Quote:
Originally Posted by WanderingKnight
VMware is freeware, or at least some of its versions.
BTW, I hated VMware when I tried it (didn't give it much use, though). Virtualbox, OTOH, seemed much more organized and tidy.
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I tried to install Mandriva 2008.1 on
VirtualBox 1.64 (free) and
Virtual PC 2007 SP1 (free) and both installs failed as they both kept asking for some kind of driver/controller that had me walking in a never-ending loop. I gave up on those two, but that's because for
me, it was not a winning formula - it didn't comply with my hardware config. and gave me trouble. For other people with newer PCs, it could be the next best thing since sliced bread.
I then tried VMware Workstation 6.04 (not free) and, much to my surprise and delight, it did the trick. I just had to figure out how to bridge my wireless card on the Ethernet to connect the guest OS to Internet, though - even though I only learned how to do that a few weeks ago, I'm still very impressed by its performance. The only thing I need is more RAM in order to host bigger and stingier chucks like Vista.
If you need something free, light and simple, choose either VirtualBox or Virtual PC.
If you can afford something way heavier, more resource-hungry (it adds new services and startup processes - so if you don't like that, please avoid this) but with more options and more hardware support, give WMware Workstation (WMware Player, although it's a freeware, cannot create virtual machines but can be used to test programs copy-pasted inside the guest OS) a hearty try. The problem is: you have to pay.
WMware freewares:
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WMware Player 2.05
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WMware Server 1.07