Running Linux on Windows with coLinux.

Cooperative Linux is the first free and open source platform that can run Linux on Windows natively and independently. This is actually a port of the kernel that can emulate a Linux cooperatively on a Microsoft Windows operating system in my opinion is an excellent and simple alternative to commercial products like VMware.

In this article we will see in detail how to install version 0.6.2 of coLinux on Windows XP and how to configure the network support.

1. Before you start is very good practice to set a restore point in Windows.
2. Download and install WinPcap 3.1 which will be 'used by coLinux to activate and manage the bridging network. If you have a previous version installed you should uninstall it before proceeding with the new installation.
   Once installed WinPcap 3.1 Reboot the system (though not strictly necessary).
3. Download 's installer of coLinux 0.6.2 from SourceForge and run it.
4. After agreeing to the terms of the license, we reach the first configuration screen, which should be set as indicated by the image below:
   
5. We proceed through the selection of the path of installation (if you can set "C: \ Program Files \ coLinux"):
   
6. The next screen and reminds us that 'must download and install WinPcap, a task which we have already' done initially (see 2) and therefore we can proceed safely ignore the message. The next step will provide 'to create the directory and copy files.
   
7. At this point, if everything 'went well you should see the final screen that tells us that the installation' completed successfully.
   
8. We shall now proceed to download the root filesystem to be installed.
   There are especially two linux prepared and tested to run on coLinux: Debian and Gentoo. For our installation we will choose a distro Debian (this is a Debian 3.0 with kernel 2.6) and that 'can be downloaded from this link. Once you download the compressed filesystem will 'need to unpack (If you have a decompression program can handle bz2 files and' can use winrar) in the coLinux directory to keep the name "Debian-3.0r2.ext3-mit - backports.1gb. Warning: the file will unpack 'a dimension of about one gigabyte: Make sure you have enough disk space before proceeding.
9. It remains finally to download a file swap. E 'can download the swap size preferred by this link.. An indication for a PC with a gigabyte of RAM you can 'opt for a swap file to 512M. Even in this case the downloaded file andra 'unpacked directory colinux.
   In the following step we will refer to the 512Mb swap file "swap_512Mb.
10. Processes modify the configuration file "default.colinux.xml" as follows (this configuration is' valid in the case where the paths are maintained and the names of the files listed):
    
    The attribute "name" tag "network" must contain a substring belonging to the name of your network connection (not wi-fi) which will activate Windows' bridging (Control Panel -> Network Connections). Since 'cases almost always standard Windows assigns the name "Local Area Connection", in our case we have included the string "Local Area Connection (LAN)."
11. Configuration needs to start coLinux and 'finished. E 'can now start our Debian with the command (which we suggest to insert in a file. Bat or cmd):
    start "coLinux" / Dc: \ Program Files \ colinux / min colinux-daemon.exe-c default.colinux.xml
    Once started coLinux we will be faced with a text console with a login prompt:
    
12. The last important thing to do and 'the network configuration.
    Login on the console with user "root" and password "root" and then type the command:
    editor / etc / network / interfaces
    Although you can set the connection to a DHCP server you should use a static IP. Moreover, because 'bridging to work with Windows and' must give coLinux a ip address belongs to the same subnet as the Windows Network Connection For example, if the IP address of network adapter bridging on Windows and '192.168.9.10 in the file "interfaces" will go in an IP address like 192.168.9 .*.
    Here's an example:

    auto lo
    iface lo inet loopback
    iface eth0 inet static
    address 192.168.9.11
    netmask 255.255.255.0
    gateway 192.168.9.1
    
    Exit editor saves the changes and set your DNS:
    editor / etc / resolv.conf

    Finally restart the network interface using the following commands:
    ifdown eth0
    ifup eth0

13. You're done! We now have a virtual machine running on a Debian distribution quietly.