Run installer without actually booting from the media

[SkyHiRider]

I've got an bootable iso that can install a Linux distro. Any way to launch the installer (simulate booting) while on an actual running system? I want to install the distro (to another free partition) in the background while still using my current installation for work.

[nujinini]

I've got an bootable iso that can install a Linux distro. Any way to launch the installer (simulate booting) while on an actual running system? I want to install the distro (to another free partition) in the background while still using my current installation for work.

Hello!

One of your choices is that you can install other distro in VirtualBox. YOu can simulate booting, use it even as another distro while keeping your current one still healthy.

Hope this helps!

[devils casper]

VirtualBox is a good option but you must have enough RAM and good specs for it. Which OS are you using right now and which OS are you planning to install?
Post your machine's specs here.

[SkyHiRider]

VirtualBox is a good option but you must have enough RAM and good specs for it. Which OS are you using right now and which OS are you planning to install?
Post your machine's specs here.

Thanks for the replies and hello to you too . I know I can use Virtualbox or KVM for that matter (have yet to make x64 isos work on KVM thou) but I have a silly idea:

Whenever a new distro release is out (Be it Ubuntu or any other, I like to experiment) I want to install it to my other unused partition and mount my existing /home partition as the home of the new distro.

This strategy would allow me to have two root partitions, and I can either use them for backups (If I break stuff on root partition A, I will have a functioning backup made on partition B using rsync). I know I can mount a physical directory or disk in a virtual machine but unsure how that would go as I would need to mount root, home and swap in the virtual machine. The best otpion for me would be to somehow invoke the installer on my running Ubuntu and make it use existing partitions.

I know it takes just a few minutes to install using an usb stick but I would like to streamline and improve it a bit if I can, could even use this strategy on upgrading servers if I make it work.

Cheers.

Oh an my system is a E5200@3.5GHz, 4 gigs of ram and an ATI 6850 running Ubuntu 10.10 x64 (I got the manpower to run a VM or two )

[SkyHiRider]

A little update here (a bit off topic). It seems the CPU needs to have Intel VT for KVM to work (need to modprobe kvm-intel) which my cpu sadly lacks. Oh poo. Any other way to run a 64 bit guest on a cpu without Intel VT?