How to Connect the Host Hard Drive to a VirtualBox OS

How to Connect the Host Hard Drive to a VirtualBox Guest OS

VirtualBox from Oracle is an amazing and free application if you like testing different operating systems without messing up your original operating system or Master Boot Record (MBR). VirtualBox is also useful if you like to test operating systems before their final release. 
However, most people want to connect their host hard disk drives to the guest operating system. For your information, the host OS is the operating system you’re actually using, while the Guest OS refers to the OS virtually installed inside VirtualBox. 

We’ve used Windows 7 as the host operating system and Windows XP as the guest OS. Let’s begin.

Step 1 : Install Guest Additions

First off, you need to start up the operating system you want to connect your hard disk drives to. Choose your OS and click the start button. When the OS is ready, click Devices  

> Install Guest Additions.

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Clicking this will prompt the Guest Addition setup menu on Windows XP (Guest OS). Install the guest addition and reboot your guest OS as required.

Step 2 : Share Folder

When installed and rebooted, click Devices again and choose Shared Folders.



A box will open. Simply click the add icon (+ sign) on the right. From the Folder Path pull down menu, click Other.



A folder browser (similar to Windows Explorer) will open up. From here, you can select any hard drive or any folder inside a hard drive. Upon selecting click OK.

Step 3 : Connect to Shared Folder

Now, VirtualBox has shared the selected hard drive/folder (in our case, E drive) with the guest OS. You now need to access it. To do so, go to My Computer and in Other Places, right click on My Network Places and choose Map Network Drive.



Here in the Drive box, you have to select a Drive letter for the folder/hard disk drive you’re connecting to. You can choose randomly or select as your choice from the pull down menu. From the Folder box, click the browse button and click the plus sign on the left of ‘VirtualBox Shared Folders’ and then ‘\\vboxsvr’.
This will show you a list of folders or hard drives shared with the guest OS. Click the one you want to connect to and click OK. On the Map Network Drive, make sure the Reconnect at logon checkbox is checked if you want to automatically connect to this drive each time your guest OS starts up.

Step 4 : Access Shared Folder

You’re done! Now, go to My Computer and you’ll be able to access the hard disk drive of your computer right from the guest operating system installed inside VirtualBox.


I hope it was easy for you to follow this tutorial and now you are able to access your hard disk and install any software from your local hard disk drive.

-Harry

Installing Microsoft SharePoint Foundation

Installing Microsoft SharePoint Foundation

Note: Microsoft SharePoint Foundation (MSF) can be only installed on a 64-bit hardware

Recently i installed MSF on my local system , I just sharing my exp about how to install MSF. Installation and configuration of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. We will complete this tutorial in four main steps as:
      1.     Hardware and Software requirements
      2.     Pre-requisites
      3.     Installation
      4.     Post Setup Configuration



1.     Hardware and Software requirements

Microsoft SharePoint Foundation (MSF) can be only installed on a 64-bit hardware and Microsoft provides the detailed hardware and software requirements in the following TechNet article.This is the new name for Windows SharePoint Services V4.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485(office.14).aspx#section2

2.     Pre-requisites

In this release Microsoft has included a Prerequisite Installer (Preparation Tool) which will take care of all the pre-requisites which are required to setup a SharePoint Server.The tool would connect to Internet to download and install any prerequisites as well as enabling and configuring any Windows features and roles required by setup. Also the administrator can override this if the necessary software is already present in the hard disk or in a network location.
The Preparation Tool executable, Prerequisiteinstaller.exe, is located at the root of the setup folder. It can also be launched from the setup splash screen.When you run the Prerequisiteinstaller.exe /? , the following screen is shown which will list the command-line parameters that can be used with this executable.



You can also install the pre-requisite from a folder if it is already downloaded from the internet and the SharePoint server doesn’t have internet access.

C:\setup\prerequinstaller.exe /IDFX:c:\GenevaFramework.amd64.msi

It is possible to include multiple file location parameters for the different components. In the following example, we've also added local file location parameter for both the IDFX and Sync framework:

C:\setup\prerequinstaller.exe /IDFX:c:\GenevaFramework.amd64.msi /SYNC c:\sync.msi

To install the Pre-requisites, run the prerequisiteinstaller.exe in the installation media of SharePoint or run the Splash which will provide you the following screen.



Click on the “Install Software prerequisites” option which will start the installation of the necessary pre-requisites.



You can get the download link for each of the required product when you click Learn more about these prerequisites in the above screen.

Click Next will start the download and installation of pre-requisites from the internet.



Accept the EULA and click Next and this will start the installation of the required product.



Some of them may require a Restart and the pre-requisite installer will continue once the system is restarted.



There is a link called “Review the log file” in the above screen which will help to find out any issue with the installation of the Pre-requisites.Once the installation is complete, you will see the following screen and it means that all the required Pre-requisites are installed and configured on the server and you can start the installation of SharePoint.

Installation of SharePoint Server 2010

When installing SharePoint Foundation, there are primarily three setup options.Following is a short description of each type of installation:

Standalone Installation:

  SQL Server 2008 Express Edition is the database type automatically installed (instead of Windows Internal Database/SQL Server 2005 Embedded Edition used in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0).   This is almost a “one-click” installation, no questions are asked during setup or during Post Setup Configuration Wizard (PSConfig)
A Web application and team site collection are automatically created in the newly created farm. The search service is started automatically.
Cannot add servers to join a farm.
When the installation is complete, the browser opens taking you to a newly created site collection. Installer is not prompted for farm passphrase, it is automatically generated.
Standalone Same as Basic installation, except it allows changing installation directory location. Complete SQL Server 2005 SP2/SQL Server 2008 is the database type, not installed by setup.
Administrator can pick whether or not to create a site and the site template to use.
Prompted for farm passphrase during PSConfig phase of installation. The farm passphrase will be discussed later in this document.
To run setup you must at minimum be a local administrator on the computer where SharePoint Server 2010 is installed.



Run the Splash from the setup media which will show the above screen and click on “Install SharePoint Foundation” which will start the installation process.



-Harry