Win7, Linux Mint and VMWare on same machine ?

ian50 said:

a) Win7 needs an NFT disk format and an MBR control. Both of these are easily achievable under UEFI "bios" if Secure Boot is disabled and Legacy Boot enabled. Is this an issue at all, do you think ? (I ask because of your comment on MBR)

I can't really comment on this as my hardware only supports MBR.
I've never used UEFI.
Also I always use AMD based hardware, so I can't comment on any Intel idiosyncrasies.

ian50 said:

b) from my experiences with various UNIX/LINUX versions long ago and far away, working drivers for various hardware configs did present problems. Is this still the case, do you think ? I ask this because in the VM setup screens you posted, the network card (eg) is describes as NAT, so I wonder at this ...

When I've installed a Linux Distro, everything has worked out-of-the-box on my PCs, but I generally don't use the latest-and-greatest hardware.
However as many people say "Your Mileage May Vary".

I swapped from Ubuntu 10.04 to Linux Mint in 2013 when I couldn't get my new graphics card to work correctly (I hated Unity so Ubuntu 12.04 was unacceptable).

I chose NAT (Network Address Translation) for the network settings as I hoped it would provide additional protection compared to using the "Bridged" option.

ian50 said:

c) you suggest that a Linux box running Win7 in the VM installation is best. Could you say why, please, as then I wonder about "activation", product keys etc - all the MS paraphenalia.

My reasons are:

lehnerus2000 said:

Unless you want to run modern games, I would suggest that you use a Linux Host and a Windows VM:

• You should be able to avoid W7 driver issues
• Your Linux Host OS shouldn't be affected by Windows malware
• LM18.3 uses less resources, so more can be allocated to the Windows VM (e.g. cores & RAM)

Also as @dg1261 posted:

dg1261 said:

I'll let others address the Windows activation issues (I personally don't see it as a factor, as you'll need to deal with activation regardless of whether it's on the host or the VM), but in terms of potential exposure to malware, it ultimately would be better to have Windows in the VM.

Your host is always going to be exposed to the internet. Your VM is only exposed when you're running the VM. If you think Windows is going to be the more vulnerable OS, then it's better to have it be the VM, where it will be exposed less often.

You should be able to activate W7 normally even if it is a VM.
However MS wants everyone to move to W10, so they may throw up obstacles.

You could try converting your current Activated W7 install to a VM (via a Macrium Reflect Image).
Convert a Macrium Reflect Image to a VM.

Your PC may struggle as your CPU doesn't have much grunt and your Total RAM is only 4GB.

Welllllllll I av vmware workstation..... and yes win 10 is host as it's best for majority of graphics applications cad gaming etc ....licensing mhhhhhh let's just say they are easily has through various means

I thought the original point was to avoid W10 and continuing to use W7. :)

OTOH, If you want to play the latest games, you probably have no choice but to run W10.

chrissrussell said:

Win 10 is not half bad ...better than 7 to me n I use tons of old software ...And I find that all of my stuff are compatible with 10

If you don't mind the always-on Telemetry and you can stop it from installing dodgy drivers/updates/upgrades, W10 runs smoothly.

I got sick of having to spend hours fixing W10 after updating/upgrading.
Now I keep my W10 Home and W10 Pro VM disconnected from our network.
Its the only way to be sure W10 can't send Telemetry, or download dodgy drivers/updates/upgrades.

ian50 said:

@lehnerus2000

" ... the original point was to avoid W10 and continuing to use W7"

Well, that's my point, anyway.

That's what I thought. :)

ian50 said:

But how to install Win7 into a Linux VM and handle the activation issue is one of the considerations. Your suggested solution of installing a Macrium Reflect image into the VM is still the most potent. The Macrium website page that you linked to discusses the legal methods of deploying a full Win7 image into a VM. I'm looking at that carefully now - it needs the commercial version of Macrium, which is not necessarily so cheap - and it seems a good answer.

I'm using Macrium Reflect Free (v6.3).
I've created VMs from Macrium Reflect Free Images.

It should be straightforward if your PC only has one OS installed.
You may need a W7 install disc if you have boot issues.

Macrium Reflect does include a Boot Repair tool, but I haven't used it, so I can't comment.
Make sure you create the Macrium Reflect Recovery disc before you start experimenting.

My PCs are multi-boot and I've never been able to get more than one OS to work after the "Image to VHD" conversion.
I tried to create a VM of my triple boot system (XP, W7 & LM) but I ended up having to create 3 separate VMs.

I used this (old) procedure:
http://kb.macrium.com/knowledgebasearticle50005.aspx