- Once the CentOS is downloaded, it is ready to be installed on VirtualBox. Open VirtualBox, click the “New” button to create a new virtual machine. Enter the name of the virtual machine in “Name” textbox e.g. Now automatically, “Type” will be selected as “Linux” and version will be chosen as “Red Hat (64-bit).
- CentOS is a Linux operating system, which is a 100% compatible rebuild of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux. A user can download and use this enterprise-level operating system free of cost. The CentOS project has announced a new update to the distribution, releasing CentOS 7.9 which is derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9.
If you don’t want to install around 4GB or 9.5GB ISO file of CentOS 7 then, use the 900 MB ISO image to install the minimal version with only the base package on your server.
The 32-bit edition of CentOS 7.1-1503 is currently in the Beta stages of development, so it has been made available for download only as a boot.iso image that basically allows you to boot the operating system and then start adding packages from the Internet to get a complete installation.
On one hand, where CentOS 8 Linux will stop getting further updates in December of this year, CentOS 7 Linux still has a long time to reach the end of its life that is stipulated in 2024. Thus, if you want to start with this server Linux distro then still you have enough time, and here will let you know how to install CentOS 7 minimal version on Server, PC, or VirtualBox.
Contents
- Step by Step CentOS 7 Minimal server installation on PC or VertiuaBox
Step by Step CentOS 7 Minimal server installation on PC or VertiuaBox
1. Download from the index of CentOS 7 Minimal ISO 64-bit
The option to download the minimal ISO of this server is available on CentOS 7 official index mirror page along with the full-fledged ISO and Net-installer version. Here is the official mirror links page, visit and select any of the available ones. After opening any link select the minimal version to download.
First, we prepare or set CentOS 7 minimal ISO as an installation medium. Go with as per your system…
2. CentOS 7 PC or Server installation
If you are planning to install CentOS 7 on a PC, laptop, or server machine then you need a bootable USB that contains its installation files. Thus, follow the below steps for Windows or Linux. For more details, you can see: How to install balenaEtcher on Linux
Here we are using Etcher that is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The installation of this software is any regular software just double click on its setup, even for Linux distros.
- Plug USB drive to the system
- Open Etcher bootable USB maker
- Select the ISO image and then the USB stick that you want to use
- Finally, click on the Flash button.
3. Create VirtualBox VM
Those who want to install CentOS 7 minimal version on VirtualBox, first need to create its VM and use its ISO files as the booting medium. Here are the steps to follow.
- Open VirtualBox
- Click on the New icon and then give some name to your machine. Select Type Linux and version– Redhat 64 bit.
- Assign the amount of RAM you want to use, 2GB will be good.
- Create a Virtual Hard disk. Leave all the default options as it is, just simply clicks on the Next button two times.
- At the “File location and size” set the disk to 20 GB or more as per your purpose of installing this Linux server.
4. Set ISO as a bootable medium
For PC or laptop: Insert the bootable USB you have created and restart your system to boot with it.
For VirtualBox: Once you have created the virtual machine, select it from the left side panel and then click on the Settings icon given in the VirtualBox menu.
- Select Storage and then the CD icon.
- After that again click on the CD/DVD icon given under Attributes and select “Choose/Create a Virtual Optical Disk“.
- Click Add, select the downloaded CentOS 7 ISO.
- Now, again select it from the file area and click on the Choose button.
- After this simply click on the Start button.
5. Select Install CentOS 7 boot option
As you boot the machine, there will be an option to run the installer for CentOS 7, select that to move forward.
6. Select Language
Set the language for the installation.
7. Installation Destinatuion
Click on the Destination option and select the hard disk where you want to install the operating system.
8. Network configuration & hostname
This is also important to set up otherwise later you have to enable it manually which will be a headache for new users. Thus, select it and then enable the toggle button given for Ethernet.
9. Begin installation
Finally, click on the blue color installation button to start the setup process.
10. Root & User
While the installation is going on select the Root options and set the password for it. In the same way, create a standard system user with sudo access as well.
Once done, Eject the ISO image for that go to Devices-> Optical Drive, and select the CentOS 7 image. This will give you a pop-up to force mount it. After that Reboot the system.
Centos 7 Virtualbox
Insall GUI on CentOS 7 mininal server
In case you would like to have a Graphical user interface on CentOS 7 after its installation because in minimal version there will be a command-line interface then follow the below steps:
Once done restart the system and login as Cinnamon…
To install CentOS, we need to download and connect the CentOS ISO image file to the virtual CD/DVD drive of the VirtualBox Virtual Machine and make sure that the system chooses that CD/DVD drive at boot time.
4.1 Configuring the Boot OrderIndex
Open the Settings window.
In the left hand navigation pane, go to System
Go to the tab that says Motherboard
In the box labelled Boot Order: Uncheck the Floppy and use the right hand arrow buttons to move Floppy to the third spot, under Hard Disk. Make the CD/DVD (checked) first, the Hard Disk (checked) second, the Floppy (not checked) third, and the Network (not checked) last.
Make sure only the CD/DVD and Hard Disk are enabled.
Click OK.
4.2 Connect the CentOS ISO file to the virtual CD/DVD driveIndex
Open the Settings window.
In the left hand navigation pane, go to Storage
Hackintosh Virtualbox Image Download
Under Storage, you will see Storage Tree with a Controller:IDE, and inside the Controller is your VM name and under that is a poorly shown visual CD drive icon with Empty beside it.
- Click on the CD line, where it says Empty. A new Attributes and Information section opens on the right in the same window.
Centos 32 Bit Download For Virtualbox Free
In the right hand pane, under Attributes, beside CD/DVD Drive, you will see a box containing IDE Secondary Master. There is a tiny CD icon on the right of this box. Click on the CD icon to open a menu that lets you set the path to your downloaded CentOS CD ISO image file.
Use the menu to navigate to your previously downloaded CentOS ISO image file and select it. The window will close and you will return to the Storage settings window.
Verify that in the Storage settings window, on the right under Information, you see Size: 339.00 MB (the size of the CentOS Installation CD) and the Location: is the location of your CentOS install CD ISO image file.
Click OK.