- #Unbuntu vm for windows 10 how to#
- #Unbuntu vm for windows 10 license key#
- #Unbuntu vm for windows 10 install#
- #Unbuntu vm for windows 10 update#
Dumping the contents of all ACPI tables would produce a lot of extraneous data, so to select only the license key, use the following command: With this installed, the acpidump command can be used to view the entire table. On Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and SUSE, this is:Īlternatively, for Debian and Ubuntu users: In order to do this, the acpica-tools package must be installed via the command line. Fortunately, there is an open source tool to do so. As such, the key must be manually extracted from the ACPI table in which it is stored. Perhaps more unhelpfully, there is no option to view the key in the BIOS on most computers, including the Lenovo ThinkPad W550s used for this article.
#Unbuntu vm for windows 10 license key#
Now, the license key is rather unhelpfully embedded inside the computer. Prior to Windows 8, the Windows license key could be found on a sticker on the back or bottom of a computer.
#Unbuntu vm for windows 10 how to#
For newcomers to Linux, TechRepublic’s Jack Wallen offers great advice on how to find the right Linux distribution for your needs.
For this guide, Fedora Workstation was used for all of the subsequent steps, though practically any modern distribution will work with these instructions.
#Unbuntu vm for windows 10 install#
Naturally, in order to install Windows 10 inside a VM on a Linux computer, installing Linux is necessary. Likewise, users of Windows 10 Enterprise will need to download from the Volume Licensing Service Center. For people using Education editions of Windows 10, you can download the latest version here, though a product key is required.
The link provided above only offers downloads of the latest version of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro. Aside from the time spent burning to disc, the read speeds from using a locally mounted ISO are substantially higher than using optical media. Because the installation ISO will be mounted from the local disk for installation on a virtual machine, there is no need to burn the ISO to a disc for installation. Thankfully, Microsoft directly provides ISO downloads of Windows 10. Getting the installation ISO from Microsoft Therefore, this guide is specifically for an in-place switch for people who install Linux on a computer which has an OEM license for Windows 10 from the manufacturer.
Attempting to do so is likely to trigger an alert from Windows Genuine Advantage, as the hardware information about the computer attached to an OEM license is likely transmitted to Microsoft from the factory.
#Unbuntu vm for windows 10 update#
It is also important to note that using a VM for Windows also prevents any future Windows update from interfering with your computer’s boot partition, which could render both your Linux and Windows installations unbootable.īecause of Microsoft’s licensing terms, it is not permissible to transfer the Windows 10 license from one computer to another. After all, this is Windows–using a fresh ISO direct from Microsoft eliminates OEM-bundled bloatware which typically accompanies a new computer. SEE: Linux distribution comparison chart (Tech Pro Research)Ĭonsidering that the license has already been paid for with most pre-built, retail computers, it is likely a worthwhile endeavor to install Windows 10 in a virtual machine rather than dual booting. As such, unless you are buying a System76 computer, or a Dell developer laptop, you are already paying the “ Windows Tax” for your device. While it is simple to build your own PC (or simply use an Intel NUC), laptops and all-in-one systems are typically impossible to build in the same way. The long arm of Microsoft’s embrace is similarly difficult to escape. Even now, the possibility of needing Windows to perform some task still exists–perhaps as part of an employer requirement, a dependency on legacy technology, or to interact with legacy or specialty hardware which has no Linux driver. For Linux users, making a clean break from the Microsoft ecosystem is often a rather challenging task.