How to Install Windows Server 2019 on Oracle VM VirtualBox
Last Updated: June 2, 2022 , Tolga Bagci
In this article, we will install Windows Server 2019 on Windows 10 with Oracle VM VBox virtualization program step by step.
How to Setup Windows Server 2019 in Windows 10 PC using VirtualBox
Microsoft released the Server 2019 Preview version on March 20, 2018. The Windows Server 2019 full version will be available in the second half of 2018.
Windows Server 2019 is built on the powerful infrastructure of Windows Server 2016, and the most striking feature is Project Honolulu. Project Honolulu is a central console that allows you manage Windows Server 2019, 2016, and 2012 R2 using either the GUI or GUI-less. In the next article, we will examine the Project Honolulu installation and configuration in more detail.
In the previous article, we installed Microsoft Server 2019 with the VMware Workstation program.
After briefly discussing MS Server 2019 and Project Honolulu, let’s move on to the steps of setting up Server 2019 with Oracle VM.
How to Install Windows Server 2019 using Virtual Machine
You can install Microsoft Server 2019 on a physical server. Or you can use virtualization programs to install and experience it on your desktop or laptop computer.
Before installing Windows Server 2019 on a physical server, it is a good idea to build and test it in a virtual environment.
First of all, if you are using Windows operating system, install VirtualBox on Windows 10. But if you are using a Linux based Ubuntu/Debian/Linux Mint, install VirtualBox on Ubuntu.
Then, download the Server 2019 ISO file to your computer by clicking here. Finally, follow the steps below to run Microsoft Server 2019.
Step 1
First, create a new virtual computer on VirtualBox. Select Windows Server 2016 (64-bit) in the operating system selection window in the steps for creating a VM. Next, open the Server virtual machine’s settings and click the System / Acceleration tab.
NOTE: Server 2019 is available in the virtual machine operating system selection window in 6.0 version of the Oracle VM program.
In the Hardware Virtualization section, select the Enable VT-x/AMD-V and Enable Nested Paging options, and finally, add the Microsoft Server 2019 ISO file to the virtual pc.
Step 2
After preparing the MS Server 2019 virtual machine, run the virtual machine by clicking the Start button.
Step 3
Configure the language, time settings, and keyboard layout for MS Server 2019 and click Next.
Step 4
Select the Windows Server Standard (Desktop Experience) version and click Next.
Step 5
Accept the MS Server 2019 license agreement, and then click Next.
Step 6
To install Windows Server 2019 without updating it, click Custom.
Step 7
Configure the virtual hard disk size for your virtual machine and click Next to select the partition you want to install Server 2019 on.
Step 8
Wait while being installed Windows Server 2019 with VirtualBox…
Step 9
Wait while getting devices ready…
Step 10
You need to set a complex password for your Administrator account. Type in a difficult and complicated password and click on the Finish button.
Step 11
Click on Input / Keyboard / Insert Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the account lock of Server 2019.
Step 12
Type your Administrator password that you created and press Enter.
Step 13
Once you have successfully completed the steps for setting up Server 2019, you can check the Server Manager information as shown in the following image.
How to Install Guest Additions on Windows Server 2019
After you install it with VirtualBox, you should install Guest Additions. To install guest additions for Windows clients, click on the image below to read our related article.
How to Run Server 2019 Step by Step ⇒ Video
You can watch the video below to run it on VirtualBox virtual machine step by step, and also subscribe to our YouTube channel to support us.
Final Word
In this article, we have installed MS Server 2019 Technical Preview step by step, a free and popular virtualization program. You can also install Windows Server 2019 on ESXi. Thanks for following us!
