At 1/19/2020 05:46 PM, Wayne (H) wrote:
>Hmmm VMware, one of my customers use it extensively, actually use it for all
>their Windows server systems even using VAX emulators on top of Windows
>since turning off their ancient VAX hardware.
>
>Are there any specific hardware requirements for running VMware ?
You need to enable virtualization in the BIOS. For intel that is VT-x
and AMD is AMD-V.
If you do virtualize a windoze PC, make sure you turn off Fast Start.
Also turn it off if you plan to clone the drive. With fast start turned off
it is easier to mount the windows drive on a Linux system, where you can
recover files if necessary. Also recommend it in case a drive starts to
go sour or no longer boots. Mounting the drive in Linux is a great way
to recover things.
>What is the cost of VMware for home use ?
I have VMWare Workstation. New is a bit expensive, $250. I can do upgrades
at the cheaper price. Black Fridays they often have a sale.
However, there is VMWare player that is free, and I think there is VMware
vCenter Converter that can convert a drive that is also free. Check out
this article for the three major options.
https://www.howtogeek.com/213145/how-to%C2%A0convert-a-physical-windows-or-linux-pc-to-a-virtual-machine/
The big feature of Win 10 (pro) is Windoze Hyper-V. According to the article
above, microsoft also has Disk2vhd tool. But I have no experience with it.
Definitely try the free routes before spending on VMware.
>What is the learning curve for VMware like ?
VMWare is pretty straight forward. I recommend, if you have the disk space,
to allocate the whole drive. The alternative is it can grow incrementally.
But creating one drive will be a faster system. Since I have so many spare
drives around, I often just use a whole drive.
I forget how exactly what is required to clone the drive...
The other thing I recommend is to set the Network to Bridge mode. That will
make it look like another PC on your network.
Probably the trickiest part is installing VMware tools on the VM. The tools
allow sharing a drive, copy/paste between the system, and resizing the
window. I always end up searching how to do it, but I mostly have Linux VMs.
>Seems like VMware might be an excellent way to "insulate" my desktop PC
>system from hardware upgrades, but what about VMware upgrades ?
They come, just like other tools, incremental upgrades are free, version
upgrades are not. I got on the VMware bandwagon a long time ago.
It is essential for my work. I have also used VirtualBox, which is free.
VMware seems to be faster and sometimes better compatibility.
The biggest feature I need is to make sure i can connect USB devices
to the VM machine.
WayneS
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