Uhgg! Please help.

Me to!!

I never tried VM/Virtual Box because I thought it would be WAY to complicated.

Once I got past an intial BSOD in VirtualBox,I thank from ignoreing Microsoft
chatter about "unsigned driver" (It is Open Source),and getting a cherry
version of XP to load in Virtual Box,it has been smooth sailing.

You can try an Linux Distribution such as Xumbuntu (in your virtual machine)but I had problems with getting it to go 'full screen".(A lot of problems really,it would not,so i went back to Windows XP)

Bottom line,a Virtual machine is endless utility,and fun.


rat.

 

Is there any reason to use a System Hardener, like Samarai, XPAntiSpy, Seconfig, SafeXP, with MS Service Pack 3, XP Home?

 

I am sure there must be...
But I was always a do it yourself,trail an error guy...

And in the end a lean locked down Operating System is the goal.
These may be looked at as different means to the same end.

Wiser heads will respond.

respect,rat

 

I respect those who have had experiences with VM's, and don't discredit thier experiences.

However, using vmWare for a number of years now, I think the issue of how much ram you have or need is largely irrelevant. I feel it is the cpu that is the largest hinderence.

I can use only 1gb ram, and have 4 different VMs open, running xp pro sp2, each allocated 256mb ram. I have a machine that loads windows 7 ultimate, with only 1gb ram total, and only 512 being devoted to the guest OS.

I am not saying you should, or others are wrong, just that until you try it, you won't know.

If you don't choose to use a virtual machine of some kind, it is fine. The world will not stop spinning lol. But trust me, and many others before me, if you are tweaking, playing, testing, etc etc, there is nothing quite like a VM to exponentially speed that process up.

Sul.

 

Boy, this Virtual Machine business is complicated. It looks like I can load from a Macrium Backup Image, but that is complicated as well. With lots of warnings about Disk Label changing.

 

I know it seems that way,but it is not!

I am assuming you are using VirtualBox.


Just download the exe.

Run it,click ignore to the Windows "unsigned driver" dreck.

When you reboot (there may be a (BSOD) baby step through the process of setting up your operating system in your 1st VirtualBox.

Nothing to it!!
well worth the effort.
I mean just do it!!
What do you have to lose?
A trip to add/remove programs,and a little regedit time?

(really since I have been using VirtualBox,it is a toss up between it, and Sandboxie, for the title of "what I cant do without")

Sorry for the "hard sale" but I really believe in the utility of Virtual Machines.

(i just happen to use VirtualMachine,I am sure VMWare is as good,or better.)

 

Well to run a VM and to have fun with it then you need to allocate it enough Ram for it to work according to minimum spec for the OS emulated. If you emulating XP then you need at least 256Mb ram which then leaves 756Mb for the host. You can have 512Mb allocated to each or any other combination that totals 1Gb. Now, with 1Gb ram runs XP reasonably fast but anything less and slowdowns become more prominent.

 

Thanks Cudni, I was looking at a resource monitor and its using about 512k Ram for the system I have now. So I thought I might could split it at least for a time, and maybe upgrade to 2GB in the near future.