I'm currently dual-booting Ubuntu and Win XP on my main desktop computer. I'd like to be able to run my pre-existing XP install inside a virtual machine in Ubuntu.
Tell me what I can and can't have...
- Ideally, I'd like to be able to call up XP in a VM in Ubuntu whenever I need it, and close it (freeing the resources) when I don't need it.
- I'd like any changes I make in VirtualBox to my XP files, programs, etc., to be reflected when I boot into Windows "the old fashioned way".
- And again, I'd like this to work on my pre-existing install of Windows on the same machine, not a fresh install from CD.
Of all this, what can and can't be done in VirtualBox? Thanks for any input you may have!
-Mark
Can use this to access a preexisting XP install from Ubuntu?
Next version will have raw disk/raw partition access. This is the technical basis for booting a guest OS from the host's hard disk. However getting an existing XP installation work inside a VM can be quite a challenge, because the hardware of the real machine and the virtual machine differs (often requiring tweaks so that the IDE driver is recognized correctly). And then you most lilkely need to reactivate your XP installation, because a lot of hardware changed. If you intend to switch between real hardware boot and VM boot regularly, you'll run out of online activations rather quickly.
There are a lot of pitfalls, but none of them is really specific to VirtualBox or virtualization products in general. The same trouble happens if you migrate an existing XP install to another real PC.
There are a lot of pitfalls, but none of them is really specific to VirtualBox or virtualization products in general. The same trouble happens if you migrate an existing XP install to another real PC.