# Virtual machine creation

While any other VM software could be used, we're using VirtualBox because it allows us to do port forwarding through its NAT network, but for this to work automatically, we need VirtualBox's Guest Additions installed. It's also pretty fast, and easy to use. In theory, the same concept could work with QEMU, or VMWare, if you're brave enough.

# Preparation

Symlinks

If you need symlinks (i.e. running git, npm, yarn, etc. In a shared folder, or any app that creates or uses them) then you need to follow these instructions after installing VirtualBox, otherwise you're going to get permission errors when accessing or creating symlinks. And yes, this works with shared folders in NTFS drives.

If you don't think you'll need symlinks, you can skip this part.

You need to set these apps to run as administrator. They're usually located in C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox

VirtualBoxVM.exe
VirtualBox.exe
VBoxSVC.exe

To do this, just follow these steps on each file:

Right click
Properties
Compatibility (tab)
Run this program as administrator
OK

# Creating the VM

Open VirtualBox and attempt to create a new VM. When prompted, follow these instructions:

Name	Value	Description
VM Name	WSL2	You can type anything, just make note of it, we'll be using it later.
OS Type	Ubuntu (64-bit)	Could be different depending on the distro you want to use.
Memory	8 GB	Any size is good, depending on your distro's requirements and your host OS resources.
HDD Format	VDI	Anything works. VDI is preferred as it allows for dynamic HDD types.
VDI type	Dynamic	The file size will grow with the VM's HDD contents, just like WSL2's VHDX.
HDD space allocation	40 GB	Preferably, you would put here your total HDD space. It doesn't matter if you don't have it all free, that's just the maximum value it'll grow to. Just like WSL2, it'll use all the available space in your HDD.

Once it's done, you can look for the .vbox file created by Virtual Box (usually in %USERPROFILE\VirtualBox VMs) and move the .vdi and the .vbox files to another location if you so desire. Make sure to re-add the VDI in the VM's Storage section in case it throws errors. As of VirtualBox 6.1, I didn't have to do anything extra when doing this.

# Configuring the VM (before first boot)

Tab	Name	Value	Description
Basic	Boot order	1st CD/DVD, 2nd HDD. Disable all others.
Basic	Boot	Enable EFI
Advanced	Shared Clipboard	Drag & Drop: Bidirectional
Motherboard	Max cores	Max	Set to the max recommended value for your CPU (use the green bar as guide)
Motherboard	Enable PAE/NX	Yes
Motherboard	Enable Nested VT-x / AMD-v	Yes
Acceleration	Paravirtualization	KVM
Acceleration	Enable Nested Paging	Yes
Screen	Max video memory	Max
Screen	Enable 3D Acceleration	Yes
Storage	CD/DVD	Your distro ISO file
Storage	Controllers	VirtIO-SCSI	To do this, remove the default SATA controller, and add a new VirtIO-SCSI one. This way there's no I/O emulation for your HDD files. Once done, add your VDI file there. Also, mark as Solid State Drive (if possible).
Audio	Enabled	Yes/No	Depends on what you need
Network	NIC 1	virtio-net	Click on Advanced and then set the paravirtualization adapter as virtio-net, for max speed.
USB	Emulation	USB 3.0 xHCI