Is there anyway I can set up an extra Monitor as a virtual machine?

FuturDreamz said:

strollin said:

Night Hawk said:

... That kind of sums up the lack of need for anything demanding as far as basic viewing while lying around on the bunk bed. A micro atx mini tower with the basics can still provide enough to watch flicks and tend to some surfer without issues. ...

For the stated uses of watching movies or surfing the web a micro atx mini tower would be much more expensive (and overkill) than something like the Android device I suggested. I could see going that route if the OP wanted the 2nd user to be able to play games while he played games on his main computer but that isn't what he asked about.

I think they primary thing is if he needs DVD/bluray playback or not. That would make the biggest difference in systems he can use.

Agreed! Simply jumping on an Android or Rasberry is simply holding a tablet or smart phone while up in the bunk and not anything feasible for a 32" display! Patching to the main desktop and use of one of the options pointed to earlier for adding additional users is mainly something businesses look at while you can still find different programs and methods to make it work.

As for a second case that doesn't always mean you go out and build a new high end build with all the thrills. A basic mini tower case here is already adequate for blue ray or other media by simply adding in a blu ray drive. The small case runs the 64bit 7 Pro with 4gb of ram and a 500gb hard drive and a low profile Radeon 6450 1gb card that will still handle a large display.

The cost was cheap(just over $300 total) compared to what was spent on the main case I run with dual displays and 16gb of ram as well as multiple drives. 4 HDs, 2 dvd drives, and even an old cd writer for vcd projects. For really cutting corners however there are some other options to see a second pc made available. How to build an 'All-in-One' PC | ZDNet

[QUOTE=Night Hawk;2285925]

FuturDreamz said:

...
Agreed! Simply jumping on an Android or Rasberry is simply holding a tablet or smart phone while up in the bunk and not anything feasible for a 32" display! ...

I'm not sure what you are talking about here???? I can output hdmi from my smartphone that scales very nicely to my 46" inch display. Likewise with an Android mini-pc and nothing needs to be held in the hand like a tablet or a phone.

I don't know whether the OP needs/wants the ability to play Bluray DVDs or not since he didn't say and hasn't come back to the thread. Most people that I know of with an HTPC setup want to rip their DVDs and play them from a server/external drive (which is what I do with my mini-pc) as opposed to having the requirement of playing BlueRay DVDs.

What the OP was asking about was seeing the basics set up with the 32" screen with a cordless keyboard and mouse combo to do the everyday things like surf the web and watch movies. That didn't specify where the movies are to be found however such as watching Infinity online which that ISP offers for calling up tv shows and movies or simply watching YouTube or other web based content.

The problem would running a media player full screen from the bunk bed while someone is playing a full screen pc title at the pc desk when running into cpu tasking and other resource issues since a larger load is also placed on the vpu power the main case has to offer and can end up clashing. The multiuser pc wares are geared more at the business server to workstation methology there where each user is sharing a common network group to access one main server set up.

If you plan on playing a pc game or running Windows Media Player(or other Windows orientated player) while up in the bunk you wouldn't use a hand held Rasberry or Andriod device. For basic web access on the other hand a VM configured for one keyboard/mouse would simply be displayed on the second 32" screen while other things are being run on the main display. Or you could simply connect and browser by way of a hand held or tablet which would then see a separate device in use.

For the most part I think the OP is looking for a cheap way to set things up without the expense of going out to buy anything or building a second case to begin with but simply run two of each as far as keyboard and mouse without the additional expense of those other options. The problem will prove just what it will actually take depending a few variables. Two people both running full screen pc games or media players would more likely run into resource as well as possible software issues.

Why do you keep mentioning using hand held devices? You do realize that neither a Raspberry Pi nor an Android mini-pc are hand held devices, don't you?.

For one you didn't particular specify mini Android pc which looks more like a digital tv converter box with a WiFi dongle. http://miniandroidpc.com/ As for the Rasberry Pi guitar effects? Raspberry Pi | An ARM GNU/Linux box for $25. Take a byte! The name Android does tend to fit into the Google smart phone, Kindle Fire type catagory for the most part however.

I doubt the OP is looking to patch a guitar into tv but have a pc interface on the bunk bed as well as at the pc desk. The OP will still need to reply back here to clarify just what else he will be interested in seeing as options.

As I said, it's all moot since the OP seems to be totally absent from this thread but links were provided to both the mini-PC and the Raspberry Pi in previous posts and neither showed a hand held or anything to do with a guitar so don't know where you're getting that nonsense from.

Most responders have posted viable options but for some reason you are trying to purposely distort certain options by posting misleading, incorrect info.

The OP's request didn't indicate he wanted to spend any money but use existing items he already had to accomplish what he wanted. You offered the MOST EXPENSIVE option that would require the most effort to implement. The Android/Linux based solutions that were offered were the least expensive as well as plug and play.

The OP may not want a Linux or Android solution and would prefer a Windows solution, we don't know that. Why not let the reader of the thread decide that for him or herself instead of making assumptions as you have?

strollin said:

As I said, it's all moot since the OP seems to be totally absent from this thread but links were provided to both the mini-PC and the Raspberry Pi in previous posts and neither showed a hand held or anything to do with a guitar so don't know where you're getting that nonsense from.

Most responders have posted viable options but for some reason you are trying to purposely distort certain options by posting misleading, incorrect info.

The OP's request didn't indicate he wanted to spend any money but use existing items he already had to accomplish what he wanted. You offered the MOST EXPENSIVE option that would require the most effort to implement. The Android/Linux based solutions that were offered were the least expensive as well as plug and play.

The OP may not want a Linux or Android solution and would prefer a Windows solution, we don't know that. Why not let the reader of the thread decide that for him or herself instead of making assumptions as you have?

Apparently you didn't read Post #13 too well.

What the OP was asking about was seeing the basics set up with the 32" screen with a cordless keyboard and mouse combo to do the everyday things like surf the web and watch movies. That didn't specify where the movies are to be found however such as watching Infinity online which that ISP offers for calling up tv shows and movies or simply watching YouTube or other web based content.

As indicated the OP is obviously looking for a low cost solution and why some links were provided at the top of the thread regardling how to go about setting things up for multiple users on one pc. I believe DeaconFrost is onto something there with the dying off of any softwares to find for this type of set up however due to advancements in other areas over time.

Here's a link to Synergy but it doesn't do what the op wanted either: Synergy. Not sure if this is the software DF was thinking of.

I still think a separate box of some kind would be required to do it as there isn't a way to attach 2 separate keyboards and 2 separate mice to a single machine that I'm aware of.

Remote Desktop Connection can allow 2 concurrent users, each using their own box but they would each be controlling the same desktop.