Virtual Box

http://www.virtualbox.org/

Thanks Aigle.

I downloaded this today after seeing the mention of it in the long, long, Powershadow thread.

I'm fairly new with this sort of thing, but have to say that even I figured it out in minutes, without reading the instructions (I seldom read instructions until I'm totally screwed up). I've used VMware and Microsoft's virtualization programs, but both were heavy on my system. This one isn't.

I can't comment much on the other virtualization software except the two I mentioned, but can say that virtual box is open source - free - very full featured, and fairly intuitive enough that even a fool like me can use it with ease. I noticed only a slight hit in resources. I much prefer it to VMware and MS's virtual thing.

Again, thank you aigle. This one is staying on my machine.

 

You are welcome. I too like it very much, though I use my Virtual Machine very rarely.

 

I probably won't use it a lot, since I use powershadow to look at the things I do download, but I can see uses for it. I haven't got into it enough to know all the tricks or exactly how it works. I did load a couple of things and played with them a bit. I'll have to break down and read the instructions before I get into it much more. Some things are just worth having, and this virtual box is one of them, in my opinion.

 

VMware is way too heavy on resources IMO and is too slow, no crisp response at all, just delays.

Virtual Box i tried sometime ago and i like it also, although those type apps are completely unneccessary if you have FD-ISR or even Power Shadow IMHO.

 

I like it because it's open source and pretty full featured as it is, and they're working on adding more things to it.

 

Is this the easiest (free) way to test software that needs a reboot? I will be trying new software soon that is coming out of beta and hopefully replacing most of my existing setup.

 

Indeed Pete. I am of the same confidence of ErikAlbert anymore. Reboot-to-restore is plenty enough and if Power Shadow malfunctions, which it never has in all my experience with it, enter FD-ISR archives/snapshots to bail out of trouble with an easy enough rollback. Even should that present any difficulty, my ARCHIVES rest solid on alterantive media which can easily recreate the snapshots form the ground up again IF necessary. And even if that proves disabled by any means, then in the wings stand ready EITHER images or a fully CLONED hard drive off-box.

From all that i don't perceive any other means posible for recouperating a more dependable emergency apparatus conditioned to return ALL datat/systems back to a working system once again.

 

EASTER.2010:

Pete is totally right with his comment that VMware is not bad on resources if you have enough, saying that, I understand users are also using workstation on 512MB machines which if I remember is the least recommended, and running quite well.
VirtualBox I like have experimented with various including usb, very nice, but VMWare is still the creme. The new features in workstation 6 have really shot VMWare forward yet again.

 

Well, Pete may be right in your support of his statement but it's just as easy to use an alternate test machine instead of troubling yourself with VMWare on a machine where theres always an ingling of possibility something might leak thru into your HOST machine, then what? Image to the rescue again.

If i'm going to drive up the ante for a power box i just as well also buy a Vista Pro Disc. LoL

 

Test machine instead of troubling yourself? Depends what you are doing, Workstation is much much more a convenient tool in the things I am doing Easter. Possibility of leaking through? possibility in anything my friend but doubtful.

 

Easter have you read this thread which was asking 'what do virtual machines mean to you.' Probably save me going over it again and may help widen peoples perspective on virtual machines.

 

Just downloaded VirtualBox and created my first guest OS (I think that is the correct statement!).

Very scary when XP CD asked if it could format!!!

I see that VBox will allow the removal a FAT partition I use for W98se DOS batch files for floppy stuff.

Mike

 

Is there no way around having to pay M$ extra dollars for extra OS in a VM ??

There is a kb article here
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=303

And there is info from StorageCraft re restoring into a VM but not sure if extra dollars req. ??

Yes I realise I can run Linux in a VM with M$ as host
Just checking for info on something I want to do

ANy advices plz.

 

I have FD-ISR and have wondered if Virtual box could be set up ,then a FD image of my system be put in the VB? Is that possible?

 

I have used VirtualBox for awhile. This is a good program. It allows many many uses including software testing. You can use this program for privacy uses, load proxy servers into it etc. Powershadow on the other hand does allow some of these uses but VirtualBox allows a person to set up an alternate system with completely different software if you wish that you can use every day. There is a snapshot feature that allows testing software & easily return to what you had in the past. It can be used as an alternate operateing system saveing your
main system for processing with little or no risk to your data.

 

VirtualBox 1.5 released recently.
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog

Al

 

I use it already for a while, several months. It is the best VM available today.
In computer magazines in germany it is rated Nr.1: 91 points, Nr.2 VMWare around 85 points at last Nr.3 Virtual PC with 81 points.

 

VB1.5: will have a look: change log looks good.

Used VBox and found that it felt lighter but had some issues with some Linux distros.

Ben using VMWorkstation & happy.
If you shut down some real time tools then VMWare will fly.

I did have the impression that VBox was lighter. Nicer graphics. FREE.

heh heh: see where I am now in attachment:
If you haven't; try PCBSD: vveerryy nice indeed ( slight issue with Flash)
New version released last week.
http://www.pcbsd.org/
Couple of iso's there:free.
Nice documentation.

Regards

 

man, that is sweet. (if i'm reading this right) they even included beryl in this distro. do you know if you can install virtual box inside pcbsd? if so i may just completely zero out my HDD and install pcbsd (and if virtual box installs in pcbsd) i'd use virtual box and install windows xp in there just for my games and stuff. i have a dual core 2.13ghz processor and 4 gigs of ram with 300gigs of HDD space. hopefully i won't get much slow down.

 

i didn't try unix ever. but whatta...is one looks food. thanks!

 

Well its not your system ressources you need to worry bout mate. No virtualisation software has proper 3d Support. Parallels and VMWare have some experimental DirectX 8 support, which quite often just leads to a BSOD of the client OS. So for gaming atm theres no alternative than windows or maybe Wine.

And personally I would choose a Linux distro over a BSD distro, not because one is better or worse, but just because Linux has a much better driver support than BSD. So there a way bigger chance of your devices running in Linux than in BSD.