VT, Virtualization, and Windows Virtual PC misconceptions

While browsing these forums, I noticed that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding VT/AMD-V, Windows Virtual PC, Windows XP Mode (and how it's not technically synonymous with Windows Virtual PC), and virtualization in general. Even a number of otherwise credible posters here on NBR have some incorrect assumptions, such as "all virtualization software requires Intel VT or AMD-V" or "you can't get 3D graphics in a virtual machine".

Could someone please write a guide on this issue? I'd do it myself, but I doubt anyone would believe me and I find that the things I write tend to be too technical for non-enthusiasts to understand.

 

Actually 3D depends on how they did the Virtual Display Adapter.
Because on a VM the display adapter is recognise as a Virtual one so there is no display driver to be installed.

You can still use Virtualisation without VT like Virtualbox etc.
I am not very sure about performance difference if you do not have hardware virtualisation.

 

Yeah I know, I'm not the one with the misconceptions.

I just wish someone would write a guide to settle these things once and for all. It's gotten quite tiring trying to correct people, with only limited success.

 

Quick question about XP Mode and VirtualPC - Are there any VirtualPC related services running in the background when the program isn't running? IIRC, with VMWare, there were some startup services which kinda annoyed me. I checked Autoruns and VirtualPC appears to be clean but there might be other areas I'm missing.

It would be awesomely awesome if it were a completely clean program, i.e. no services before or after running the program.

 

Yes, but with like VMware, you can make the services go away with tweaking.

What kinds of tweaks? Well I ain't writing the guide Suffice to say, the picture is rather complicated.

 

VirtualBox automatically shuts down its support services when the VMs are shut down. Very clean.

 

Question, how much has 3D gaming progressed under virtualization? Because last I checked (which was, admittedly, roughly two years ago), it was still pretty much crap. I don't think gaming was even an option with Microsoft virtualization software and VMWare Workstation only had experimental DirectX support.

 

OpenGL and DirectX support in VirtualBox is more advanced than in the msft and VMWare offerings. I can run Win7 in full Aero and 32 bit color with good response. OpenGL tests also work correctly.

I suppose I could load up some mid-level games and perhaps XPlane to a VirtualBox VM for testing.

 

Given that virtualization is generally meant for development or obscure compatibility requirements, it seems like too much work to write a guide on a topic that most prospective users could just diligently research themselves.

In effect, I'm arguing that I am too lazy to alleviate the laziness of others.

Even if you wrote such a guide, misconceptions would still be a dime a dozen.

 

True. Not all virtualization software are created equal. There's already a number of differences among desktop virtualization software (Virtual PC, VirtualBox, VMWare Workstation, etc) and even more headaches ensue when you add baremetal hypervisors into the mix. Even Intel and AMD's virtualization extensions are different. It's going to be very difficult to explain all that without your non-technical reader's eyes glassing over.

If you dumb virtualization down for the average user to understand, you're bound to get some facts wrong and if you try to be as precise as possible, you end up with a long technical paper no one aside from tech geeks will want to read.

 

These are precisely the reasons why I'm not gonna write the guide

Anyways, the reason I requested a guide in the first place is because every time someone asks something about Windows XP Mode, a bunch of people reply with responses that are half-true (and half-accurate), but oh well. Ignorance is bliss, as they say

 

Perhaps someone who has actually used Windows XP Mode and have read Microsoft's White Papers can write a guide specifically about Windows XP Mode. I haven't used it myself (yet) although from what I understand, it's Microsoft's way of dumbing down virtualization so the regular user isn't aware they're using a virtualized environment.

I suspect most people who reply with "half-truths" know the difference but are having difficulty explaining it to the casual user without writing a thesis length paper. I know I'm guilty of this often enough when answering queries in an HTPC forum. Heck, if even HTPC concepts are already hard to explain, what more with virtualization?