Install Backtrack 4 On Windows 7 In A Virtual Machine Using Windows Virtual PC
I have been using a Windows 7 laptop for quite awhile as my daily driver and recently wanted to install Backtrack 4 in a virtual machine so I wasn’t required to dual boot or use a different laptop for BT4. I thought about using VMware as Martin wrote an article a couple months ago about installing Backtrack in a VM on Windows 7 but a couple months ago I discovered Windows Virtual PC during a Windows XP VM install. So far I have been really happy with Windows Virtual PC and decided to try installing Backtrack 4 in a Windows Virtual PC virtual machine. Below are the details on how to setup the Windows Virtual PC virtual machine and then information on how to install Backtrack 4 in that VM.
Install Backtrack 4 On Windows 7 In A Virtual Machine Using Windows Virtual PC:
- Download Backtrack: First you will need to download the Backtrack 4 ISO image file from the Backtrack downloads page which is located here.
- Burn Backtrack ISO: Burn the Backtrack ISO image using your favorite DVD burning software. In this example I used Roxio to burn the Backtrack 4 ISO image so if you are using Roxio launch the Roxio Creater Home application first. Once Roxio is launched click Copy in the left navigation to display the options below as shown in the example below.
- Once the menu is expanded it will display the option we need which is Burn Image. So click on Burn Image to display the below window within Roxio where you will first browse to the Backtrack 4 ISO file and then click the circle button in the bottom right corner to burn the Backtrack 4 image to a DVD.
- Launch Windows Virtual PC: Cick the Windows icon in the lower left hand corner of your Windows 7 PC to launch the Start Menu. Type “Windows Virtual PC” into the search box as displayed in the below example image. Once Windows Virtual PC displays in the start menu click it to launch Windows Virtual PC which will display the Windows Virtual PC management window.
- Start Virtual Machine Creation: Click the Create Virtual Machine button in the top navigation bar of the Windows Virtual PC management window to launch the Create A Virtual Machine window as displayed in the below example image. Give the virtual machine a name similar to BT4 or BackTrack4, verify the path is correct, and then click the Next button.
- Specify Memory & Networking Options: The next window in virtual machine creation will be where memory is assigned and you specify if the VM should be able to use the computers network connections. I will be using Backtrack 4 fairly heavily and I have plenty of RAM to spare so I am allowing the BT4 VM to use 2GB of memory as displayed in the below image. We also leave the check in the check box so the VM can use the Windows networking connections. Once you have made the proper configuration changes click the Next button on the “Specify Memory and Networking Options” window.
- Add A Virtual Disk: The next window in the VM creation process is where you decide how the disk will be created and if the VM will use the Undo Disks feature. In this example with Backtrack 4 being installed we want to select the radio button next to “Create A Virtual Hard Disk Using Adavanced Options” and turn on the Undo Disks feature as shown in the below example image. The Undo Disk feature allows you to make changes to a single VM without applying those changes to all VM’s by storing those changes in a .VUD file which is a file that holds changes to a specific VM. After you have made the proper configuration changes click the Next button to continue.
- Select VM Disk Type: After the Next button was clicked above you will be taken to the “Choose the type of virtual hard disk to create” window which is where you will decide to create a fixed disk or a virtually expanding disk. In this example we will be creating a Fixed Disk for the Backtrack 4 Virtual Machine. Click the Fixed Size option to continue on.
- VM Name & Location: After selecting Fixed Size you will now verify the name and location of the Fixed Size virtual machine again as shown in the below example image. Verify both the name and virtual machine location are correct and click the Next button.
- Virtual Hard Disk Size: The next window displayed in virtual machine creation is where the size of the virtual hard disk will be specified. For this example I have decided to make the Backtrack 4 VM have a 15GB fixed disk which equates to 15,360 MB as shown in the below example image. If you want to make a different size fixed disk simply multiple the amount of GB’s you would like the disk to have by 1024 MB and enter the number in the Size field. After making the selection click the Create button to generate the fixed virtual hard disk for the Backtrack 4 virtual machine. This will begin the virtual hard disk creation as displayed in the image below which depending on the size of the disk could take awhile.
Once the virtual machine has been created successfully the below window will display which can be closed.
- Begin Backtrack 4 Installation: Double click on the BT4 VM from the Virtual. Insert Backtrack 4 DVD created in step 2. Click the “Ctrl-Alt-Del” button at the top of the VM.
After creating the virtual machine in Windows Virtual PC I noticed that it is possible to install operating systems onto the VM that was created directly from the ISO image. In theory you could skip steps one and two if that was the case though I have never tested this myself. Martin’s directions for installing Backtrack 4 once the virtual machine is created are very clear in the QD article “Backtrack 4 Final Installation in VMware with VMware tools” so I didn’t feel it was necessary to rewrite the same instructions in this article. Good luck and be sure to continue checking on Question Defense for future Backtrack articles as we are in process of writing dozens more that we have already outlined.
Joee
No one is too busy, it's just a matter of priority.