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Hello, I’m Tolga! I am a computer specialist who has been specializing in computer technologies for about 20 years. I provide solutions to problems encountered in many areas such as hardware, system, network, virtualization, server systems, and operating systems, and create relevant content on my website by explaining how to solve these problems. My goal is to be a reliable source of expert, quality, and trustworthy solutions for your computer problems. By following innovations and using the latest technologies, I aim to be successful in my job and provide you with the best service. Don’t hesitate to contact me for any questions or curiosity about technology. Have a nice day, stay up to date 🙂
Bonjour Monsieur;
je viens de suivre, le tuto et j’aimerais savoir si l’installation de Windows server 2019 sous VirtualBox prend beaucoup de temps
How to Install Windows Server 2019 in Virtual Box
In this post, we will see the process to install windows server 2019 in Virtual Box. But before we start installation let’s check minimum system requirement to install windows server 2019.
Minimum system requirement to install windows server 2019.
- Processor: At least 1.4 GHz or faster 64-bit supported processor
- RAM: 512 MB
- Free Space: 32 GB of available free disk space.
How to install Windows Server 2019
First download Windows server 2019 Evaluation edition ISO image from Microsoft TechNet Evaluation Center. https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2019
Link to download Oracle VirtualBox: Click Here
Start your VirtualBox and create one VM with below configuration.
- Name: As you wish
- Type:- Microsoft Windows
- Version:- Windows 2016 (64-bit)
- RAM:- 2048 MB
- Create Dynamically Expanding VDI with size 100 GB
After creating VM click on start.
Mount the ISO image which we have downloaded earlier.
Step:1 On Windows Setup console select the installation language, time and currency format and keyboard layout. You can simply use default settings which will be OK.
Step:2 Click on Install now to start the installation process.
Step:3 Select the operating system which you want to install. (First option will install windows server without a graphical user interface.)
If you want GUI to manage server select second option i.e. Windows Server 2019 Standard Evaluation (Desktop Experience).
Step:4 Select Accept the license terms and click on next.
Step:5 For a fresh installation of server 2019 we need to select the second option, Custom: Install Windows Only and then click on next.
Step:6 Select your virtual hard disk and click on New to create a new partition to install server 2019.
Step:7 For this demo, I am creating only one partition of 100 GB in size.
Step:8 After creating a partition, Click on Next to continue.
The installation process will take some time to complete the process. Once installation completes server will restart automatically.
At next boot, you will see below screen asking to set Administrator account password for windows server 2019.
Step:9 Specify the password of your choice to protect Administrator account of Windows Server 2019.
Congratulations! Now you are ready to log in first time on your newly installed Windows Server 2019.
Now press CTRL + ALT + Delete key combination.
Specify the administrator account password and hit the enter key to login to Windows Server 2019.
How to install Windows Server 2022 on VirtualBox
As per the virtual Ignite 2021 conference announcement done by Microsoft, they are planning to release the final version of Windows server 2022, later this year. Whereas the Trial versions of Windows Server 2022 preview are already available for Windows Insiders.
The upcoming Windows Server’s Long Term Servicing Channel Release (LTSC) will receive security updates for ten years. The current version is Windows Server 2019 LTSC. The innovations of Windows Server 2022 include multi-layer protection against threats, which can be activated via Secured Core Server. Besides, the new version enables HTTPS via TLS 1.3 ex works to support secure connections for business-critical data.
Furthermore, the updated version of Windows Admin Center and the possibility to manage Windows Server in your own data center with Azure Arc. As per the official blog, now it becomes easier to manage virtual machines. Besides, the Storage Migration Service receives a new scenario for migrating file servers from its own data center to Azure. For more information, the user can refer to the official announcement.
Windows Server 2022 installation on VirtualBox Virtual machine
1. Download Windows Server 2022 ISO
To get the preview ISO file of the Server 2022, the user can visit the official Windows Insider page of Microsoft. Or else see our step by step article on this – How to get Server 2022 ISO or VHDX image
2. Install VirtualBox
Although if you are here for this tutorial then you would already have VirtualBox installed on your system, if not, then download it from virtualbox.org. It is available for all popular platforms. Where for Linux see our tutorials such as Redhat and Ubuntu
3. Create a Virtual machine for Windows Server 2022
Run the installed VirtualBox and follow the below steps to create Microsoft Server 2022 virtual machine.
