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- on Sun 14 Mar 2010
- 06:55:43 PM UTC
Strange question, please
Strange question, please search for "virtual machine" using your favourite search engine to get all possible answers.
Virtual machines in general are software emulations of real (hardware) machines. To get one, just order or download it from its vendor.
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- on Sun 14 Mar 2010
- 08:42:00 PM UTC
u can get it from here, its
u can get it from here, its free open source...
http://www.filehippo.com/download_virtualbox/
Platinum Level Member of the WOT Community -
- on Sun 14 Mar 2010
- 08:48:03 PM UTC
VirtualBox
I use VirtualBox.
It's free software that allows you to load and run an entire operating system as a program on your current operating system. For example, I run Windows XP in VirtualBox on PCLinuxOS (a Linux based distribution).
You can find more info on their Web site:
http://www.virtualbox.org/ -
- on Sun 14 Mar 2010
- 09:43:17 PM UTC
VirtualBox is a good virtual
VirtualBox is a good virtual PC. I run Ubuntu Linux in a VirtualBox on top of XP. It's a pure PC hardware emulation, so if one's looking for C=64, Amiga or other virtual machines, it won't help.
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- on Sun 14 Mar 2010
- 11:40:42 PM UTC
Sun VirtualBox
Like a few others on here, I run the SunVirtualBox (The Doctor gave you the link to their site) wihin Linux/Ubuntu and I have WindowsXP as a "guest". I have been running it for over a year now and am very satisfied with it.
Though most have told you what a "VM" is, I'll try my hand at it also, and try to use less computer lingo.
A "VM" is a piece of software that "fools" your machine into thinking that it's two separate computers, and you can use that "second" computer to run whatever OS you want, along with the associated software for that OS.
What you run within that VM is known as the "guest" (in my case that would be Windows XP), and the OS that is really on the machine is known as the "host" (in my case, that would be Linux/Ubuntu).
Anyone can run one, but you need the memory and disk space to allot to the VM to run it efficiently, and still have anough "left over" to run the host OS efficiently.
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 03:14:43 AM UTC
Well said
We should also add that you must have a legitimate (legal) copy of Windows to install into VirtualBox.
VirtualBox creates and loads Windows (or other operating systems) on a "virtual drive," which is a single .vdi file stored on your physical hard drive.
VirtualBox is highly configurable. The Open Source Edition (OSE) version, however, does not support USB connections. Please select the correct version when downloading.
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 01:28:00 PM UTC
VmWare
another possibility to use a Virtual Machine is vmWare. Its free for personal use as i am hopefully correctly informed. But I am afraid, that you have to register by VMware to use it. Here you logically need also a legal Windows Version to run a Virtual Windows.
As usuall that doesn't count for any Linux distri.Another and i think the easiest way is the VPC of Microsoft.
You can get a free Virtual Windows XP if you use Windows 7, because they want to give a compatibility for XP critical Software.
For other Windows Version the VPC is free, too, but you need a legal license for your Virtual machine.I hope we could help.
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Gold-Member of WOT-Community -
- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 07:55:18 AM UTC
Possible advantage
One advantage that Sun VirtualBox may have over MS VirtualPC is that SunVirtualBox will allow you to list an ISO rather than burn the ISO to CD, which is what MS VirtualPC requires.
Nevertheless, both are easy to set up, so depending on personal preference, this may or may not be an advantage to an individual.
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 01:47:25 PM UTC
Installation of Sun VirtualBox
During the installation of Sun VirtualBox you will get several warnings along the way from . . . guess who? . . . Microsoft. These warnings, as I recall, are about signed certificates for the Sun VB drivers. Whether or not these warnings are an attempt by Microsoft to discourage the use of Sun VB (because Microsoft has a competing product) is arguable, but you can safely ignore these warnings and proceed through to the finish of the Sun VB installation.
(However, I don't think you'd get those warning on a Linux box . . . as I recall, I didn't. I only got them way back when I was using Windows as my host OS and wanted to use the VM to see what Ubuntu was like.)
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 01:58:02 PM UTC
My try.
I have an Windows XP as real system on this computer and tried to install just for testing a Windows XP in SUN VB. I didnt recognize any warnings.
