You would have to find some way to migrate out your settings from the virtual machine and then install Ubuntu over Windows outside the virtual machine. Even though the low commitment factor can seem like an advantage at first, if you later decide you want to switch to Ubuntu and ditch Windows completely, you cannot simply delete your Windows partition.In order to get any kind of decent performance, you need at least 512 MB of RAM, because you are running an entire operating system (Ubuntu) inside another entire operating system (Windows).If you later decide you don't like Ubuntu, all you have to do is delete the virtual hard drive and uninstall VirtualBox. For troubleshooting purposes, you can easily take screenshots of any part of Ubuntu (including the boot menu or the login screen).All you have to do is press the right Control key instead of rebooting your entire computer. You always have Windows to fall back on in case there are any problems.The virtual machine will set up its own video configuration, so you don't have to worry about installing proprietary graphics drivers to get a reasonable screen resolution.The virtual machine will use your Windows internet connection, so you don't have to worry about Ubuntu not detecting your wireless card, if you have one.You do not need to reboot in order to switch between Ubuntu and Windows.It can be a dynamically resized virtual hard drive. The size of the installation doesn't have to be predetermined.Installing Ubuntu on a virtual machine inside of Windows has a lot advantages over a dual-boot (but also a few disadvantages). A dual-boot allows you, at boot time, to decide which operating system you want to use.

Many websites (including the one you're reading) have tutorials on setting up dual-boots between Windows and Ubuntu. Please be aware that you should have a minimum of 512 MB of RAM. VirtualBox allows you to run an entire operating system inside another operating system. Actually, you can install pretty much any Linux distribution this way. The screenshots in this tutorial use Ubuntu 12.04, but the same principles apply also to Ubuntu 12.10, 11.10, 10.04, and any future version of Ubuntu. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Installing Ubuntu inside Windows using VirtualBox You may also want to consider donating directly to the Ubuntu project. If you've found these tutorials useful, please consider donating a small amount to one of my favorite non-profits/charities.

Ubuntu virtualbox install