Sun Microsystems VERSION 3.1.0_BETA2 user manual

1First steps

•A dynamically expanding file will only grow in size when the guest actu- ally stores data on its virtual hard disk. It will therefore initially be small on the host hard drive and only later grow to the size specified as it is filled with data.

•A fixed-size file will immediately occupy the file specified, even if only a fraction of the virtual hard disk space is actually in use. While occupying much more space, a fixed-size file incurs less overhead and is therefore slightly faster than a dynamically expanding file.

For details about the differences, please refer to chapter 5.2, Disk image files (VDI, VMDK, VHD, HDD), page 79.

To prevent your physical hard disk from running full, VirtualBox limits the size of the image file. Still, it needs to be large enough to hold the contents of your operating system and the applications you want to install – for a modern Windows or Linux guest, you will probably need several gigabytes for any serious use:

After having selected or created your image file, again press “Next” to go to the next page.

4.After clicking on “Finish”, your new virtual machine will be created. You will then see it in the list on the left side of the main window, with the name you have entered.

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