VirtualBox VM Has Been Booting for 20–30 Minutes on Linux—What Should I Check?

Make sure you’ve actually installed a Windows operating-system image in the virtual machine. VirtualBox only provides the virtual hardware; it doesn’t include Windows, and Power BI Desktop needs Windows. You may need to create the VM, attach a Windows ISO, install Windows, and then install Power BI. If that setup is too much for the deadline, check whether the web version of Power BI meets the requirements of the case study.

VirtualBox isn’t the only option on Linux. KVM/QEMU with virt-manager, or tools built around QEMU such as quickemu, can perform better when hardware virtualization is enabled. VMware Workstation is another possibility, though switching software won’t remove the need to install and license Windows first.

First, check whether hardware virtualization is enabled in your computer’s BIOS or UEFI settings. Look for Intel VT-x, AMD-V, or SVM and enable it if it’s off. Without that, virtual machines can be extremely slow or fail to boot properly.

In the VM settings, check how many virtual CPU cores and how much RAM it has been assigned. Giving it too few resources can make installation painfully slow, but don’t assign every core or all of the host computer’s memory. Also check whether it’s stuck on a blank screen or showing an installer; if there’s no visible progress after half an hour, shutting it down and reviewing the VM configuration may be necessary.