I dont want to say you dont tell the truth BobJam. Probably its because my Hosting System is a Win XP. I don't know what Windows you did use. Probably i didnt have warnings because of installing Win XP :D
But doesn't matter anyways.
Fact is: A Virtual Machine is much safer then without.
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Gold-Member of WOT-Community -
- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 07:16:31 PM UTC
> Probably i didnt have
> Probably i didnt have warnings because of installing Win XP :D
Absolutely! Microsoft introduced windows driver signing with Windows Vista. It's one of those strategies that made Vista a little bit more secure than XP.
So the Vista system has warned about drivers of unknown/untrusted origin, to make sure the user can stop unnoticed installation of kernel mode malware. XP just wasn't aware those drivers were untrusted and installed them quietly.
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 10:55:29 PM UTC
Mine was WinXP too?
Wait a minute . . . wait a minute . . .
I got that warning when I was using WinXP as the host, not Vista (in fact, I never even got to Vista before I switched to Ubuntu later).
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- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 09:56:15 AM UTC
Sorry, my fault!
It was not the missing signature problem, it was the logo test. There are a couple of postings about that on the web.
Logo testing means, the vendor (Sun) didn't drive the partially automated dirver tests or didn't register for the Windows logo. The sticker on each Windows software box saying "Designed for Windows" or similar is the "Windows logo" which vendors can receive by passing the Windows logo test.
These tests ensure the driver has no memory leaks and such kinds of things. As Sun usually could be considered as competent and their VirtualBox is used by many people without crashes, the logo test in this case is not so important. It would be more important when installing software of not so well known companies. And as I'm using VirtualBox under XP myself, I expect them to having solved the issue or there is a way to ignore the messages and proceed the installation.
BTW, Sun very frequently releases updates and fixes such things.
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 02:50:33 PM UTC
Several versions ago
Those were warnings when I installed a version more than a year ago. Perhaps Sun has since remedied that situation.
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- on Mon 15 Mar 2010
- 03:22:47 PM UTC
Eventually
I think youre right. Much has changed in the last year. Probably sun got more integrated in microsofts business
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Gold-Member of WOT-Community -
- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 07:11:10 AM UTC
Sometimes
They do not have to become fellows, but making money is a good reason to be compatible to each other at least.
I think they accept each other only for money purpose not because they think the others system is great :D
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Gold-Member of WOT-Community -
- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 07:43:11 AM UTC
Doesn't look like they're being "compatible"
An excerpt from a March 1, 2010, article in InformationWeek:
"It would be a strange world indeed if Microsoft executives started saying warm and cozy things about archrival Oracle, so it was no big surprise to see Microsoft Server and Tools president Bob Muglia try to hammer away at Oracle's strategy at a tech conference last week."We're drifting wayyy off topic here, so if you have any reponse you'd like to make, PM me.
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- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 10:05:49 AM UTC
Thats right.
I think we did say all now. :D
And now its bonobo4's turn. Do you have aquired all information you wanted/needed?
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Gold-Member of WOT-Community -
- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 04:45:28 PM UTC
Nearly. i installed
Nearly. i installed VirtualBox on Win XP, got lots of Microsoft warnings. I set up my VM but I can't get it to boot, it says "Fatal : Could not read from the boot medium! System halted." Any help?
It seems if I can get this to work it will be great.
Platinum Level Member of the WOT Community.
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- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 05:32:58 PM UTC
Did you define a virtual
Did you define a virtual hard disk and provide an ISO image or CD to install your operating system from?
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- on Tue 16 Mar 2010
- 06:36:38 PM UTC
No. Platinum Level Member of
No. How do you do that exactly?
Platinum Level Member of the WOT Community.
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 12:22:49 AM UTC
Manual
Go to http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads, scroll down a little and download the "User Manual". Read it, but the answer to your problem is probably somewhere in pages 32 through 37.
In those pages you will find screenshots and essentially what is a tutorial for installation.
My suspicion is that you missed one of the steps . . . like Internetti says, you may not have defined the virtual hard disk or given it a bootable ISO image or CD to read.
Are you using your OEM OS CD to read as the "guest"? Actually, what are you trying to set up as the guest? Whatever it is, a Linux distro, a Win version . . . it needs to be bootable. That error message you're getting is frequently a sign that you did not give it bootable media to read.
