pyrox.dev
1# Installing in a VirtualBox guest {#sec-installing-virtualbox-guest}
2
3Installing NixOS into a VirtualBox guest is convenient for users who
4want to try NixOS without installing it on bare metal. If you want to set
5up a VirtualBox guest, follow these instructions:
6
71. Add a New Machine in VirtualBox with OS Type "Linux / Other Linux"
8
91. Base Memory Size: 768 MB or higher.
10
111. New Hard Disk of 10 GB or higher.
12
131. Mount the CD-ROM with the NixOS ISO (by clicking on CD/DVD-ROM)
14
151. Click on Settings / System / Processor and enable PAE/NX
16
171. Click on Settings / System / Acceleration and enable "VT-x/AMD-V"
18 acceleration
19
201. Click on Settings / Display / Screen and select VMSVGA as Graphics
21 Controller
22
231. Save the settings, start the virtual machine, and continue
24 installation like normal
25
26There are a few modifications you should make in configuration.nix.
27Enable booting:
28
29```nix
30{
31 boot.loader.grub.device = "/dev/sda";
32}
33```
34
35Also remove the fsck that runs at startup. It will always fail to run,
36stopping your boot until you press `*`.
37
38```nix
39{
40 boot.initrd.checkJournalingFS = false;
41}
42```
43
44Shared folders can be given a name and a path in the host system in the
45VirtualBox settings (Machine / Settings / Shared Folders, then click on
46the "Add" icon). Add the following to the
47`/etc/nixos/configuration.nix` to auto-mount them. If you do not add
48`"nofail"`, the system will not boot properly.
49
50```nix
51{ config, pkgs, ...} :
52{
53 fileSystems."/virtualboxshare" = {
54 fsType = "vboxsf";
55 device = "nameofthesharedfolder";
56 options = [ "rw" "nofail" ];
57 };
58}
59```
60
61The folder will be available directly under the root directory.