ... sdaY? ...  /home/username/...  and how much space do you have available ?

from menotu

Have you got enough system and display/graphics memory allocated to the  PCLinuxOS VM

This may cause it to hang.
I advice minimum 600Mb base memory and 30Mb Display ( on my desktop )
(( as I have 3 Gb RAM on Mb, I always give any Virtual install 800M--1Gb base and 100Mb Display ))

And as an ex-WinXP seasoned user, I can say Linux is not user-unfriendly !
It takes only some time to learn. No more and no less.
But that is a discussion which does not belong in this tread.

Just hang on, you will get it. Every one does !

[kjpetrie]

So you're trying to install 3 VMs with different versions of Linux to see which one you like best? Only one distribution installs in VB without a hitch.

Two caveats:
1. VB provides an artificial interface between the guest system and your hardware, so your experience in VB may differ from the way that OS would actually perform on the hardware.
2. There are significant differences between the distributions you have chosen, so don't assume they all work the same way. They will be basically similar but there will be small differences to trip you up when you get into details. They will also differ in their default appearance but can be made to look the way you want.

I too have difficulty installing pclos in VB. Part of this is that the moment you tell VB you are installing Linux it allocates a very small default memory to it, which is too small for pclos with KDE. Give it at least 512 MB virtual RAM, a little more (700 ish MB) won't hurt. Secondly, I would suggest at the pclos boot screen, press F3 and select safe settings. You can set up the video once it's installed, but running from an ISO it can be a bit fussy.

And, of course, when an operating system is first installed in VB, the guest additions might not be right, so you might have to click the mouse in the VM's window before the mouse will work in the VM and then use the <Ctrl> key to get out again.

[vieuxrichard]

Thank you kjp, xenaflux & menotu. So following your advice I increased the System Base Memory to 800MB & the Video Memory to 30MB.
These changes enabled me to get as far as the PcLinuxOS Installation Wizard that appeared in 3 windows at the same time.
The Drak/ive install proposed to choose a file system and a partition (what partition?). I had to choose between Ext4/XFS/SWAP/Windows/Other/Empty. When I clicked on each one they all gave an Error message, except Empty which gave a Warning message. Oh dear, except there is an option to Auto Allocate - which I chose. Another Error - this time: "not enough free space"
The storage for the .vdi is 6MB dynamically allocated.
So I saved the state and await further guidance. FYI on C: drive there is currently 21GB free.

[Xenaflux]

@ vieuxrichard

This is not a direct solution for the issue at hand, but maybe you would be interested in trying.
I always have 2 more or less identical partitions ( setups ).<< sda5  and  sda6 >>
If I have a problem ( like yours ), I would go to the second setup and see if the problem replicates.
If it does not replicate, I would try to compare sda5 and sda6 and see where there are differences.
More often than not, I find ( not solve) the problem myself, which not necessarily means that I will be able to solve said problem.
But I have choices.
I also learned a hell of a lot in a very short time.
I also learned, that often this method is less time consuming and less frustrating than using the forum and google for days on end.

The above is just a thought.
You are of course more than welcome to ask, and all of us will try to help you.
That's why we spend time here, to help and learn.

Back to business now:

the Video Memory to 30MB.

What about putting that up to 100 and give the base also 100 or 200 more.
You always can put it lower again.

The Draklive install proposed to choose a file system and a partition (what partition?)

Forget the file system. It will go auto.
Partition: choose existin partition, as they are talking about the file you just created and  you are working in.
They are not talking about your hard drive

[agmg]

In your first post, you mention that you use WindowsXP SP3.
I have VirtualBox 4.2.4 under WindowsXP SP3 in my office computer and I have installed many flavors of PCLinuxOS with absolute success.

I give you my settings, maybe some of them will help make the difference:

GENERAL

Operating system: Mandriva or Other Linux

SYSTEM

Motherboard
Base Memory: 1024MB
Extended features: Enable IO APIC

Processor
Processors: 2
Extended Features: Enable PAE/NX

Acceleration
Hardware Virtualization: Enable VT-x/AMD-V, Enable Nested Paging

DISPLAY

Video
Video Memory: 128MB
Monitor Count: 1
Extended Features: Enable 3D Acceleration
Remote Display: Disabled.

STORAGE
Normal (VDI), 20GB, Fixed size storage.

AUDIO
Host Audio Driver: Windows DirectSound
Audio Controller: ICH AC97

Be sure to install VirtualBox Additions after installation by selecting Devices -> Install Guest Additions from the VirtualBox menu.

[kjpetrie]

A Linux system needs at least two partitions and usually three - swap, /, and /home. For a test install in VB where you have a small virtual hard disc (the .vdi file) it's reasonable not to separate / and /home into separate partitions. The size of swap is debatable. On a normal machine I'd advise 1.5-2 x RAM size to allow plenty of space to suspend the machine to disc (hibernate) if needed, but VB provides its own resources for that outside the .vdi file so that's not an issue. It's probably reasonable to set swap to around twice the virtual RAM to provide a total of three times the memory. The rest can be allocated to /, which is the 'root' (not to be confused with the user called root) or top directory (folder) of the file system.

I'm glad you got it to boot to the desktop and got the install wizard open. If it opened three times I can only think you have contact bounce in your mouse or you treble-clicked it. KDE can be set up to respond to either single or double clicks to open icons and I think it's single clicks by default, although I prefer double and it's a long time since I've installed a default system.

The coloured areas marked with different file system types are a key to the colour scheme. They are not buttons. You need to click on the large bar at the top of the window to begin the process of choosing partitions. Make swap first and then one other to take the rest of the space, set it to ext4 and its mount point as /. When you click Done it will be formatted (you will get a warning this is about to happen which you can safely ignore as it's a new installation) and then the installation will proceed.

You are making progress and it will become clear quite quickly.

[sling-shot]

Since he is using VirtualBox and only 1 virtual drive dedicated to 1 PCLinuxOS installation, what is the need to go to all the trouble?

Why not just hit "Use the whole damn thing for PCLinuxOS" ?

[Xenaflux]

The size of swap is debatable. On a normal machine I'd advise 1.5-2 x RAM size to allow plenty of space to suspend the machine to disc (hibernate) if needed, but VB provides its own resources for that outside the .vdi file so that's not an issue. It's probably reasonable to set swap to around twice the virtual RAM to provide a total of three times the memory. The rest can be allocated to /, which is the 'root' (not to be confused with the user called root) or top directory (folder) of the file system.

Nothing wrong with your advice,
but
I usually don't allocate swap in a virtual machine.
(( unless the install forces me to do so ))
I just installed LXDE mini this way, 5 minutes ago, as a test and to make sure.