Solved Will VirtualBox Work on My PC

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ratchetgame98

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My laptop runs Windows 8 Home version (unsure exactly which home version it is if there are more than one), and after reading other posts about VirtualBox crashing on Windows 8 I fear to actually install VirtualBox in the first place.
Here are my computer specs just so you can have a look at them

Can someone please let me know if VirtualBox will work on Windows 8, or specifically my laptop, because I prefer VirtualBox to any other Virtual Machine Software, and I don't really want to have to pay for VMWare either (despite it being good software alongside VBOX). If there is no way for VBOX to work in Windows 8 altogether, could someone let me know if there is a full version of VMWare available for free

Thanks for any help that will be given
-ratchetgame98

OS - Windows 8 (not pro)
CPU - Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz
RAM - 8.00GB (7.88GB Usable)
System Type - 64-Bit OS, x64 CPU

comp specs.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Brink said:
Hello ratchetgame, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Yes, you should be able to install and run VirtualBox on your laptop if you like. :)

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/End-user_documentation
Click to expand...
OK thanks for letting me know. It was just that I found many other forum posts saying that it could crash Windows 8 boot and I don't want that to happen (even though I kinda devour Windows 8). I think that the crash only happens on Windows 8 Pro.

Thanks for the warm welcome as well :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
You're welcome. Please let us know how it went for you. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Brink said:
You're welcome. Please let us know how it went for you. :)
Click to expand...
I will. I will need to see if it crashes so I could make a restore point just to be on the safe side
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
whs said:
If you have problems with vBox, use VMware Player. I find it a lot easier to use.

VMware Player - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com
Click to expand...
To be perfectly honest, I don't really trust CNET download as much as other providers, and VirtualBox is much easier to use (in my opinion). All I really want to know for certain is if VBox will crash my Windows 8 Home laptop or not as I've heard many people have had this problem on Win8 Pro.
Thanks for the feedback anyway though
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
I understand the CNET concern. They sometimes present all kinds of junk along with the download. I always clean it up afterwards or uncheck it already during the installation. I usually post the CNET link because they give an evaluation of the program which is handy in case the program is little known - but there is always the original website of the program.

It is strange that you find vBox easier. I have used vBox for years and always had all kinds of nits and lice with it. Since I use VMware Player, I never had a problem. I am running 6 virtual systems with it - Windows 8.1 being one of them. They are all on a Windows 7 host but the VMware Player specs say that they do support 8.1 as a host.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I might as well go and try VMWare Player then. I've seen a video on how to install it on Win8 so I should be fine ni will the. See if I can use virtualbox or something but I'll try VMWare out and see if it works. Thanks for the feedback from all of you and I'll let you know how well it goes
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
Running VBox on my Asus G75VW notebook with 8.1 and prior to that 8.0 with no problems at all.

Jeff
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint and Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW
    CPU
    i7
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    16G
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 5400 rpm 1T and Seagate 7200 rpm 500G.
    Internet Speed
    30M down, 5M up
    Other Info
    Oracle Virtual Box
    Ubuntu 64 bit
Jf1450 said:
Running VBox on my Asus G75VW notebook with 8.1 and prior to that 8.0 with no problems at all.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Kk thanks for the feedback
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
VirtualBox runs fine here on 8.1 too.

I've had issues with the latest 4.3.6 where I had errors like "failed to create com object" at launch (needed to click 5 times to launch the VM manager) but now I'm back to 4.2.22 and it's pretty stable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
All I really want to know mostly is if VirtaulBox will crash my host machine. I've seen other topics with Win8 Pro failing to boot but I know that Pro comes with Hyper-V which could cause the boot failure. Since I don't have Win8 Pro or Hyper-V I just need to know if VirtualBox will cause my laptop to boot fail as well since I use Win8. I find VMWare a little complicit later even after watching tutorials (I haven't installed VMWare or VBox yet) and I've used VBox on my old Win Vista which had terrible hardware but VBox seemed to work well on it. Also VBox seems to allocate less RAM to certain VMs.
E.G. VBox would allocate 512MB RAM to Win2008 but VMWare would allocate 1GB. And the minimum hard drive reqs in VBox for Win2008 is 25GB whereas VMWare is 40GB. Setting up the hard drive is much easier in VBox as well with the options Dynamically Allocated and Fixed Size Storage. I know that VMWare allows you to mount ISOs and set up product keys and user accounts, but I prefer to do those later on during the setup process
VBox is what I want mainly as its free and easy to use. I only saw like 1 or 2 tutorials on VBox and I was up and running in no time.
If VBox works on Win8 I'm fine. That's all I want really for VBox to work in Win8 fluently without causing boot failures to my PC. If anyone can show me a video or something of this then I will use VBox again
I'm sorry that this is a really long post but I find this is the only way I could get my point across
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
VirtualBox works in a Windows 8 host. A couple of releases have passed since the noticeable issues on this OS were encountered. Now it's fine for the latest versions. I'm using VBox as we speak. In time you'll discover that 1CPU VM's with no graphic acceleration will be the most stable ones.

