Windows 8 Question about virtual box?

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

Just a really quick question about running a OS in VMware Player (I said VB in the title and I can't change it now).

I installed Ubuntu into VMware Player and it runs really slow.

Everything works even the sound but video stutters etc, I'm assuming that's because my computer is really running Windows 8 and Ubuntu at the same time.

When I boot the same Ubuntu from a DVD or Flash Drive, it runs very fast, of course the flash drive is the best.

Video is smooth and things open instantly.

Is this typical?

Second, when I boot Ubuntu from VMware Player I have no access to the rest of my computer.
Would this be the case if I installed Windows 9 in VMware Player as well?

It wouldn't do my much good to install W9 if I don't have access to any of the files and software on my computer, pretty hard to evaluate it if you can't use it for anything.

I'm still planning to dual boot if I can but I'm looking at contingencies.

Mike

 

[Joe S]

I don't know much about Linux. When you boot from the disk does it have all of the features that is in the installed version? Also I think running from a disk creates a Ram disk basically a temp file and Windows isn't running. I can't help on the file access to much. The VM needs to be treated like a standalone computer and you have to go through networking, sharing etc. Windows 9 should run on a VM. No VM will be as fast as a real install on the same hardware. I've got Windows 7 Ultimate and it had a feature to create a bootable virtual disk, and you could dual boot and use the actual hardware. That eliminated the need to partition. I don't know if Windows 8 had that ability or not. Hope that helps a bit.
Joe

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

Well when I boot Ubuntu from a disk, it has limited options since it isn't writable, and setting don't stay when you shut down.
It does access my whole computer though.

But when I boot it from a USB Stick then it's just like a normal install and you can make changes, install software and access all of the hard drives on my computer, externals etc. just like a normal OS.

When I run it from the stick, it's very fast, from the virtual drive it runs with a lot of lag.

I need my Widows 9 install to run the software that's already installed on my computer (that doesn't require re-installation) so I don't think a virtual disk is the way to go for me.

I guess it's dual boot, I hope it's not a lot of hassle, it never was before, but I understand it's not as easy as it used to be with XP and 7 or 7 and 8 which I've done before.

Thanks for the input.

Mike

 

[whs]

I never noticed a performance problem running Mint or Ubunto in VMware Player. Make sure you give it at least 1 GB of RAM (512MB is default) and 2 cores (1 is default).

From a VMware Player system you have no access to the host partitions. You can create a shared partition if you want to share data. And if you want to access all partitions of the host system, you have to run Ubuntu from a stick.

Btw: I also run Windows 8.1 under VMware Player and never had a performance problem - even not on a modest Dell Inspiron or one of my laptops.

8.1 in VMware Player - note that the sound level is low. You have ti turn up the speakers.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

Thanks for the input.

I was curious as to whether VMware Player might be an easy option, I know that I see people doing it that way with 8.1 etc.

I plan on doing what I did with 7 and 8, once I install 9 I'll use it as my main OS, and only boot into 8 if I have to.

A lot of my software will run without being reinstalled, the rest I'll install in 9.

With both 7 and 8 I almost never booted into the old OS once I had it installed.

I just changed the settings in VMware Player to 4 Gigs of ram, and 2 processors and it did improve the performance noticeably.

I could go higher if I need to, I have 32 Gigs of ram, and 4 processors, can you give it access to all of the processors?

The sound works fine in VMware Player, but it doesn't work when I boot from a flash drive.

The options to select the sound device aren't the same when I boot from the stick as they are when I boot from VMPlayer.

That's something I can probably solve if I get on the Ubuntu forum and ask there, since everything else works perfectly.

I'll put in a shout for Universal USB Installer, it made making a bootable USB device with Ubuntu on it a snap.
This solves the need to boot your computer when Windows won't.

Everyone should have one of these so they can access all their data if things go wonky.
I'm going to look at adding antivirus scanners etc. to the stick.

Mike

 

[whs]

I could go higher if I need to, I have 32 Gigs of ram, and 4 processors, can you give it access to all of the processors?

No need to go higher than 4GB and splitting the cores 2 and 2 is perfect. You cannot allocate all cores to the guest - then you have none left for the host system.

I don't have the sound problem with the stick version. But my sticks are Mint Mate, not Ubuntu.

 

[Jimbo22]

Running a VM is nice and all but I don't see the point of it....meaning. If you have to give the VM half of your resources just to get it to run half way decent....it doesn't make any sense to me. My alternative; is to use a 2nd hard drive and install the 2nd OS on that and just using the F12 key to change the boot order at startup (it bypass's logging into the BIOS) and select what HDD that has the OS I want to use. The key to this setup is to detach the power/data cables of the previous HDD's in one's system...this is so the MBR get installed on the HDD for that OS (if installing windows) and the grub for linux.

 

[Joe S]

One other thing that might help performance is to put the VM on a different physical drive from the host. I noticed a little improvement when I installed a second internal and moved them there.
Joe

 

[whs]

Running a VM is nice and all but I don't see the point of it....meaning. If you have to give the VM half of your resources just to get it to run half way decent....it doesn't make any sense to me. My alternative; is to use a 2nd hard drive and install the 2nd OS on that and just using the F12 key to change the boot order at startup (it bypass's logging into the BIOS) and select what HDD that has the OS I want to use. The key to this setup is to detach the power/data cables of the previous HDD's in one's system...this is so the MBR get installed on the HDD for that OS (if installing windows) and the grub for linux.

This is certainly a good approach for a modest system. But I prefer the virtual way because I can run several systems side by side. I do have acres of RAM and 8 cores, so allocating resources to the virtual systems is no problem - even when I run 3 systems simultaneously ==> see this example.

 

[Jimbo22]

Hey whs.....your absolutely correct with your assessment with a VM on a modest system....which is what most of the avg PC users have. For the PC enthusiast's like yourself that have an 8 core CPU and 16 - 32 GB of RAM running a VM makes sense and should be considered as the firs option.

BTW...a most excellent video tutorial you created...I enjoyed watching every minute of it. With a multi-monitor setup, you could have one monitor devoted to each VM that's running. I'm looking forward to this if/when I can get my system inline with what you have.

 

[whs]

Thanks - yeah, multi monitors would be nice. But unfortunately I do not have the room on my desks. In both my homes my desks are very cramped and full of disks, router, modem caddies, speakers and all the 9 yards.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

I'll make a Mint bootable flash drive and try that out too.
I've been happy running Ubuntu but I often have issues with sound.

I'm running a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy sound card and it just doesn't seem to detect it and give me the right options.
I had sound issues with Windows 8.1 too, so maybe next time I should do a little research on card compatibility.

Mike