In the past, the only way to have Windows and Linux coexist on a single computer was to dual boot your system. This forced you to log out and reboot every time you wanted to switch between the operating systems. Creating a Virtual Machine allows the two to coexist happily on the same laptop.

There are two sets of system requirements for VirtualBox, the system requirements to actually install the software, and the system requirements for the guest operating system. You can install the virtualization software with the minimum system requirements, but to actually run one or more guest OS, it is good to remember that more is always best...