a "VirtualBox for Dummies" question

[FatherH]

I currently have a dual boot set-up (XP 64bit and W7 64bit). I'd like to use W-7 as my main o/s (host). I would also like to use XP to gain access to some programs that won't work in W-7.

Virtualization appears to be the route to take to attain this goal. To this end, while the XP o/s was running, I created a Virtual Machine within a partition on a different hard drive than where XP & W7 are installed, and I've installed XP into it (thus creating a vdi file).

I've now hit a wall.
I don't know if I need to re-install all my XP programs into the VM or if I can simply copy/paste them into it or do I somehow set-up the VM so, through it, I can link to the already installed software that currently resides on my C drive??

I also don't know how to turn it on when I'm using the W7 o/s so I can seamlessly work with programs that are XP compatible only (when I open VirtualBox in W7 it doesn't show any VM's and I can't import the vdi file).

Any help that can be provided to this "virtual dummy" (me), will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

[mpack]

While it might be possible to use the native XP partition directly as the hard disk in a VM, it would be complicated given how your host hard disk is currently partitioned.

Perhaps you should just continue along the path you've already started, i.e. a fresh install of XP, in which case your next step is, yes, installing whatever apps you need. If you have access to the XP partition when W7 is running then the VM will also be able, potentially, to access any docs there via shared folders. Remember to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions inside the VM, as it will make things run a lot smoother.

I should mention that I have no experience of running 64bit XP in a VM, so if I were you this would have been a 32bit install, unless I had a truly desperate need to address more than 3GB of RAM inside the VM (and I frankly suspect that few people really have that need).

[FatherH]

mpack,
The reason I installed the 64 bit version of XP is two-fold - - because this is the o/s I used prior to installing W7 and because some of my XP software, which won't work in W7, are also 64bit.

That being said, if I understand you correctly, I should remove the VM altogether and start over again - - this time, while running my W7 o/s, install another copy of my W7 o/s into the VM and then install Guest Additions into the VM. Am I correct??

If so, does this also mean the VM should be created within the same partition where my W7 o/s is located??

Currently, the apps I need, which will only run with XP, are located on my C drive. My W-7 is installed on the same hard drive but in a different partition (different drive letter). When I attempt to open an app that's residing on C drive it fails because it's looking for the path to be associated with the partition I'm making the link from (the one with W7 on it).

Thanks for your help.

[BillG]

Why would you install Win 7 in a vm? I thought you wanted Win XP.

Virtual machines do not normally run from a disk partition. They run from a virtual hard disk, which is simply another file in your file system and can be stored in any partition (or any hard drive for that matter). Running a vm directly from a partition is non-standard and is not recommended unless you are aware of the implications. There are many posts in the forum about that.

I think that mpack was suggesting you start with a fresh install of XP in a vm using a virtual hard disk.

[mpack]

I think that mpack was suggesting you start with a fresh install of XP in a vm using a virtual hard disk.

Exactly so, especially since that is what the OP indicated he had already begun.

The choice of 32bit vs 64bit guest was an aside - all I really said was that I have never used 64bit XP and so can't vouch for it.

[FatherH]

To BillG and mpack
Thank you both for your input. In answer to BillG's question as to why I would "install Win 7 in a vm?" As the subject of my question indicated, I'm a "dummy" when it comes to virtualization and as such I'm not sure what I'm doing, therefore I can't tell you "why" - - at least not until I can get a better handle on "what" it is I'm doing and "how" I'm suppose to be doing it...

I have managed to install a fresh copy of XP64 bit into the VM I had created earlier - - and I even imported a couple of folders from my old C drive. However, although I've figured out how to open this VM while in W7, I still haven't figured out how to gain access to the folders (and programs) contained in these folders, nor have I discovered a way to link directly to the programs installed on the original C drive so I can open/run them.

Sigh...

[Garthhh]

open the virtualbox program
click on xp [xp must be powered off]
click on machine
click on settings
click on shared folders
click on the folder with a + sign on the right
click on the folder path drop down
find whatever you are looking for & add it

[mpack]

In most cases you cannot run previously installed large Windows applications from their original locations. That's because when installed they nearly always store a lot of stuff in the registry and maybe even updates to Windows (C++/.NET runtimes, or drivers) as well. On a physical system with two Windows OS you can sometimes fake this by installing into a common area twice, once from each OS, that way both have the correct set of registry entries and OS updates. In this case however that would not be such a good idea: shared folder performance is not good, and anyway it would create too intimate a link IMHO between host and guest (not good for portability or reliability).

Edit:  Fixed typo.

[Garthhh]

In most cases you cannot run previously installed large Windows applications from their original locations. That's because when installed they nearly always store a lot of stuff in the registry and maybe even updates to Windows (C++/.NET runtimes, or drivers) as well. On a physical system with two Windows OS you can sometimes fake this by installing into the same common twice, once from each OS, that way both have the correct set of registry entries and OS updates. In this case however that would not be such a good idea: shared folder performance is not good, and anyway it would create too intimate a link IMHO between host and guest (not good for portability or reliability).

sharing applications is definitely the advanced version
personally I share data files & install the applications on each different virtual machine
I have a good base XP sp3 install that I save as an appliance [on a external HDD], which greatly speeds up the initial install process
I use XP to run Itunes & occasionally Netflix, which don't have native linux versions
this requires Guest additions

I'm not sure why OP[original poster] isn't using compatibility mode on windows 7 or does that take more than the base version?

[selden]

Compatibility mode requires Win7 Pro or better. Otherwise, you need a separate XP license and have to manually install it in a VM.
Compatibility mode only supports 32bit WinXP. The OP wants to use 64 bit XP.

[Garthhh]

Compatibility mode requires Win7 Pro or better. Otherwise, you need a separate XP license and have to manually install it in a VM.
Compatibility mode only supports 32bit WinXP. The OP wants to use 64 bit XP.

makes sense
I wonder what the must have app is for XP 64 bit?