VirtualBox & Ubuntu Crashes
Virtualbox is a program that allows you to run any operating system from within your current operating system. You do so by creating virtual machines, which have their own operating system and programs installed without interfering your current operating system. You can use Virtualbox in Ubuntu to run other programs like Windows; you can also run Virtualbox on Windows and OS X to test Ubuntu. Crashes while running Virtualbox have several causes, including version mismatch or system quirks.
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Old Version
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If you're trying to use an out-of-date version of Virtualbox with the most recent versions of Ubuntu, which feature the Unity desktop environment, you're going to have to install a newer version. In April 2011 Virtualbox 4.0.6 was released, which supported the Unity environment when earlier versions did not. If you're running Ubuntu, you can get the Open-Source Edition from the Software Center, but the OSE does not support USB devices. As of December 2011, Virtualbox is on version 4.1.6.
Wrong Settings
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If you're trying to run a virtual machine with a version of Ubuntu that uses Unity, you must enable certain features. When setting up your virtual machine, select "Enable 3D Acceleration" from the Display section of the settings screen. Also, once you have Ubuntu installed you're going to need to install guest additions, which you can do by going to the "Devices" menu on your virtual machine screen and selecting "Install Guest Additions."
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System Resources
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If your virtual machine is cracking, your problem is with your virtual machine install. You might not have enough resources dedicated to your virtual machine. Check that you've met the minimum system requirements for your virtual machine's operating system. Ubuntu 11.10 requires at least 512 MB of RAM, but will perform better with more. Tread cautiously, however, when granting your virtual machine more resources; you have to share those resources with your host operating system, and giving too much to the virtual system can cause both the host OS and the virtual machine to work slowly and crash.
Program Use
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While your virtual machine's OS will be able to run programs natively, you might run into trouble if a program requires too much of your virtual machine's resources -- the same as if you tried to run a program too advanced for your computer on your host OS. Programs that require a lot of resources include video and image editing programs and games. Also, running several programs at once can slow down and potentially crash your system.
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