Quartus can run surprisingly well on Mac when paired with Virtualbox and Ubuntu. Unlike other solutions using Windows and Parallels, all of the software used in this method is completely free! There are a few hurdles to overcome in order to get everything running correctly, however this guide will walk you through all of the necessary steps. Following is the step-by-step guide for you to install Ubuntu on VirtualBox on Mac OSX: At first open your VirtualBox app. When VirtualBox opens, click the New button. Give your “virtual machine” a name (something descriptive is good, but it doesn’t matter). Make sure the Type: is set to Linux and the Version: is Ubuntu (64 bit). Download Ubuntu Vmware (VMDK, VHD) and VirtualBox (VDI) ready-to-use images for free. Run Ubuntu as secondary OS on your primary operating system. How to Create an Ubuntu Virtual Machine With VirtualBox (Mac): The following instructions will enable you to create an Ubuntu virtual machine. They have been created specifically for a Mac computer, but are essentially the same for Windows. As you follow the instructions, you will see they have been adapted so. Mac OS is a computer operating system developed by Apple.This is a operating system with beautiful interface, however, to own a the computer of Apple with this operating system, you need to use a lot of money, normally with the double price than that of common computers using Windows operating system.Fortunately, you can experience the Mac OS right on your computer by installing a Mac OS.
This in depth guide will take you every step of the way through installing Ubuntu Linux on your Mac, by way of VirtualBox – a free and outstanding program. Using this method you’ll be able to run Ubuntu and macOS at the same time!
Please note: although this guide was initially authored in 2015, it has been updated (2020) to be current. The following guide uses Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS “Bionic Beaver”, but the steps and screenshots are nearly identical for most versions of Ubuntu, up to including 20.04.1 LTS.
Using this method to install Ubuntu not only allows you to run it and macOS at the same time, you can really try out Ubuntu – and if you don’t like it – very easily get rid of it. Plus, it will not affect the files in macOS itself at all. None of the data on your Mac is at risk of being deleted or altered. The entire process is actually quite straightforward – and all of the software involved is free – so why not give it a shot :)
- Before you get started, there are a few things that should be noted up front.
- Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it might take a while to download Ubuntu. During the actual installation process, based on the version of Ubuntu you opt to install – you may have to spend some time downloading updates as well.
- The installation time is about 20 minutes, depending on the speed of your Mac, amount of memory etc. You may want to make yourself a cup of coffee or tea before you start.
- Running both Ubuntu and macOS at the same time will “slow down” your Mac. The more memory you have and the faster your CPU and/or hard drive is, the less you’ll notice it.
Let’s get started!- First up, head over to the Ubuntu download page and download Ubuntu.
- Now you’ll need to download and install VirtualBox. Visit their download page and click the link OS X hosts (which is the current stable version). Once the download has completed, open the .dmg file and run the installer – the installation is as easy as clicking ‘next’ a bunch of times. When installation is done, launch VirtualBox from your Applications folder.
- When VirtualBox opens, click the New button.
- Give your “virtual machine” a name (something descriptive is good, but it doesn’t matter). Make sure the Type: is set to Linux and the Version: is Ubuntu (64 bit). Then click the Continue button.
- Now you’re going to decide how much memory (RAM) you’re going to allocate to Ubuntu when it’s running, and how much to leave for macOS. As illustrated in the screenshot below, my total RAM is 4GB, so I allocated half of it to Ubuntu, and the other half to macOS. The more memory you give to Ubuntu, the faster it will run. The drawback is that macOS will have less to use while Ubuntu is running. At a minimum, give Ubuntu at 1GB (1024MB) of RAM. When you’ve decided how much memory (RAM) to give Ubuntu, click the Continue button.
- On the Hard drive screen, select Create a virtual hard drive now and then click Create.
- Now select VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) and click Continue
- Select Dynamically allocated and yep – you guessed it – click Continue
- Use the “slider” to determine the size you want to make the “hard drive” for Ubuntu. At a minimum, you’ll want to select 6GB – and that will not allow for you to install many programs, let alone store files etc. Keep in mind that because you selected “Dynamically allocated” in the previous step, that does not mean that VirtualBox is going to take up that space right away. It means that as Ubuntu needs more space, it will allow the “hard drive” to increase up to whatever size you set at this step.As illustrated in the screenshot below, I opted to give Ubuntu 10GB. That’s enough for the installation and to install quite a few programs. Since I won’t be “storing” many files in Ubuntu (movies, pictures, music etc) – 10GB will suit my needs. Plus, I have a small hard drive on my MacBook Air. If you have a big hard drive, you might as well allocate more rather than less, again – the space won’t be used until it’s needed. After you’ve made your selection, click Create.
