Running VMPlayer on Ubuntu Gutsy

I started setting up someone's system to dual boot between XP and Gutsy Gibbon when they asked about using some virtualization software like Xen or Parallels to actually run XP within their Ubuntu host. I already have Parallels on my iMac and that runs pretty well, but I had never had the greatest luck with qemu or Xen under Linux since I never had a machine to play with which had enough memory to run a virtual client well. But her system had 2 GB and a Pentium D processor so it seemed like a good time to try to get it working. Following a suggestion I found on the net, I downloaded vmplayer from vmware.com and then went to www.easyvmx.com to create a blank virtual machine to run. Following the instructions I have written up at our freeware site, I was able to boot off my XP CD and install a full running copy of XP SP2 on her Gutsy Gibbon box (and later on my own Dell Precision) complete with working audio, networking and Shared Folders. Now when I need a Windows box, I can just boot one up within my Ubuntu sytem, use it for whatever I need and then shut it down. It performs pretty well on my own 2.8GHz P4 Precision with 1.5GB of RAM (I allocated 512MB or RAM to the VM) and runs all the Windows apps flawlessly. Pretty cool!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hugh,
I have been a VMware user (not developer) for a long time and I am aware of VMWare player. What I didn't know what that you can create a vmx guest image without having VMWare workstation or similar. Thanks for the information this is cool stuff. Also I have been using you mortgage calculator for years (2002 or so) and it is great. After a long time I decided to see if I could find you again and I did today...you have a ton of cool info on your site and blog. THANKS!
Regards,
George Wiederock
6:40 AM
Anonymous said…
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR GRORGE WIEDEROCK FOR YEARS. HE IS OR WAS A GREAT FRIEND. WHERE ARE YOU GEORGE

REGARDS,
DEBBE BUTTA BRIGHT
4:57 PM
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