Questions about Installing/Setting Up Linux using VMWare

[corinthos]

I only have 1 PC and it's running XP right now. I'd like to install and configure Linux to get a fully working system with all software setup and customized to my liking. But I don't want to have to do a base install of Linux and then boot back and forth into XP in order to access the Internet to look up all the 'how-to' documentation I'll need along the way.

So I found out about VMWare and it looks like it might make this task easier by allowing me to run Linux within XP. I'm not familiar with how it all works, but it seems like I'd be able to work on my Linux setup in a window and can look up info I need using a web browser in XP.

Will I be able to do this with VMWare? I have a free hard disk which I'd like to dedicate exclusively to Linux, and I'd like to set it up so I can just remove the HD that contains my XP setup, leaving just the HD with Linux on it to boot from.

Basically I want to install and setup Linux just as I would on a brand new system and empty HD, except I want to be able to do it with XP running so I can still access the Internet in case I need to look up info (and I will)...Is this possible?
Any limitations with this approach?

 

[n0cmonkey]

If you install in VMWare, you'll have to have XP booted to use it. I don't think it can use a raw disk device, it uses a file on the disk or something instead.

 

[nweaver]

not sure with VMWare, but most of these programs will let you specifiy a physical disk for the virtual OS. You WILL NOT be able to then just boot from that drive. VM installs with VM Hardware, i.e. It doesn't see your geforce, it sees a VMVideo card. YOu don't have a modem, it's a vm modem. The hardware will NOT match what is in the box, and that install would have to run in the VM environment. There is a way to move stuff back and forth (re HUP or something like that, I know a guy who does it all the time for testing) but I don't know how.

 

[gdsqx9]

VMWare Workstation needs a base operating system. You can purchase versions that will use Windows or Linux as the base. I use the Windows version. The VMWare web site (www.vmware.com) has a lot of information on how to get something to work under VMware. The forums are also very good. WMWare has a list of operating systems that can be run under VMWare. They also have a 30 day eval and you can get more days if you email them or call.

WMware installs in a file that is a unique copy of the opeating system you want to install. I have used it and I'm very happy with it.

You will need enough memory to run efficiently. I have 1G and I notice slowdowns if I have to many VMware sessions running along with Windows XP.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: nweaver
not sure with VMWare, but most of these programs will let you specifiy a physical disk for the virtual OS. You WILL NOT be able to then just boot from that drive. VM installs with VM Hardware, i.e. It doesn't see your geforce, it sees a VMVideo card. YOu don't have a modem, it's a vm modem. The hardware will NOT match what is in the box, and that install would have to run in the VM environment. There is a way to move stuff back and forth (re HUP or something like that, I know a guy who does it all the time for testing) but I don't know how.

Actually, it is possible to both:

a. Setup a VMWare image on a physical ("raw") partition rather than a virtual disk file, and
b. Setup the virtual machine to allow you to both boot directly to the partition or load it through VMWare.

In order to accomplish b., you need to setup a separate hardware profile within your VM. One hardware profile will be used for your "virtual" hardware when running inside VMWare, and the other will be used when booting directly to the image. There are some other headaches to get this setup to work, but I've seen it done with a Windows 2000 virtual machine. I'm assuming it could be done with Linux as well.

EDIT: VMWare has some instructions on how to do this for a GSX Server, but the same options should apply for Workstation.