Blonde Guy sells a virtual ArcaOS appliance configured to run under Virtual Box. The applications that Blonde Guy usually installs on an ArcaOS preloaded computer are installed in the virtual machine. If you have decided to go virtual for ArcaOS, this is a way to get there quickly.
This ArcaOS virtual machine features the same installed applications as a Blonde Guy computer system. The virtual machine runs under Virtual Box software. The user is responsible for installing Virtual Box on his own computer system. Virtual Box is available for Linux, Windows, Solaris and MacOS-Intel.
The reason to use an ArcaOS virtual machine is to take full advantage of the latest features of modern computers. You can buy any new computer, and as long as it can run Virtual Box, it can run an ArcaOS virtual machine. This way, you can use WiFi, the latest Firefox or other features of the new computer that ArcaOS lacks, any still have your ArcaOS applications running.
Blonde Guy will personalize your virtual machine and burn it on DVD. On-line delivery is planned for the future. Your virtual machine includes a license for ArcaOS, with support from Arca Noae for six months (personal license) or 12 months (commercial license).
The ArcaOS virtual machine is distributed as an Open Virtual Appliance (OVA). To install the ArcaOS virtual machine on your comptuer, import the OVA file from the DVD.
Blonde Guy will install ArcaOS and VirtualBox on your computer. Send your computer to Blonde Guy for a custom installation of ArcaOS running in VirtualBox. Blonde Guy has tested Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux host operating systems.
Blonde Guy will install VirtualBox and an ArcaOS 5.1 virtual machine with the same programs that would be supplied on a Blonde Guy computer. Additional configuration will provide file sharing between ArcaOS in the virtual environment and your native operating system. The virtual environment will support both ArcaOS in a Window and full screen. The only host operating systems Blonde Guy has tested are Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux.
If you want to buy a customized version of the ArcaOS virtual machine, fill out an order form (use the Order Computer button below) and submit it to Blonde Guy. Blonde Guy will review your order and send you an invoice, payable using PayPal or any major credit card. If you prefer to pay by check, note that in the notes field of the order form, and I will e-mail you instructions how to pay by check.
Enter the customizations you want on the virtual machine in the notes portion of the order form. If you want a virtual machine made from your current ArcaOS license, mention that in the notes.
The virtual hard drive is partitioned to provide a bootable operating system volume. The system volume is 10 GB. The rest of the 2 TB virtual space is free.
| Volume Name | Disk Format | Drive Letter | Volume Size | Disk Name |
| ArcaOS-F | JFS | F: | 10,001 MB | 2 TB Virtual |
| Free space | N/A | N/A | 2,070,730 MB | 2 TB Virtual |
ArcaOS 5.1.0 (August 26, 2023) is the version used for this installation.
There are 10 PCI devices found by the PCI 1.04vkA program.
| PCI ID | Description |
|---|---|
| 8086:1237 | Bridge PCI to HOST |
| 8086:7000 | Bridge PCI to ISA |
| 8086:7111 | Storage IDE (ATA) |
| 80EE:BEEF | Display VGA |
| 8086:100E | Network Ethernet |
| 80EE:CAFE | System Other |
| 8086:2668 | Multimedia Unknown! |
| 106B:003F | Serial USB (OHCI) |
| 8086:7113 | Bridge PCI to Other |
| 8086:265C | Serial USB 2.0 (EHCI) |
Each Blonde Guy ArcaOS preloaded computer comes with a standard load of software. This page lists what is in the current pre-load. This list is updated over time to incorporate new essential OS/2 software as well as to keep up to date versions of existing software. When you receive your ArcaOS virtual machine, you will have Blonde Guy's best installation of the latest OS/2 software.
A nice selection of developer tools are installed. More can be installed using RPM/YUM or Arca Noae Package Manager.
When you recieve your ArcaOS virtual machine, you will need to install Virtual Box on your host computer. On Ubuntu, Virtual Box was already on the computer. If this is not the case for you, download and install Virtual Box from their website.
Oracle VM Virtual BoxTo get the best experience, also install Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack, available at the same website.
This section documents what I did to get the virtual machine to work under ArcaOS. It is intended to show what goes into this virtual machine, and also as a guide to the user who wants to build it himself.
I follow the instructions found in the Arca Noae wiki to install ArcaOS under Virtual Box. I have used both Ubuntu Linux and Windows 10 as the host. The virtual appliance was created under Virtual Box 6.1.42.
How to install ArcaOS in Oracle Virtual Box** Problems were detected in your disk layout. The problems are listed below.
We may be able to fix these problems for you; see below for details. Please note, however, that we cannot be held liable for any damage or lost data that may result from this action.
The following problems were found:
* There is no valid partition table on the disk. A new partition table must be written before this disk can be used.The disk appears to contain no data, so this operation should be harmless. However, if it does contain data which OS/2 has failed to detect, any such data will be lost if you proceed.
The above problem(s) must be fixed before you can use this disk with OS/2.
If I have fixed the disk using DiskUtility or other procedure, then I run Disk Utility again. If it says "No problems found.", then I proceed to lay out the disk paritioning that I want using "Manage Volumes (Graphical)."
If the virtual hard drive is not bootable, try re-writing the MRB using Manage Volumes (Graphical).
The SATA virtual hardware is supported by the OS2AHCI driver. This works with native command queueing. The parameters for OS2AHCI are as follows:
BASEDEV=OS2AHCI.ADD /N /F /V:2
The Ethernet port on the Virtual Box is set to Intel Pro/1000 which is supported on ArcaOS by the Multimac32 MMLEN driver. The network interface has been set up to configure automatically using DHCP.
The audio hardware on the Virtual Box is set to Intel HD Audio which is supported on ArcaOS by the Uniaud driver.
Virtual Box has been configured for USB 3, and the Arca Noae XHCI USB drivers load and work.
The ArcaOS virtual machine (Sodium) comes configured to support wide screen resolutions. In order to set wide screen video modes and other non-default video modes, you will need to performs some tweaks using the host systems command window.
Instructions are found here: Other Oracle VM VirtualBox tweaks
The Virtual Box Full Screen Mode presents a full screen ArcaOS that looks like running ArcaOS on the computer.
DOS, both Windowed and Full Screen works. DOS compatibility was tested using Lotus 1,2,3 DOS.
VirtualBox configuration provides the ArcaOS guest system with network and USB capabilities. Here are two configuration tweaks that I do to make using ArcaOS easier.
I want the guest machine to be in the same subnet as my server so I can use the file server. To do this, I used a bridged network. A requirement for using the bridged network is that I select the host machine adapter that is providing internet. ArcaOS will use that adapter to connect to the network, just as if it were a physical machine. The DHCP then gives it an address I can use with my server.
I want to mount USB sticks that are formated JFS or HPFS. The host operating system may not know these formats, so Virtual Box can be configured to pass these devices on to ArcaOS to mount. After plugging in the stick, I use the USB settings to unmount the host and send the device to ArcaOS for mounting.
Unfortunately, the mounting of USB sticks does not work with my Ubuntu system. It does, however, work on Windows.
I want to share files between the host operating system and the ArcaOS guest operating system. I do this by sharing the hosts home directory (on both Windows and Linux) and mounting this on the ArcaOS guest system.
I use the Scaled mode in VirtualBox to enlarge or reduce the ArcaOS window to a convenient size. The scaled mode hides the VirtualBox menu so I use the host (right ctrl) C command to exit scaled mode if I need to use the VirtualBox menu.
