VirtualBox Portable, Running Hackintosh from USB Stick

[Passie]

VirtualBox Portable, Running Hackintosh from USB Stick

Lots of reading and various topics involved.

This is not an USB Install tutor, but on this USB Stick we make our running system portable. So you can simply run the operating system from a stick wherever you want. And no installs on the guest system needed
* This failled, I do get the operating system installed, but fear USB is too slow to handle the system. You do still get a portable system with working net and thus starting OS. But it is too slow to handle all tasks i fear. Yet many tricks in this essay lol. Thus if this topic interests you give it a read and i bet you'll learn many new things like, Unpacking a .ova file to get an OVF File, Re-Formatting your USB Stick so you can put 8 GB files on it. Normal FAT32 can not handle 4gb plus files, but in the article you will learn how to fix that. And you will learn how to make your VirtualBox portable and more. This is a work in progress, so don't expect a perfect end result yet. But we're close

I experienced that there are a lot of bugs in Virtual Operating System Tools like VirtualBox and VM Ware. On one version an installed program works fine, in another audio doesn't work. You try kext but even they don't seem to work, you think the kext is malfunctioning or the OS. But in my experience the version of your VM Machine is the cause most times. Try the same OS on another version and it might run like a Ferrari. So i started to look if there was a way to make the host program portable.

Well there is ! Amazing really, because this means we can put our preferred OS on a stick. And really take our whole system with us to another computer. But first let's learn how we can create a USB Stick that has many different versions of VBox. Then we have a load of versions that we can use if we have installation problems with an OS.

Phase 1:

As far as i understood it is not allowed to give links on the forum. But these are free tools and easy to find on search machines.
They also have a pictured tutor online.

Download Search:
Portable-VirtualBox, vbox
Then see "achive" to get 30 or so older versions till the latest

The extract of each version has the same folder output name Portable-VirtualBox. And after extraction we want the downloaded files to reach the right folder. So don't rename the install folder, just create a rootfolder and install in that, we need a rootfolder for the guest addons as well.

VirtualBox v 4.3.6/ Then extract will put the tool in there = Portable-VirtualBox

I will install many different versions on the same USB Stick, So need that name and if you don't do this then all versions end in the same folder lol
Thus it is important to create a uniquely named root folder for this to work !
 
Result example;

Now:
E:/VirtualBox v 4.3.6/Portable-VirtualBox

My next full portable version:
E:/VirtualBox_v4.3.18/Portable-VirtualBox

Extraction - Install location:

1) Download the wanted versions, i did all of them: Example= Portable-VirtualBox_v5.0.22-Starter_v6.4.10-Win_all
2) Click on the name and select the start and do Copy, to save the name
3) Now double click on the icon to start it
4) Click on the browse button of the 7-Zip self-extracting archive, and point to your USB Stick drive E: for me
5) Click ok and at the next box right click after E:\ Do paste = E:\Portable-VirtualBox_v5.0.22
6) Now click Extract

We only installed the basic 1.5 mb file, so now we are going to give the tool it's engine.
USB disk, Portable-VirtualBox_v5.0.22, Inside we find Portable-VirtualBox
Double click to start the tool

1) Do you agree that this tool is going to make changes Windows warning, do OK
2) Then you get asked what language you like to use for the installation, English for me
3) Now your on the Engine downloader application

- Mark 64-Bit system
- Mark Start Portable after the extractor

4) Now don't click OK, but click the higher part
Download installation files of VirtualBox

Under you will see that the app starts to download the 100 mb engine. This engine will be placed inside the main folder, right click the folder, see size. This takes 5 minutes or so to complete the download.

5) After the download completes click OK

Now the tool will copy and extract the download and the program will start. You might see some more small downloads, sys gets what it needs to run. So don't worry when you see tool does not react, move over it and you see it's still active. Takes about 4-6 minutes then your asked to restart the tool to adapt all paths, click ok
 
6) Now the program should start Portable-VirtualBox_v5.0.22 gave ma an error and did not start.
But i just went into the folder and started the application and it worked fine

Phase 2

How to load my system in there ?
If you had it running on VBox but have problems, export as ova in VBox. If you don't have a virtual machine, Microsoft gives free downloads for various .ova files. You can get win7 and Vista and win8 there, but you can obviously also use a Mac OS

OVA vs OVF

Some might have tried already to open an .OVA and saw you could only open OVF. An OVA is a packed version of an OVF file. Get and instal 7-zip the free extractor, right click the ova and do extract to the folder. There you have your VMDK and your OVF file, that VirtualBox can see at Import Appliance.