It's up to you how much you assign as virtual ram and disks. The defaults are just there but will not always be the best choices depending on VM usage.

As I said, I cannot consider the latest version stable because it crashed and failed to start a couple of times on my system but that's just me and it depends on the hardware as well. The question if it works well on your pc will be harder to answer unless someone has another pc just like yours to confirm it: just install and test it out.

You definitely won't get any boot failures. VirtualBox doesn't install ANY services or start-up items whatsoever and consumes less resources compare to VMware. VMWare Player has on the other hand an easier install and use process for beginners (not to mention better tools + graphics) but if you clicked a few times in VBox and are used to speed and simplicity you'll get that going for sure. ;)

For example now I use a custom built OSE version of 4.2.22 with the new UI icons from 4.3 (for the fun) and I didn't had any problems so far.
Talking for the current versions: If you have issues with 4.3.6 (there are more bugs to expect since it's newer) go to 4.2.22. The 22 minor updates brought some stability to that version, that's a fact.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Hopachi said:
VirtualBox works in a Windows 8 host. A couple of releases have passed since the noticeable issues on this OS were encountered. Now it's fine for the latest versions. I'm using VBox as we speak. In time you'll discover that 1CPU VM's with no graphic acceleration will be the most stable ones.

It's up to you how much you assign as virtual ram and disks. The defaults are just there but will not always be the best choices depending on VM usage.

As I said, I cannot consider the latest version stable because it crashed and failed to start a couple of times on my system but that's just me and it depends on the hardware as well. The question if it works well on your pc will be harder to answer unless someone has another pc just like yours to confirm it: just install and test it out.

You definitely won't get any boot failures. VirtualBox doesn't install ANY services or start-up items whatsoever and consumes less resources compare to VMware. VMWare Player has on the other hand an easier install and use process for beginners (not to mention better tools + graphics) but if you clicked a few times in VBox and are used to speed and simplicity you'll get that going for sure. ;)

For example now I use a custom built OSE version of 4.2.22 with the new UI icons from 4.3 (for the fun) and I didn't had any problems so far.
Talking for the current versions: If you have issues with 4.3.6 (there are more bugs to expect since it's newer) go to 4.2.22. The 22 minor updates brought some stability to that version, that's a fact.
Click to expand...

This was mainly the info that I was seeking. I usually do expect bugs anyway with newer versions of programs and apps, as a lot of this happens on my iPod. Although I find that sometimes the bugs aren't actually notable, they are there. Taken by the fact of 4.2.22, I'll try that one out instead of 4.3.6, just to be safe. Also, I was comparing my hardware specs with your ones just to see who had better hardware, and your hardware is much better than mine, so taken by that, I'll try 4.2.22 to use it. Also, I'm happy that my Win8 won't fail on boot, and that's the most important factor I needed to know. Thank you ever so much for your help, and I'll report back with the results
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Medion
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-3120M CPU 2.50GHz x64 CPU Architecture
    Memory
    8 GB (7.88 GB Usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB - 1TB
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    HID-Compliant mouse
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps (Mega bits per second)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
ratchetgame98 said:
I'll try 4.2.22 to use it. Also, I'm happy that my Win8 won't fail on boot, and that's the most important factor I needed to know. Thank you ever so much for your help, and I'll report back with the results
Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Good luck trying it out.
Make sure you have the CPU virtualization feature (VT-x) enabled in the BIOS, this will enhance the VM performance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
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