I love Ubuntu and would like to use it as a permanent host OS, however I do need Windows for some applications that wine cannot run (also I'm a bit of a gamer). If I installed Windows 10 64-bit in a virtualbox, would I still be able to run everything as if it were a dual-boot without any unsolvable issues?
VirtualBox vs Dual Boot – Is Windows 10 Installation Just as Good?
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Although this question is quite close to being off-topic here ...
Install VirtualBox 5.0 which has improved Windows 10 support.
Remove the old VirtualBox version :
sudo apt-get purge "^virtualbox-.*"
Update the software repositories :
sudo apt-get update
Download and register the ORACLE public key:
wget -q -O - https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc | sudo apt-key add -
Add the ORACLE VirtualBox repository :
echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian trusty contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/oracle-vbox.list
Update the software repositories again :
sudo apt-get update
Install ORACLE VirtualBox 5.0 :
sudo apt-get install dkms virtualbox-5.0
Download the Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack and install them by opening the Preferences.
To avoid any problems - it is recommended to restart the Ubuntu system before using VirtualBox.
Note for other users reading this answer, in case they use another Ubuntu edition as 14.04 :
You have to replace trusty with the Ubuntu edition you are using when adding the repository !
As of Ubuntu 16.04 the ORACLE public key to download and register has changed :
oracle_vbox.asc has to be replaced with oracle_vbox_2016.asc !
Running UWP apps is possible, at least with some apps. I've successfully run the Trello UWP app (which is only available from the Microsoft Store).
First, you need to acquire the .appx file for the UWP app. One way to do this without Windows or the Microsoft Store is to use the this site: https://store.rg-adguard.net/
Paste the Microsoft Store URL of the app into the site. For example, the Trello app's URL is: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/trello/9nblggh4xxvw
This gives you links to all of the files available through the Microsoft Store. You only need the .appx file, which may be available as multiple versions (e.g. x86 and x64).
Chrome doesn't want to download the files simply by clicking the links. This made the site feel a bit sketchy at first. In Chrome's DevTools console, Chrome says that it's not downloading the file, because the Microsoft Store URL uses http://, and the site uses https://. But since the file is coming straight from microsoft.com, it feels safe to me.
Right-clicking the link, selecting "Save link as", and choosing "Keep" allows you to download the file despite Chrome's objections.
Once you have the .appx file, you can extract it. It's just a regular zip file, so run something like unzip -d output-dir file.appx or atool -x file.appx.
The extracted files should have a directory called "app", which should have the executable and other files for the app.
For the Trello app, just running wine Trello.exe inside the "app" directory worked for me. But other applications might not work straight away, if something more complex happens during their installation.
Best Answer
Yes and No.
gaming perspective:
Yes you can run, there are lot of constraints it depends on your system config. (How much Ram memory, G memory and process capability.)
I would say minimum ram should be 8 gb if you want to play games like prince of Persia sands of time kind of games. And graphic memory also matters. Your graphic card should be well compatible to the Ubuntu(or any other distro).
If you want to run assassin's creed, witcher you need good graphics and lot of ram. still you may get lags.
My suggestion would be to have a dual boot. With my experience I hated running windows in virtual box and playing games.
non-gaming perspective:
it is a charm running any application or software you want, it will run without any problem. make sure you have good ram capacity. it is as if you run in dual boot.
good for software
bad for games ( AAA games).
works fine for games like pop, Mario, house of dead, etc.
New Update on this Comment: Now you have Steam that can play AAA games so you can fully convert to ubuntu :)