XP Mode slow -- try (Free) Unity from vmware

[HughShaw]

I'm very impressed with VMware after getting things to work! This program seriously blows the competition away! Everything from it having the smoothest graphics, no bugs, and being the fastest has me in shock.

 

[pparks1]

Yes, VMWare has been in the game a lot longer and that is pretty much the only thing they do..virtualization. While some of their commercial products do get expensive....the benefits and the functionality make it worth it. And their free offerings set the stage for the rest of the competition.

 

[HughShaw]

Are the contents of "Documents\Virtual Machines" all we'll need to for a backup in case I want to get the exact same setup on another computer?

Edit: For anybody deleting Windows XP Mode, make sure you save the base vhd file, because VMware needs it!

 

[tcarrbrion]

Are the contents of "Documents\Virtual Machines" all we'll need to for a backup in case I want to get the exact same setup on another computer?

You can copy the folder under "virtual Machines" and have two virtual machines or copy it to a different users documents so they have XP mode as well. When you run the copy it asks if you copied or moved it. I have not tried copying to another computer.

 

[HughShaw]

Yeah, I was just wondering what would happen if my hard drive crashed one day. Since I backup all my documents, would I be able to restore VMware XP Mode with all the same system settings and installations? (I do notice that the folder they store in documents has a vmx file which you can select when opening a virtual machine)

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
glad you liked vmware

On vmware workstation there's an option to "Clone Virtual machine" but all that does is actually just copy the data files.

Remember as far as your HOST is concerned the data in the directory which you use to open / power on your Virtual machine is just that - DATA for the HOST.

If you back up that directory it's fine. I've copied VM's like that to USB sticks, external HDD's etc.

When you power on a VM you've moved or copied answer "I copied it" to the initial prompt.

BTW copying VM's etc should not ask for any activations again since these are "identical in every way" machines --true 100% clones.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[tcarrbrion]

I am very pleased with VMWare Player 3. I now have XP mode and Kubuntu 9.10 running as virtual machines on my Windows 7 64 bit and have had no problems with it. I installed VMWare tools on both systems. It does not seem too slow and is easy to use. Sound has reasonable quality (not as good as the host). I briefly tried Unity mode (with XP Mode) at it worked very well. Recommended.

 

[tcarrbrion]

Yeah, I was just wondering what would happen if my hard drive crashed one day. Since I backup all my documents, would I be able to restore VMware XP Mode with all the same system settings and installations?

Does anyone know if the key.txt file and the original base vhd need to be backed up? My guess would be not as the vmdk file would contain the key.

 

[HughShaw]

Yes, just put your original base vhd file into your VMware folder. It would be something like \Documents\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode\. As for the key.txt file, I believe that it is stored in the original base vhd file.

 

[HughShaw]

I really love VMware player! I got StarCraft working in XP Mode here, I'm sure other games will be no problem. So yes, it's confirmed that VMware can handle games built for XP.

 

[jimbo45]

I really love VMware player! I got StarCraft working in XP Mode here, I'm sure other games will be no problem. So yes, it's confirmed that VMware can handle games built for XP.

Hi there
You'll do better as well with games if you increase the size of the default VRAM (Virtual video graphics RAM). Make it 64 MB instead of the default 16MB.

Add a line in the .vmx config file - I've posted the details below

...........................
ide1:0.autodetect = "FALSE"
ide1:0.allowGuestConnectionControl = "FALSE"
tools.upgrade.policy = "manual"
scsi0:1.present = "TRUE"
scsi0:1.fileName = "Windows 7_pro x64-0.vmdk"
scsi0:1.redo = ""
floppy0.present = "FALSE"
ide1:0.startConnected = "TRUE"
svga.vramSize = "64000000"

Cheers
jimbo

 

[HughShaw]

Thanks for the tip! Do you recommend the RAM at 512 and to use 1 processor core? (I tried messing with this, but it didn't seem to notice a difference)

 

[pparks1]

Generally speaking...I would use as little RAM as possible and stick with 1 CPU until you get processor bound. This way you have as much RAM as possible for your actual HOST OS. Best practices for CPU's says to utilize 1 for as long as you can as there is extra overhead in scheduling for 2 CPU's and if your apps doen't really utilize it...your performance can marginally go down. Probably not enough to notice...though

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

On typical HOME systems lack of RAM in a VM is not normally an issue when running just one or even maybe 2 small VM's. (Assuming you have a 4GB RAM system or bigger).

The biggest bottleneck BY FAR is the I/O subsystem - mind you this is part of the system that is most neglected even on the HOST.

The reason for suggesting a slight increase in the VRAM for the virtual video adapter is that you won't be able to run AERO or play many games with the default 16MB (vmware WKS7 or vmware player V3).

To overcome the disk i/o problem have the vhd's for your VM's on the FASTEST disks you have --even better if you can place the VM's on disks with their own disk controllers rather than using controllers on the MOBO's.

If you are running VM's you should try and "quiesce" the HOST as much as possible. Just suspend any unnecessary HOST applications while running a VM -- that's why it's better using a SERVER for VM's - again however another issue.

About the only app I run when testing VM's is just a TV application (uses minimal Host resources with its own PCI card) and maybe some email.

Don't run a load of Photoshop or Video editing apps for example on a Host while testing VM's if you want decent performance.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[tony22]

I installed the final released version of Windows XP Mode on my Windows 7 Ultimate box at work. It runs an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.0Ghz, 4GB of RAM and a Western Digital Caviar 500GB hard drive.

Windows XP Mode boot times: 48 seconds
Windows XP Mode boot time after conversion into VMWare Player 3.0: 23 seconds

This is the exact same image, after running through the VMWare Converter utility. As you can see above, it boots 2x as fast with VMWare over the XP Mode.

Unfortunately, doing it this way requires you to reactivate XP. So, starting from the base image and being pre-activated is your best option. The results above will still be applicable with a clean build..I have proven that before in testing.

I'd like to get a little clarification please. In another post you stated -

Yes, from within the VMWare Player, go to File and there is an option to convert your XP Mode hard drive right there.

So if I decide to use VMWare Player do I have to use the vCenter Converter or not? Also, is Unity the same thing as clicking "File > Import Windows XP Mode VM" from within Player?

 

[at100plus]

Well I've tried VMWare Player and Sun's Virtual Box and both don't do what I want. I think the only option is to try Win7 Virtual XP but I have to upgrade to Win7 Pro. Before I spend the $89 I wish I knew if it would work.

I'm trying to access 2 extra slave storage drives from the virtual pc, and I need the virtual pc to install a DVR video card that only runs on 32 bit.

I have Windows 7 64 Bit. and want to install XP Pro on the Virtual. Anyone think the Windows Virtual will work?