- Almost time to install Ubuntu! Click the Start button.
- If you’re using macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later, you’re going to need to ‘allow’ Virtualbox to receive keystrokes from any application (which is completely safe). Click the Open System Preferences button.
- Click the ‘lock’ icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. After entering your password, place a check in the box next to the Virtualbox item in the list.
- Click Later when prompted.
- Back in Virtualbox you’ll be prompted to locate a file. Click the “folder” icon next to menu that says Empty (see screenshot below).
- Again, if you’re using macOS 10.15 or later, you’ll be prompted to grant permission for Virtualbox to access a folder. Click OK. You may be prompted to do this several more times – just click OK each time.
- Navigate to the Ubuntu .iso file that you downloaded all the way back in step #1. Select it, and click Open
- Now click Start
- Finally! Click Install Ubuntu
- Select your keyboard layout and preferred language then click Continue
- Make sure to place a check in both of the boxes – Download updates while installing Ubuntu and Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware and additional media formats – then click the Continue button.
- Select Erase disk and install Ubuntu. NOTE: this is not going to ‘wipe out’ or erase any data in macOS. None. It is safe to click Install Now, so do just that.
- Click Continue
- When prompted, select your Time Zone and then click Continue
- Fill in each field with the required information. When you’re done, Continue
- Now it’s time to sit back and relax with that cup of coffee or tea. This may take a bit.
- Yay! It’s done! Click Restart Now
- Hit Enter (the ‘return’ key on your keyboard) when prompted.
- And you’ll boot into Ubuntu! Enter your password when prompted.
- Welcome to the Ubuntu Desktop! At this point you should be connected to the Internet and completely ready to go – have fun!
Oracle VirtualBox is a cross-platform virtualization application. It installs on your existing Intel or AMD-based computers, whether they are running Windows, Mac, Linux or Solaris operating systems. VirtualBox can create and run a 'guest' operating system (virtual machine) in a window of the host operating system. The virtual machine provides a self-contained environment in which to experiment with new software without risking damaging changes to the host operating system.
We will give an instruction with step-by-step screenshots to show how to install VirtualBox with an example of installing Ubuntu OS as a guest machine. We also explain how to share files between the host and guest operating systems.
Downloads
Note the instruction here is based on the latest version of the VirtualBox. If you have already installed an earlier version of VirtualBox, your experience may be different. It is recommended to use the latest version of VirtualBox to avoid issues. The VirtualBox forum is a good place to find a solution if you see any problems.
Go to VirtualBox website here to download the binary for your current operating system. Since our host machine is running on Windows, I'll choose 'x86/amd64' from Windows hosts. When download is finished, run the executable file. Continue with the installation of VirtualBox with the defaults. This will open VirtualBox at the end of the installation.
Create Virtual Machine
Click 'New' button to open a dialog.
Type a name for the new virtual machine. Since I am planning to install Ubuntu 14.04, I'll enter 'ubuntu1404'. Note that VirtualBox automatically changes 'Type' to Linux and 'Version' to 'Ubuntu (64 bit)'. These two options are exactly what we need.
The memory size depends on your host machine memory size. In my case, I have 12GB physical RAM. I like to allocate as much as possible for Ubuntu but leave some for my Windows host machine. I pick 8192 MB for my Ubuntu. Note that VirtualBox will create a swap partition with the same amount space as base memeory you have entered here. So later when you are selecting the size of the virtual hard drive, make sure it is large enough since the hard drive will be splitted into root (/)and swap partitions. The root partition contains by default all your system files, program settings and documents.
Accept the default 'Create a virtual hard drive now' and click 'Create' button.
Continue to accept the default 'VDI' drive file type and click 'Next' button.
Change the storage type from the default 'Dynamically allocated' to 'Fixed size' to increase performance.
For the virtual hard drive space, the default value is 8GB which is too little for RNA-Seq analysis. I'll pick 100GB since I have plenty of space in my hard disk. You want to choose a good size for your RNA-Seq analysis. If you realize the drive space is not large enough, you'll need to go over these steps again to create another virtual machine.
Click 'Create' button and VirtualBox will generate Ubuntu virtual machine.
Now the virtual machine is created. We are ready to install Ubuntu in this virtual machine. Select your new virtual machine and click 'Settings' button. Click on 'Storage' category and then 'Empty' under Controller:IDE. Click 'CD/DVD' icon on right hand side and select the ubuntu ISO file to mount.
