My computers run Linux and that’s where I do most of my work. But I frequently need to use Windows for things like running Outlook to get Exchange email, and running PowerPoint. LibreOffice Writer & Calc are great and compare favorably with Office 2013 Word and Excel, but LibreOffice Present doesn’t hold a candle to PowerPoint.

I run Windows 7 in VirtualBox. It is flawless, but I was never able to get dual monitor to work. This is useful for presenting PowerPoint decks because dual screens let you use the presenter view and see your notes while presenting. I finally got it working – here’s how.

Make sure Virtualbox Guest Extensions are installed in your Windows VM. Shut down the VM client and open Virtualbox VM settings. Go to the Display section. Set Monitor Count to 2. If Virtualbox warns you about Video Memory, increase it as needed.

Start the VM, after Windows boots, log in. Go to Control Panel, Display, Settings. It should show 2 monitors (1) and (2), with (2) greyed out. Click Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor, then click Apply. A new window pops up on your Ubuntu desktop. This is the Windows VM 2nd monitor (remember it’s virtual, so it’s just another window). Drag it anywhere you want. If you have 2 physical screens running on your Ubuntu desktop, turn off mirroring and drag this 2nd Windows screen to that screen.

Here’s an article with details.

NOTE: I tried this a few months ago and it didn’t work – it crashed the Windows VM. It looks like newer versions of the Linux kernel and video drivers are working better now. I’m currently running Ubuntu 15.10, kernel 4.2.0-25, VirtualBox 5.0.14, on a Thinkpad Carbon X1.