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 12:35:25 AM UTC
Better Than Virtual Machine
I have found that it is better to either create physical partitions and use dual-boot system, or better yet to use a hard drive caddy with the different operating systems on different HDDs and swap the drives when a different OS is required. Some months ago I got a nifty free program that lets Linux read Windows partitions (and vice versa), which means that I can have a secondary HDD with all the files that I might want to access from each different OS. So I just have to swap the system drives, which is much easier than trying to configure and run a Virtual Machine.
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 03:00:26 AM UTC
Why I use a VM
Since my host OS is Linux/Ubuntu, I use a VM with Windows XP as a guest to evaluate Windows software and also to visit suspicious sites (for WOT rating) with a browser in Sandboxie. Plus I use the Windows VM to see what rendering looks like in IE and Safari. (I have Opera and FF on my Linux OS)
Granted, this could also be achieved with a dual boot (and I had that for a while), but it's really tedious backing out of one OS and getting into another ("swapping drives" sounds tedious too . . . plus with a laptop that requires MUCH more manipulation than a desktop, though if it's a USB connection that MAY be easier). The VM allows me to stay in Ubuntu and do other work with my Ubuntu software. (And as I understand it, swapping would not fit that need).
My choices for these purposes were . . . 1)Wine, 2)a dual boot, or 3) a VM. Wine was buggy, I elected not to keep the dual boot (for, among other things, the reason stated above), so I ended up with the VM because it suited my needs the best. (Swapping drives, assuming it's a USB connection, would require that I buy another external drive . . . I'm cheap, especially when I can meet my needs FREE).
I'm not disputing your claim, but the choice really depends on your purpose. As I said, a VM met my needs FREE and with less hassle than the alternatives (for me anyway . . . YMMV).
(Swapping drives sounds pretty much like a dual boot . . . albeit without the grub menu . . . and I don't see much difference between the two. But then I've never used that method, so maybe I'm misunderstanding the procedure . . . this may be one of those things where I have a "duhhhhhh . . ." moment a few hours later, and say to myself "So that's what he meant . . . geeezzz, that was really stupid of me not to see that." But for now I don't see an advantage . . . for my purposes AND my pocketbook.
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 01:38:31 PM UTC
dual boot...it's really tedious
Yes, Bobjam, you are right to say that dual boot is tedious, which is why I tend to prefer swapping drives, although you might find it tedious to have to turn off the computer in order to swap system drives. However, swapping system drives does mean that I can set up the computer for particular tasks depending on which OS is most useful for the task required, and there are none of the resource conflicts that can blight the dual-boot or VM.
As to whether you choose VM, dual-boot, or drive swapping, it is for the user to decide which is most appropriate for the needs (and pocketbook) of that user. My contribution to this thread was really an effort to show others (especially noobs) that there are alternatives to VM.
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 07:00:50 PM UTC
It's all gibberish to me.
It's all gibberish to me. Ok, I am not an IT technician in ANY Form. Can someone please explain to me in VERY Simple terms how to do this. Please. Thankyou.
Platinum Level Member of the WOT Community.
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 07:39:50 PM UTC
explain to me in VERY Simple terms
RTFM - can't get simpler than that.
If you want VM on your machine then see: http://www.mywot.com/en/forum/5804-virtual-machine...
and for a manual see: http://www.mywot.com/en/forum/5804-virtual-machine...
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- on Wed 17 Mar 2010
- 08:04:46 PM UTC
^^Thanks, very useful post.
^^Thanks, very useful post. You link to posts in this thread. Look, I can't find it in the manual, and it's in language I don't understand. I appreciate BobJam's help, though the pages he specified aren't corrrect and there are no screenshots. would it make any difference having a) The fact that my PC uses WinXp as does my VM and b) I enabled IO APIC and c) That I made the boot order Hard Disk, CD/DVD, flooppy disk? I don't have a REAL Windows CD, does that matter?
I'll have a further look at the manual, but like I said it's still in language terms I don't understand!
Platinum Level Member of the WOT Community.
Virtual Machines?
What are they exactly and how do I get one?
Platinum Level Member of the WOT Community. If you see an incorrect rating of mine please feel free to point it out so I can amend it. However, if you don't state the URL(s) of the site(s) you wish me to fix, or if you spam my board, your message will in