- Click on the New button.
- Give some name to your VM, here we are installing the server version, thus, we name it the same i.e Windows Server 2022.
- Select Microsoft Windows as OS type and Windows 10 64-bit as version.
- If you want to use the Desktop GUI version then at least 2GB RAM should be assigned, however, we recommend 4GB or more depending upon what are you planning to install for better performance.
- Create a Virtual Hard disk. When it asks for file type go for VHD so that later you can use the same virtual disk image in Hyper-V as well.
- Select Dynamic Allocated, this will not allocate all the assigned VHD space at once, instead steadily as our virtual disk starts growing.
- In the next steps, use the slider bar and allocate the amount of space for the VHD file. Here we are stipulating 50 GB but you can more if you are planning to deploy some enterprise features/applications.
- Finally, finish and you will have your Server 2022 Virtual machine on VirtualBox.
4. Start Virtual Machine
Now, select the created VM from the left panel of VirtualBox and click on the Start button given in the Menu… after that the Vbox will ask you to select the startup disk. Here we have to choose the ISO file we have downloaded for Windows Server 2022 at the first step of this article.
⇒ Select the folder icon to open the File Explorer window of your respective OS.
⇒ Click on the Add button to select the downloaded Microsoft Server 2022 ISO image as bootable or Startup disk medium.
⇒ When the ISO image appears in the disk display area select it and then click on the Choose button.
⇒ Finally, hit the Start button to move forward for the installation of Microsoft Server 2022 on Virtualbox VM.
5. Install Microsoft Server 2022
Select “I don’t have license key” when the installation setup asks for it. Moving forward, you will see multiple setups to install, that are:
- Windows Server 2022 Standard
- Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop Experience)
- Windows Serbger 2022 Datacenter
- Windows Server 2022 Datacenter (Desktop Experience)
If you have some application that requires Graphical User Interface or you want to experience the Server with GUI, then select the Desktop Experience one. Whereas those who want to manage their server (without GUI) installation using Windows Admin Center can go for the Standard or DataCenter option.
As here we are not upgrading any previous Windows server installation, thus select the Custom Install.
Select the available hard drive, we have created on VirtualBox. If you want to create partitions then select the NEW option otherwise click on the NEXT to let the Server use the whole drive to install the OS.
6. Set Admin Password
Once the installation is complete, the setup will ask you to type a password to secure a built-in Administrator account.
Windows 2022 Server Installation on VirtualBox
Windows 2022 is an upcoming server OS from Microsoft with new features and plenty of security enhancements. As Microsoft is pushing harder on security by utilizing hardware chips in Windows 11, the same technique continues in Windows 2022 servers also.
The next question that comes to our mind is installing and testing this new OS on our normal PCs. Thanks to virtualization technology. We can do that with the Windows built-in Hyper-V feature or VMware and VirtualBox. In this guide, let me show you where to download the Windows 2022 server ISO/VHDX file and install it on VirtualBox using your normal Windows 10 or 11 computer.
Some key security improvements include secure-Core servers, TPM 2.0, Virtualization-based security, and firmware protection. Also, Microsoft implements HTTPS, and TLS 1.3 enabled connectivity by default. Improvements in DNS resolution also can be seen in this new OS which can prevent DNS hacks and poisoning.
Other considerable enhancements in monitoring Azure, on-premise and hybrid environments, networking, and Hyper-V improvements are available in the new server OS. To find out more new features, do check the official feature list.
Also, note that when we install Windows 2022 on VirtualBox (or any virtualization environment), we can’t check the all-new features. Some of these features will only work when we install the server OS on the physical hardware.
Install Windows 2022 Server on VirtualBox
1) Download the Windows 2022 server from the official site here. You may need to provide your details to download the file.
