Skip to main content

windows - My First Virtual Machine


I'd like to create a situation where a standard MS development stack is wholly contained within in a VM such that I can share (via USB enclosure) the identical development environment between main desktop, laptop and backup desktop (all win7 boxes).


Ideally I'd like to create the VM image from the existing install on my desktop - i'd like to avoid re-installing everything from scratch. To be honest, it seems unlikely that services so deeply ingrained in the OS can be lifted and transferred to create a stable working environment but a guy can dream.


So, if this _is a realistic expectation, what's my first step? What's the best VM app to look at? I don't have to stay on the free-ware side of the street but this is a one-off installation and funds are out of personal, not corporate pocket.



Answer



First off, to convert a physical machine to virtual is a process known as P2V (Physical to Virtual).


I would recommend you go with VMWare - You can use VMWare Player for free or VMware Workstation if you are willing to pay (A few extra features that are quite good).


VMWare also have a P2V utility called VMWare Converter which can do the P2V for you, for free. Although, you will both have to reactivate Windows and use a different licence key as it is not covered by the original EULA - If you have a MSDN or Technet licence, this is officially a development/test machine, so you can use up one of those keys just fine.


Alternatively, you can use XP Mode on Windows 7 (If you have a qualifying edition) through the Microsoft Virtual PC, this is a very good solution, however it lacks some of the mature features of the VMWare stack (64 bit for example) - and, I do not think they have a free P2V tool.


Regarding sharing, as long as the virtual machine is kept on the USB Drive, it should not be a problem - However, if you are doing anything I/O Intensive, this could be the weak link of performance. You are the only one who can make this decision. Personally, it may be a better solution to have the VM on each machine and use a shared folder on a USB drive / keep your projects there etc.


Hope this helps you - if you need help on any of the points I have written, please write a comment and I will be happy to help further.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

How do I transmit a single hexadecimal value serial data in PuTTY using an Alt code?

I am trying to sent a specific hexadecimal value across a serial COM port using PuTTY. Specifically, I want to send the hex codes 9C, B6, FC, and 8B. I have looked up the Alt codes for these and they are 156, 182, 252, and 139 respectively. However, whenever I input the Alt codes, a preceding hex value of C2 is sent before 9C, B6, and 8B so the values that are sent are C2 9C, C2 B6, and C2 8B. The value for FC is changed to C3 FC. Why are these values being placed before the hex value and why is FC being changed altogether? To me, it seems like there is a problem internally converting the Alt code to hex. Is there a way to directly input hex values without using Alt codes in PuTTY? Answer What you're seeing is just ordinary text character set conversion. As far as PuTTY is concerned, you are typing (and reading) text , not raw binary data, therefore it has to convert the text to bytes in whatever configured character set before sending it over the wire. In other words, when y...
Post a Comment
Read more

linux - Extract/save a mail attachment using bash

Using normal bash tools (ie, built-ins or commonly-available command-line tools), is it possible, and how to extract/save attachments on emails? For example, say I have a nightly report which arrives via email but is a zip archive of several log files. I want to save all those zips into a backup directory. How would I accomplish that? Answer If you're aiming for portability, beware that there are several different versions of mail(1) and mailx(1) . There's a POSIX mailx command, but with very few requirements. And none of the implementations I have seem to parse attachments anyway. You might have the mpack package . Its munpack command saves all parts of a MIME message into separate files, then all you have to do is save the interesting parts and clean up the rest. There's also metamail . An equivalent of munpack is metamail -wy .
Post a Comment
Read more

keyboard - Is there any utility/method to change Windows key bindings to type rare chars to currently empty bindings?

I'm currently typing this post with my windows XP machine and (Spanish) keyboard, and I'd like to add some extra symbols to my text. I could open the "char map" windows utility, look for the desired symbols, and paste them. But I'd like something quickier. For example, when I'm using my OSX Mac at work, I can easily add a ©, ™, ® or similar symbols, just pressing some weird ALT-GR + G / H / J, key combinations. In my (Spanish) keyboard mapping, these combinations are empty, as they don't produce any char at all, which, on the other hand, is perfectly normal and desirable. So, I thought: Why couldn't I add some extra key mappings on top of my currently empty ALT-GR + G/J/H Keys in my Spanish keyboard, and thus, being able to quickly type these special symbols? So that's my question: Is there any utility/method to achieve that effect under windows? (My version is XP). I've even googled this for some time but no luck. I've been a long term Hot...
Post a Comment
Read more

Desktop reboots itself on sleep or hibernate

I have been using an ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard for main home desktop workstation, operating Windows Vista x64. This computer has right from day one not been able to enter hibernate or standby; after Windows performs its final actions and brings the machine down, it would automatically revive itself for a reboot. Updating to the second latest BIOS (1201)has not helped (the latest BIOS revision would induce video refresh problems rendering it unusable). I have been reading related discussions on incidents similar to mine to no avail of a true workable solution. They appear to be more speculative guesses rather than actual knowledge on the inner workings of motherboard hardware. Does anybody have any electronic engineering experience on PC energy-saving standards to provide a more informed opinion how to go about getting this to work? More stories: this motherboard could not even reboot properly the first thing i used it. It was due to refresh rate of the onboard GPU, which had no influe...
Post a Comment
Read more