So on your computer you un7-zip the ova to get the needed ovf, Then load the ovf in the VirtualBox version of choice. While loading the portable program creates a harddisk in his own folder where the OS will be saved.

Tested with W98 and Win XP first obviously cos they are smaller as test OS. But as long as you run the tool incl OS on your harddrive it should work fine as portable tool to test if your OS will work in another version. So this part works ! You could use this method if you follow an install tutor on youtube. Then you use the same version as the tutor creator and you got a big chance it will install fine

Next we will search for the limits and try to install VirtualBox including an installed operating system on a USB Stick to make our OS completely portable incl installed tools. * This will work but i guess USB is too slow, but can play youtube and thus surf the net on it. Musician stuff like Sequencing was hard as you will read.

VirtualBox - Installing An Existing Machine

This did not work perfectly, but if it interests you here is all the info. You can learn many different things concerning this topic by reading it. I am sharing this so you don't have to confront the same problems i did. And because there are various tricks used that you can use for other purposes. I am seeking the boundaries of possibilities to Hackintoshing, and here you see me reaching one.

Start your VirtualBox-Portable version.

It might stop a couple of times ones you run it, then it fixes some paths.
Just open it again after such an error, i had to do it 3 times, then it started.

1) Start VirtualBox
2) Go to File and chose "Import Appliance"
3) At Appliance to import browse to your OVF file and do next
4) Now you see the OS you want to install, do Import and the OS will be saved in the machine
With Win98 this worked and with a normal Win XP install this works as well.
W98 has a size lower then 1 gb, my XP has soundpacks and softsynths installed thus 8 gb

Fixing limit of USB Stick to be able to put an 8 gb file on USB

I tried to save a 5 gb OS on a USB stick some times, then had to rar it to 700 mb parts. 5 gb was to big to put on the stick as 1 file, encountered this problem again on the 8 gb XP.

Failed to import appliance F:\OVA Operating systems\XP Music Station v01\XP Music Station v01.ovf.
Could not create the clone medium 'E:\Portable-Music-VirtualBox_v4.3.6\Portable-VirtualBox\data\.VirtualBox\
Machines\XP Pro Sp3 2014\XP Music Station v01-disk1.vmdk'.
VMDK: cannot write allocated data block in 'E:\Portable-Music-VirtualBox_v4.3.6\Portable-VirtualBox\data\
.VirtualBox\Machines\XP Pro Sp3 2014/XP Music Station v01-disk1.vmdk' (VERR_DISK_FULL).

The disk is not full, 24 gb free, but the USB Stick can't handle files bigger then 4 gb, So we have to use a work around !

* Failed, fix under it.
I will place the rarred OS on USB and then unrar it when it sits on the stick. We can't put a huge file on it but we can put it on it, when in parts. So ones all parts are on the stick, then i will try to unrar it on the stick, to see if that works.

 

Sum up:

So i will right click copy the whole folder Portable-Music-VirtualBox_v4.3.6 to my computer
Do Import Appliance on hard disk, rar, move to stick, unrar and use it

After importing the OS i will rar the whole folder Portable-Music-VirtualBox_v4.3.6, now 11.5 gb.
Right click add to achive, then Split to volumes in bites, CD 700 700 mb parts.
USB will accept dropping it on that way.

Conclusion and Fix:
That trick did not work as i found out after waiting for hours to unrar it haha. But i did some research and found a way to get it done, Format your empty USB Stick. The limitation on the USB Stick is not caused by the stick it self but by it's format. Fat32 is not made for big files so we need to use NTFS or exFAT

Mac OS X can read from NTFS drives, but it can’t write to them. For external drives, you should use exFAT instead. Mac OS X can natively read and write to exFAT drives, just like Windows can. Unfortunately exFAT is only supported on Mac OS 10.6.5 and later. exFAT is very similar to FAT but allows larger file sizes and larger disks (and some other stuff). Readable by: Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan and Sierra.

