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I currently run Windows 7 from a 256GB SSD as my Operating System. Lately, for school, I've been using openSUSE linux inside a VirtualBox PC and I'm really liking it. I'm starting to hate even working in Windows. But I can't just abandon Windows.

I've been considering dual booting openSUSE and will likely purchase another SSD for openSUSE.

Once I have the dual boot set-up, there is going to be times I need to do something quick in the operating system that I'm not currently in. It would be a pain to have to reboot the computer each time I need to switch the OS for a simple task, especially from Windows since it doesn't let you save it's state.

From openSUSE, I want to be able to start a VirtualBox Machine using my Windows Drive. And in Windows, I want to be able to start a VirtualBox Machine of my openSUSE Drive. Would this be possible?

The issue I'm worried about is drivers. For instance, the OS will be installed on native hardware and have the native hardware's drivers configured. When I try to boot the OS in a VirtualMachine, I feel like the OS is not going to know what to do, and have to reconfigure itself or just not work.

About a year ago an old WinXP DELL computer's hardware failed. I was able to turn the HD into a virtual disk and have the WinXP system live on inside VirtualBox. I remember that it was a challenge to get booted.

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  • ThankYou!! This is exactly what I'm looking for. When and if I actually go through with it I will post here how it goes and how to exactly set it up here. In case anyone else is ever looking for exact steps. Oct 24, 2013 at 4:02
  • If you are feeling up to it, you could always give XEN a shot. It's a hypervisor. Might be over kill for you or something right on the money =) cio.com.au/article/373314/…
    – Jason McD
    Oct 24, 2013 at 4:29
  • I've looked into HyperVisors at one time. They won't work properly with an Intel K series processor because VT-d is disabled. When I purchased it I assumed that the k-series had all features unlocked. I'm still pretty angry about it. I also removed the heatspreader in the first week, so I couldn't take it back when I realized this. Oct 24, 2013 at 5:36

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