CS197U: A Hands-on Introduction to UNIX

Setting up an Ubuntu VM in VirtualBox

NOTE #1: There is a lot of information on this page. Please read it carefully.

NOTE #2: This VM has Ubuntu 10.04. The most recent version of Ubuntu currently is 11.10. While generally it is best to update to the latest version, do not upgrade this VM, as it has a very small hard drive and may run out of space during the upgrade process.

Starting VirtualBox

To run your VM, you will need to use Virtualbox. If you are on an edlab machine that is booted into linux, you can find "Oracle VirtualBox" under the Applications menu, or you can just type VirtualBox at the command line. Cancel the message window that asks you to install a new version.

Note: If you are not in the edlab, then you will need to install virtualbox on your own system. It supports Windows, Linux, and OS X, but you are on your own to figure out how. You will also need to download the VM files (839MB). You will have to decompress the files after you download them. Note, in total, you will need about 5GB of disk space available for the downloaded files and VM disk. If you do not have enough space on your hard drive, go to the edlab!

IMPORTANT: For Edlab Users (and others with small disk drives)

By default, VirtualBox will create all new virtual machines inside your home directory. Normally this would be fine, but the Edlab systems are setup so your home directory has a small disk space quota. Since a virtual machine disk takes up a lot of space (3-4GB), you will need to change the VirtualBox settings so that it will store the VM disk in a different location: 1. From the VirtualBox Menu, go to Preferences

2. Change the Default Hard Disk Folder setting to (fill in your username):

/courses/cs100/cs197u/YOUR_USER_NAME

3. Press OK

Creating the Virtual Machine

Now you can create the new VM by selecting File->Import Appliance. You will then need to browse through the file system to find the VM file located at:

/courses/cs100/cs197u/cs197u/vms/CS197U_Ubuntu_10.4.ovf (Or wherever you extracted the VM files if you are not using the edlab)

VirtualBox will now create a copy of the VM for you to work with, which may take a few minutes. When it finishes, the VirtualBox window should be updated to list the "CS197U Ubuntu 10.4" virtual machine. Press the "Start" button to boot up the VM. After a few moments, you should see the Ubuntu logo, as the VM starts up. Eventually you will reach a login prompt.

Using your VM

1. Log into your VM with the username / password: cs197u / cs197u

2. Start the Terminal program, and change your password, by typing passwd

3. Don't forget what your new password is!!