FAT32 has a maximum file size of 4 GB, and the Windows format restricts the maximum FAT32 volume size to 32 GB.

Format to exFAT:

1) Right click Windows Start and open disk manager
2) Select the USB Stick it's volume and click format
3) Give your drive a name BIG i called mine
4) Change FAT32 to exFAT and do ok, 3 sec and it is formatted

 

Command Prompt: For if the above method did not work, worked fine for me.
If K: is a USB flash device plugged into your computer, you can type format k: /fs:exfat to format the device using exFAT.

 

If you wish to format external hard drive in exFAT follow the steps below.
1. Right click on start and select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type format g: /FS:exFAT and then Enter to begin formatting the G drive as exFAT

Ok now let's do it and test if the USB Stick is even fast enough to run XP in this test example. After getting it running the first thing we do on PC is install the Guest Additions. Devices on the bottom on VirtualBox

While installing i had to replace some drivers of newer versions of the guest addon. This is probably because i used the new additions pack on the machine that i used to create this XP. So i replaced the newer ones, can always install the newer version again

I first download Firefox and install it, then i already see that it takes a long time to install it. So i fear my doubts are valid and the USB Stick or connection can't handle running a whole system on it. And then streaming Virtual Synthesizers will be even harder, but i go on testing the net first.

Installed Firefox and now playing a youtube video, clear sound no stuttering at all, so great. Now the big test, does my music Sequencer work and how manny audiotrax will i be able to play. Rebirth 303 works fine on it on my test, so hopeful. Does my USB Midi Keyboard work, Dj Controller already works as my youtube sound comes from it. So that still works, next test

In VirtualBox go to Devices\USB Devices and sellect the USB Midi Keyboard, i don't select my Audiocard yet. Already hear it through the mixer-audio card, so trying it natural first. But first go to Control Panel/Sound and Audio Devices/Audio

MIDI music playback, Default device:
Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth is selected, i change that to my USB Device
*My USB Midi Keyboard will not load yet, so this takes time again. Pulling USB wire out and plugging it in again to refresh.

Still no go, so i will install the newest Guest Additions to see if that helps. Because i replaced the newer drivers on install and know it worked well with them. So i download; VBoxGuestAdditions_5.1.8, Double click the ISO and it mounts so i can install it. If it does not on your Windows get Deamon Lite and install that first. Then let the operating system reboot

Still non working USB bummer, song plays fine, but record it also will stop half way. So i do miss the lack of power while running on USB.
Thus this works for surfing the net and for creating beats manually. But to record your session you need to save your song to pc and open and record on that.

My next step will be to close the USB version and run the VirtualBox in original form on hard disk. I should have done this first but used this version as installed version and all was fine. So now on to testing if it is because of us running it on USB or a bad version again.

Will also create a Mini Music Station XP, with minimal tools inside to get an 1 gb Xp. Saves a lot of time while testing and ones it works we just install the full version. We now know how to put a 10 gb file on USB, so that will be no problem.

And remember if it works on disk it is still portable.
Then you only need to take it from USB and put it on the host system hard disk

I get the same error while loading my USB Midi Keyboard on the hard drive, So is a version problem. Thus i will try various versions to find one that will host my USB connection. And will try the whole procedure again then cos i'm still curious if it can be done or not.

Last TIP - Remember this very well !  
Ones you need to add a code for the install to bypass restrictions, chose the right version !
We are no longer working on C:\Program Files but now we use
cd "E:\Portable-Music-VirtualBox_v4.3.6\Portable-VirtualBox"

NOT
cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"

I hope my research into this topic helped you as reader to learn something new. And who knows, this might actually still be possible. Now you know how you could test this for yourself if your interested in the outcome as well. I will try on running XP and ones i tried all options then i will edit the topic with the final conclusions or i'll add a reply. Greets, Passie