Is it possible to run a second OS at the same time from an external drive?

Question

linux

A question.
My main axis is Windows.
But there is an external drive on which Linux is installed, and during the development of some projects it was launched on it in order to work.
But it's not very convenient to switch between axes, despite the fact that the main one is still Windows.
And now I would like to run Linux from an outsider while I'm sitting under Windows. Something like virtualbox, but from an external drive. But in order not to keep it as a virtual image, but simply run the axis from the outside.
Is it possible to do this somehow?
PS Don't write about WSL, I know what it is, but you just need to run it from the outside.

Answer 1

"inside" the virtualbox, you can forward the "iron" media.
https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#rawdisk

Answer 2

You install a virtualbox
Throw your external USB into it ... it will turn off from Windows, it will connect to the Wirth machine.
In theory, it should work

Answer 3

Yes, you can, and just with linux it will be the easiest way to do this.
This is called a virtual machine, install a user-friendly VirtualBox (you can use a less convenient regular one from Microsoft ) and run your linux
ps in it if linux is on the same disk as windows, then this can not be done now (in win7..8 it was possible) Microsoft is blocking disk access.

Answer 4

You can raise WSL, put some Linux there to choose from, mount an external drive.
The graphic desktop can be forwarded via RDP, the WSL setup for this is easily googled.
In this version, it feels like it works faster than a virtual machine in a virtual box.