Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

VirtualBox - any risks?

M

MuRReC

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 2, 2008
17
0
Are there any risks of corrupting or otherwise screwing up OSX by using VirtualBox or other software to run Windows on OSX?
 
MuRReC said:
Are there any risks of corrupting or otherwise screwing up OSX by using VirtualBox or other software to run Windows on OSX?
Click to expand...

That's the whole idea of a VM, it "sandboxes" the guest and avoids issues with the host OS. Developers use VMs all the time for testing apps, not just so they can test the apps on different versions but also so they don't hose their main OS.
 
When I close the VM does it release the RAM allocated to it?
 
MuRReC said:
When I close the VM does it release the RAM allocated to it?
Click to expand...

It should, unless its buggy, then the ram may not get released. I use Vmware and all the resources it consumes while running are released when I'm done.

I like using Vmware because as stated, it can create multiple operating systems that are sandboxed, there's little risk of one impacting the host OS.
 
Virtual Box is a good free VM. Have used it for a 3 years without issue.

Obviously the internet connection is a little on the slower side due to the nature of the sandboxing. Apart from that everything is else is good.
 
What if I want to remove it?
Any problems with files that you have to go and remove manually?
What about getting the disk space back?
 
The guest OS is usually contained inside a "VHD" or Virtual Hard Disk, removing the guest OS would be as simple as deleting the VHD file. Again, that's one of the points or benefits of using a VM, it's self-contained and isolated from your main OS.
 
MuRReC said:
What if I want to remove it?
Any problems with files that you have to go and remove manually?
What about getting the disk space back?
Click to expand...

Just remove the files (the app may have an uninstaller) and remove the VMs, and your disk space will return
 
any experience with retina imac 5K at full resolution as virtualbox host ?


what is the max resolution of guest (linux or windows) ? does it lag ?

thank for sharing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back