2) Download and install the latest Oracle VirtualBox software (if you don’t have it already on your host computer).
3) Make sure you have enough hardware resources to allocate. Minimum 2GB RAM, recommended is more than 4GB.
4) Create a new VM from the VirtualBox console. It is okay to select the Windows 2019 (64bit) server as the OS version since Server 2022 is not officially supported by VirtualBox (as of now)
5) Set the RAM size based on your physical computer RAM availability. I configured 8GB in this example.
6) Create a new virtual hard disk, VDI type, 50GB size (or more) and select a dynamically allocated type to save disk space.
7) Click next to create the virtual machine.
8) Go to the settings of the newly created virtual machine and edit the processor settings. Increase the processor cores to 2 or more. By default, it will create the VM with a single-core, which may not be enough to install the desktop experience version of the Windows 2022 server.
You can check the hardware requirements for the Windows 2022 server here at the official site.
9) Open the Storage option and mount the downloaded 2022 ISO file to CD/DVD drive as shown below.
10) Power the virtual machine and select the mounted ISO file to boot the VM.
11) It is a normal Windows OS server installation process; nothing changed in this version. Select the Desktop Experience if you want to get the normal desktop and GUI interface. If you don’t select this option, you will get the Windows 2022 Server Core on the VirtualBox.
If you want to get experience on server core, you can install without Desktop Experience. You can always upgrade the server core to a Desktop experience or vice versa later.
In this example, I selected the desktop version.
12) Select the new Install option to do the fresh installation.
13) Select the hard disk you want to install and click Next. The installation process will create the required partitions and process to the next step.
14) After the installation is completed and VM is rebooted, you need to set up the Administrator password.
15) Here you go; you will land on the latest Windows 2022 server OS on VirtualBox as a virtual machine. It doesn’t matter which OS you have on your computer; it can be Windows 10, 11 or even the seven, Linux or macOS. As long as you have enough hardware resources on your physical computer with the latest VirtualBox, you can have Windows 2022 server as VM showed in these steps.
What about VirtualBox Guest Additions for Windows 2022 Server?
As we mentioned earlier, Oracle VirtualBox doesn’t support Windows 2022 since this server version is still in preview mode (as of mid-July 2021). So, we do not have proper tested VirtualBox guest additions for server 2022.
But, we can try the available guest additions for Windows OS (Server 2019). Before proceeding to the next steps, I highly recommend taking a snapshot of the virtual machine.
16) Click on Devices, and Insert Guest additions CD image of the virtual machine.
17) Once it is mounted successfully inside the VM, open the CD drive and execute the Windows version of guest additions.
18) Select Install for required drivers and continue the installation. You need to reboot the VM at the end.
19) This Windows 2022 server VM should perform well with proper working display, mouse movements, full-screen mode, and other additional VirtualBox guess addition features.
20) Take another snapshot before playing around with the new OS. Also, a full Windows update is highly recommended to get the latest updates and improvements.
Download Windows 2022 Server VHDX for VirtualBox or Hyper-V
Usually, Microsoft provides the preview and final versions of server Operating Systems in VHDX format, which natively supports Hyper-V. These pre-installed VHDX files can be easily imported to Hyper-V or VirtualBox to use the OS instantly.
You can download the Windows 2022 Server VHDX file from the Microsoft site here.
Unfortunately, at the moment, the preview builds are temporary on hold, and you can’t download them from the Microsoft site. When these images are available, you can download the VHDX file and simply import it to Oracle VirtualBox as described in our earlier guide on Windows 2012 R2 Server.
If any of the above solutions did not fix the Windows PC issues, we recommend downloading the below PC repair tool to identify and solve any PC Issues.
Dinesh
Dinesh is the founder of Sysprobs and written more than 400 articles. Enthusiast in Microsoft and cloud technologies with more than 15 years of IT experience.