When VirtualBox is installed, it creates an item in the start menu. It may be under System or Applications/System Tools. The GUI can be started from a terminal session as virtualbox or as VirtualBox.

The VirtualBox GUI makes it easy to create and run VMs. The GUI has a button named New in the upper-left corner; this is used to create a new, empty VM. The wizard prompts you for information such as memory and disk limits for the new VM.

Once the VM is created, the Start button is activated. The default settings connect the virtual machine's CD-ROM to the host's CD-ROM. You can put an installation disk in the CD-ROM and click on Start to install the operating system on a new VM.