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  1. #1
    John E is offline Elite Member Power Poster
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    Setting up a Windows Virtual Machne

    It's often recommended to use a Virtual Machine when trialling downloaded software and I know a lot of the devs here use VM's regularly. But what's involved in setting up a VM? I've heard about free packages called VMware and VirtualBox. Are they the best thing to use? And what benefits does a Virtual Machine offer? (presumably they can protect against viruses to some extent ?)
    "A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” - Charles F. Kettering

  2. #2
    2kaud's Avatar
    2kaud is offline Super Moderator Power Poster
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    Re: Setting up a Windows Virtual Machne

    We use VMWare. It is very easy to set up. From File menu, choose new Virtual Machine. Change the settings as needed (amount of memory to be used etc), insert the OS install DVD and it will install as if on a physical computer. When completed you then do File, Open and open the newly created virtual machine. You'll need to install the appropriate drivers etc but this is easy from VM menu, Install VMware Tools. The disk(s) for the virtual machine are just file(s) on the host os which can be copied etc etc. If you get a problem with the VM (virus etc) then just override the file(s) with a previous copy and you're back up and working. Enterprise versions of VM provide a lot more functionality - but these are expensive! You can have multiple VMs open at one time (depending upon how much physical memory is installed in the host computer) and they can be networked - just like actual computers. I can have several complete domains (PDC, BDC, member server, XP, W7, W10 etc) running on my laptop (for different OS versions). Note that for each OS you install as a VM you still need a valid licence with activation codes required if needed. We use them as test beds for new hotfixes, testing new software, new releases, old versions etc etc.
    All advice is offered in good faith only. All my code is tested (unless stated explicitly otherwise) with the latest version of Microsoft Visual Studio (using the supported features of the latest standard) and is offered as examples only - not as production quality. I cannot offer advice regarding any other c/c++ compiler/IDE or incompatibilities with VS. You are ultimately responsible for the effects of your programs and the integrity of the machines they run on. Anything I post, code snippets, advice, etc is licensed as Public Domain https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ and can be used without reference or acknowledgement. Also note that I only provide advice and guidance via the forums - and not via private messages!

    C++23 Compiler: Microsoft VS2022 (17.6.5)

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