Advantage(s) of VirtualBox vs. Windows 7 V PC?

[karlkras]

I was wondering why one would choose VirtualBox over Windows Virtual PC service?
This is not meant to start a flame at all, but just an interested possible user who is considering virtualizer options.
My preference is to utilize and support OSS whenever possible, but heck, I already have Windows Virtual PC on my system why not just use it?
I choose to use a different Inet browser over the option that comes with Windows for various reasons so I'm not one to choose solely upon convenience, I'm simply after a bullet list of advantages in actual functionality/features/usability.

Thanks in advance for any feedback,
Karl

[stefan.becker]

Why do some people drive a mercedes and other renault?

If the product is enough for your use cases, then its ok.

[Perryg]

Does Windows 7 vpc even support other operating systems besides Windows I mean?

[karlkras]

Does Windows 7 vpc even support other operating systems besides Windows I mean?

Well, I believe it does. Otherwise all of the internet postings on how to install (for example) Ubuntu image in a WVPC environment are all fake .

[Perryg]

I don't know. That's why I asked. I know that Windows 7 supports XP mode and I looked at the Microsoft site about Windows 7 VPC and it never mentions that you can run anything other than Windows. I remember using MS vpc 2007 and I could install (other) but it was not optimized to run Linux very well.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

[karlkras]

Well, I'm currently giving it a try (installing Ubuntu 32 bit 10.10 on W7VPC) so I'll be able to report on this first hand.
Installing Ubuntu 10.4 LTS on Windows Virtual PC on Windows 7
So once I do this I guess I can start the process of determining which of the two options provide a better fit.
Then I'll blog about my comparisons between the two. Was hoping someone would have already done this. Reason for my post.
I've seen many posts that recommend using VirtualBox instead of W7VPC, but was looking for real bullet points as to why.

[abcuser]

Does Windows 7 vpc even support other operating systems besides Windows I mean?

I think there is not such a big question about which guest does VPC support, but is which hosts does VPC support? It only supports Windows hosts.

If karlkras would only like to try some guest on Windows host then VPC can be sufficient.

[Perryg]

I knew that. I have simply not tried Xp mode or VPC in Win 7. That's why I asked. I do know that when I ran VPC 2007 in Windows while you could install a Linux based OS it was not setup to do so wisely IMHO. I moved to VirtualBox because of this. The speed and support alone was worth the move to me.

[jonsof]

karlkras I mainly use MS products, but when it comes to virtualization Virtualbox is far more flexible than MS virtualization.Even Hyper-V doesnt handle physical resources that good, like "a small free app" does.

I use virtualization since the days of Virtual PC and had rough times with Linux guest OS.Then found Innotek's Virtualbox (now licensed under Oracle) and since then never changed again.It has never failed me over all those years.

"W7VPC" is more an alternative to having Windows XP inside Windows 7 and attain compatibility for older legacy applications, rather than a full Virtualization platform.I doubt you can use it to set up whole server-client environments.
Also I certainly dont like the way it provides management for Virtual machines and their elements - the console (only valid for the machine you refer to) is not that detailed.

I am not sure, but does it provide features like:

• automount (and read-only) shared host folders
  host USB ports available to guest
  networking modes (like bridged, internal, host-only adapter)

There are many things to consider but most important is what are your needs.

[karlkras]

Yep... as usually happens, ask and I wind up with another level of questions!
But I'm beginning to at least know what I'm looking at when considering "options". Thanks for your replies (and patience in dealing with my sophomoric questions.)
As I'm finding, W7VPC doesn't deal well with the video, sound, extended mouse support (well it may, but I haven't been able to figure it out) for my attempts to configure Ubuntu so point well taken for

doesnt handle physical resources that good

That in itself is a major reason for me.

[jonsof]

Physical resources management is about how well (or bad) the Virtual program's engine uses your computer's CPU, memory, Sound, etc
For example in Microsoft's Hyper-V, virtual VGA memory for any VM is fixed at 4MB meaning no 2D acceleration and a max resolution of 1600x1200.In contrast in VirtualBox you have a limit of 128MB so you get the full desktop experience of any OS.

What you are refering to, is an add-on that is installed to the guest OS (in Virtual Box is called VirtualBox Guest Additions) and allows you to move the mouse cursor freely between the guest OS and the host OS, or adds support for 3D acceleration on the guest OS, etc

It seems this is another feature lacking in Windows Virtual PC 6.1.

IMHO this is an unfair comparison.

[mpack]

Does Windows 7 vpc even support other operating systems besides Windows I mean?

Well, I believe it does. Otherwise all of the internet postings on how to install (for example) Ubuntu image in a WVPC environment are all fake .

Um.. There's a difference between something being possible and something being supported. "Supported" means that GAs etc are available. As a comparison, a Win98 guest is possible in VBox, but not supported.

To the original question, I started with Virtual PC 2007 but only used it briefly: I had a number of minor problems all of which disappeared when I switched to VirtualBox. After that I need a reason to change, not a reason to remain. XP Mode on Win7 looks more polished, but is much less flexible. It doesn't even support all versions of Windows, never mind Linux et al.

[karlkras]

Hey mpack,
Yeah, in hindsight (and intuition) I really should have simply used VirtualBox. 4 hours of my life futzing with WVPC I'll never get back.Thought I'd give MS some benefit of doubt and try it out... but as many other MS built-in options it simply is just adequate within their own range of focus. At least now I have a hands on understanding on why I'd make a different choice.
Now I'm wondering if I might be better off moving my virtual XP machine over to VBox. Hmmm.

[FrodoHobbits]

Now I'm wondering if I might be better off moving my virtual XP machine over to VBox. Hmmm.

More than likely

[karlkras]

Okay... pass me more of that punch please...!

Great product! Took me ~an hour to get Ubuntu up, configured and running with main hardware devices functioning. Other then normal native linux configuration things, VBox performed exactly as it was documented. Thanks again for humoring me (or visa versa) as I went through this process...
Wonder if I'll ever see my W7 host again... oh, need that for work.