Note that if you have not downloaded 64-bit Ubuntu ISO file, you can check out this page for more information. When downloading Ubuntu ISO file, make sure to selecte 64-bit version. Also make sure the VT-x/Virtualization Technology has been enabled in your computer's BIOS/Basic Input Output System.
Since Tophat program can take an advantage of multiple processors/threads, it is a good idea to specify a large number of processors in virtual machine (default value is 1). You can change this number by clicking on 'System' category. In this case, I change the number of CPUs to 4 since 4 is the largest value shown on the green bar in my case. Now you can click 'OK' button to continue.
VirtualBox may pop up a message about 'Auto capture keyboard' option. Read the message there and check 'Do not show this message again' option before clicking OK.
Install Ubuntu
Back to Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager, click on the new Ubuntu virtual machine and hit 'Start' button. Now you shall see a 'Welcome' screen. Click 'Install Ubuntu' button. Note that the installation process may differ a little bit from version to version. The screenshots here are based on Ubuntu 14.04.1.
Click 'Continue' button.
Make sure 'Erase disk and install Ubuntu' option is selected and click 'Install Now' button.
Ubuntu For Mac
Ubuntu will ask you a few questions. If the default is good, click 'Continue' button.
In 'Who are you?' dialog, enter your preferred name, username and password. Note that this user will have root/sudo privilege. Click 'Continue' button.
The installation will continue until it is finished.
After installation is complete, click 'Restart Now' button. When you see a screen with a black background saying 'Please remove installation media and close the tray (if any) then press ENTER:', just follow it.
Enter the password you have chosen and press 'Enter'.
The Ubuntu Desktop OS is ready. You may find the desktop screen is too small. Don't worry. You can solve this easily with 'VirtualBox Guest Additions'.
More About VirtualBox
Guest Additions
After the Ubuntu guest machine is installed, you will find the Ubuntu OS screen size is not extendable and you are not able to share folders between the host machine and Ubuntu.
Guest Additions software provide additional capability to a guest virtual machine, including mouse pointer integration, better video support, share folders, share clipboard, et al.
Before we proceed to install Guest Additions, make sure the current user has sudo/root privilege. If the current user does not have sudo/root privilege or it is not sure, run the following terminal command from an account (such as the user created when Ubuntu was first created; see the screenshot of 'Who are you?' above) with root privileges to enable the root privilege for the current user where USERNAME should be replaced by the current user's name.
To install Guest Additions, click Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD images…
Click 'Run' button (next to 'Cancel' button) to start the installation. Note that the version of VBOXADDITIONS should be matched with the one of VirtualBox you have installed.
Installing Guest Additions requires root privilege. Enter user's password (assume the current user has sudo privilege).
When the installation is finished, press Return key to close the terminal window.
Now prepare to restart the system to enable the change. Click 'Shutdown' on the menu and then the 'Restart' button.
After rebooting Ubuntu, you will see the desktop resolution is much better.
Share Folders
Before you can enable shared folders on the host machine, make sure you have installed VirtualBox Guest Additions software on the guest machine.
When Ubuntu guest machine is on, click on Devices > Shared folders settings…
Select Machine Folders and hit the add button (plus sign).
Download Ubuntu Virtual Machine Virtualbox
Browse to the folder you wish to access from the guest machine. Check Auto-mount and Make Permanent options and click OK button.
Click OK button once more.
Now type 'terminal' in Dash to open a Terminal.
Ubuntu
Download Ubuntu
Type the following line in the Terminal to add a user to 'vboxsf' group. This step is necessary in order to use the VB's 'Shared Folder' feature.Replace 'brb' with your account name in Ubuntu.When you are done, restart the Ubuntu guest machine and go to /media/ directory. From Nautilus (file manager in Ubuntu), click Computer > File System > Media folder and inside it you will see a folder beginning with sf_ (the folder name is sf_Downloads in our example). Now you can transfer files between the Ubuntu guest machine and the Windows host machine in Nautilus.
Although Shared Folder system in VirtualBox is a nice feature, using VirtualBox shared folder directly for fastq data, annotation or output directorycan significantly reduce the performance compared to a native (Ubuntu) system or VirtualBox native system.
BRB-SeqTools
Installing Ubuntu On Virtualbox
After Ubuntu has been successfully installed on VirtualBox, users can be go back to download and use BRB-SeqTools program.