Intro

If you run Windows or OSX, there will be some Linux desktop tools you won’t be able to run. One way around this, is to install Centos in a virtual machine running on your desktop.

Creating a Virtualbox VM running Centos 7

The first step is to install Virtual Box.

Our VM will be running Centos. Once Virtual Box is installed and running, create a new VM.

Set the type of VM as Linux / Redhat and accept the defaults for the remaining options.

Open the VM’s settings page and set the ‘Network’ type to ‘Bridged Adapter’. This will let it communicate with other systems on your network.

Under the ‘Storage’ tab, set the optical drive to use the Centos 7 minimal ISO.

Start the virtual machine then follow the Minimal Centos 7 install guide.

Installing a GUI in Centos 7

Next, you’ll need to install a gui.

yum groupinstall "GNOME Desktop" "Graphical Administration Tools"

And have it start on boot.

ln -sf /lib/systemd/system/runlevel5.target /etc/systemd/system/default.target

Now reboot the VM.

Installing Virtualbox Guest Tools in Centos 7

The guest tools allow the VM to integrate with the host OS a little better.

To install the Virtualbox Guest Tools in Centos 7, first you need to install a few bits and pieces.

yum install epel-release
yum install gcc kernel-devel kernel-headers dkms make bzip2 perl

Next, from the Virtualbox window, select ‘Devices’, ‘Insert Guest Additions CD Image’ then allow the CD to run when the prompt pops up.

Once the installation is complete, restart the VM.