-=PCTechTalk=- Re: VMs

  • From: Gman <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:46:01 -0500

Glad to see you back, Lil.     :)

A Virtual Machine refers to a program that runs on a host computer just like 
any other program does, but it allows you to create a completely (or almost 
completely) separate virtual system within it.

It works by allowing you to create a virtual computer within it by 
dedicating a certain amount of your free hard drive space and some of your 
installed RAM to its use.  You get to choose just how much space and RAM can 
be used by this virtual system and your own system (the host) is reduced by 
that amount whenever you have the virtual system running.  So, if you have 
200GB of free hard drive space and 2GB of RAM installed in your system, you 
might dedicate 30GB of hard drive space and 512MB of RAM to a virtual 
system.  Whenever you run that system, your own computer would be reduced by 
those amounts so that those resources can be used within the virtual 
machine's program.  Obviously, this is not a good idea if you don't have 
much space or RAM installed, but it can do wonders for those with a system 
that is powerful enough to handle the reduction.

Once you install a VM, you create a virtual system within it by specifying 
how much space and RAM you want it to 'borrow' from your main system when 
it's running.  Then, you install an operating system within it (on the 
virtual hard drive space you dedicated when you set it up) and treat it just 
like any other operating system.  If you install XP or Vista, it will need 
to be Activated just like any other XP or Vista installation.  Once the OS 
is installed, you'll want to also install your favorite security apps and 
whatever else you might want to run within it.  The same thing goes for 
Windows Updates, service packs, etc..  I currently use Ms's VirtualPC 2007 
SP1 and have separate VM's set up for XP Pro, Vista Ultimate and a blank 
hard drive space I can use to test various operating system installation 
disks.  Each of these VM's are stored on my hard drive (they take up less 
space than what I dedicated to them when they're not running), but they do 
not take away any RAM from my main system until I actually fire one of them 
up.

The thing you heard about Microsoft and Sun is not related at all to what 
we're discussing here.  Microsoft used to supply their own version of Java 
which would be automatically installed on every WinXP system and they 
referred to it as their "Virtual Machine", but it was only a Java substitute 
and not a virtual PC creation app.  They were sued by Sun for patent 
infringement and part of the settlement was that MS could no longer offer 
their own version.  The first time you install the real Java made by Sun, 
the MS version is removed from the operating systems.  It's just as well 
since MS's version had all sorts of compatability problems they had a hard 
time trying to solve.     lol

There are several different Virtual Machine programs available.  Some, like 
Microsoft's VirtualPC 2007 SP1 are completely free to download and use. 
Others like Sun's VMWare cost a bit, but provide more options that might be 
important to your needs (such as 64-bit OS support).  If you tell us what 
you've been thinking about doing with one of these, we'll be in a much 
better position to recommend the one that will give you all you need.

Ask questions until you're compppletely satisfied that you understand what 
they are, how to use them, what they can do for you or any other subtopic 
you wish to bring up.  There are several of us who use them and not all of 
us use the same VM software, so you'll get a nice wide view of what's 
available to you.     :)

Peace,
Gman
http://www.bornagainamerican.org

"The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask"

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lilian" <lilian.oswaldocruz@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "PCTechTalk" <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 9:33 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- VMs


> Hi everyone,
>
> I´ve been AWOL from the group due to internet problems and lack of time.
> Took me some time to get the router and 3G modem to live in peace and not
> having much spare time to do this meant there were quite a few days I 
> didn´t
> even switch the computers on!  But now all is ok and the 3 computers are
> linked and able to go online.  I have a question, though... My main 
> computer
> is a dual boot (Win XP 32bits and Win XP 64 bits).  I´ve read about 
> Virtual
> Machine that allows you to switch from one os to another without having to
> reboot.  But I have no idea what a VM is  and how it works.  I looked it 
> up
> in Google and found these sites below that gave me some insight.  I also
> read that Microsoft has a virtual machine but because of legal problems 
> with
> SunJava its not offering it for download anymore.
>
> http://www.vmware.com/virtualization/
> https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/?p=esxi
>
> I don´t know if I am reading the correct articles, but any info you can 
> give
> me on the subject will be appreciated  :o))
>
> Lil 

---------------------------------------------------------------
Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and everything 
below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary.

To subscribe, unsubscribe or modify your email settings:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk

To access our Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/
//www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/

To contact only the PCTT Mod Squad, write to:
pctechtalk-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

To join the PCTableTalk off-topic group, send a blank email to:
pctabletalk+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------

Other related posts: