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    Virtual PC 2004

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by mbushnaq00, Aug 6, 2006.

  1. mbushnaq00

    mbushnaq00 Notebook Evangelist

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    I just got a couple of questions about the Virtual PC 2004:

    Does it change/mess with the MBR (Master Boot Record) settings?

    Can I make the Virtual PC run at full performence like the host operating system?

    Can I configure windows to run directly the virtual pc at startup?

    Whats the difference between running a operating system on a virtual pc or on host computer?

    thanx
     
    mbushnaq00, Aug 6, 2006
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  2. lmychajluk

    lmychajluk Notebook Evangelist

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    No, it doesn't mess w/ the MBR.

    No, it won't run at 'Full' performance.

    You can configure VPC to start automatically, but the host operating system needs to be booted first.

    Maybe you're not understanding Virtual PC Software? When you create a virtual PC, you're creating what looks like a real, physical PC to the software installed on it. So intially, all you get is a BIOS. Then you install an OS on this virtual PC. As far as the OS is concerned, nothing exists outside of the Virtual PC, and the only hardware it knows about are the devices you map into the VPC, like USB ports and CD/DVD drive. The HD is also virtual, and all the files you install (including the OS) or copy to the VPC are stored in a single file on the physical machine. This file is opened from within the VPC app to 'boot' the VPC.

    So, you see, it has its own MBR within the VPC, and you can't run at 'Full' performance, because there is still some overhead involved in running the host operating system on the physical PC.
     
    lmychajluk, Aug 6, 2006
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  3. mbushnaq00

    mbushnaq00 Notebook Evangelist

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    thanx alot for the info, but why cant I install Windows Vista on it? I always get (windows failed to load image file) error after entering the cd key!

    EDIT: I resolved this problem by creating an ISO image file and mounting it with DAEMON tools and using Virtual PC to use the virtual drive to install windows vista
     
    mbushnaq00, Aug 6, 2006
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  4. Paul

    Paul Mom! Hot Pockets! NBR Reviewer

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    Yeah, I also had that same problem, but I decided to quit messing with that stuff and just dual-boot. After doing so, I think I would have been a hundred times more frustrated with Vista if I were running it as a virtual machine. It has enough problems and quirks running it natively (though sometimes VMs are actually easier to install and use).
     
    Paul, Aug 6, 2006
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  5. lmychajluk

    lmychajluk Notebook Evangelist

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    I had an early version of Vista running on VPC2004 (but haven't tried the latest build), and I didn't have any trouble installing it, but now that you mention it, I did just mount the ISO image in Nero's ImageDrive on the host pc and install it from there, rather than trying to burn a physical disk.
     
    lmychajluk, Aug 7, 2006
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