Virtualization Software

[ProgrammingFun]

Which is the best virtualization software to run a virtual OS?

I have used and like VMware but it is too annoying when it starts up with every boot and takes up resources (yes, I know this can be disabled in msconfig)
I have also heard of but have not used VirtualBox.

I want to run a virtual OS (Linux or Mac) either on my Win7 laptop or my XP desktop.

Any suggestions?

[rdrake]

VirtualBox is decent. Good luck getting anything to run OS X, though.

[ProgrammingFun]

I tried it once on VMware but it wouldn't go past the loading screen that comes after boot-up...

[Dan]

It relay depends on the hardware you are using and the propose of the VM.

Some hypervisors only support CPUs with VT extensions so if you have an older CPU you may be limited in what you can use.

Some of my research involves virtualization for which i use Xen. It seems to be quite good for virtualizing servers on a linux server however it requires a bit of set up and may not work well for desktop virtualization.

[ProgrammingFun]

My desktop has a Pentium 4 processor whereas my laptop has a Core i5 Turbo processor.

Which one would you recommend?
Nd do you know of anywhere from where I can get a working virtual mac (preferably Snow Leopard).

Thanks.

Nd have u ever even accidentally typed in English as opposed to Hacker Danish?

[andrew.]

1. The Core i5 has the VT technology Dan was talking about, whereas the P4 doesn't (I think). Also, it is generally faster anyways.

2. It's really hard to set up Mac OS X in a virtual machine (unless you're on VMWare Fusion on Mac OS X). However, you can find VMWare images of working Mac OS installations on the internet (although I think it may be illegal).

[chrisbrown]

ProgrammingFun @ Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:21 pm wrote:

Nd have u ever even accidentally typed in English as opposed to Hacker Danish?

*Ahem*

[SNIPERDUDE]

It is possible on some PCs (I've done it), and most certainly is illegal.

[Dan]

ProgrammingFun @ 20th March 2010, 2:21 pm wrote:

Which one would you recommend?
Nd do you know of anywhere from where I can get a working virtual mac (preferably Snow Leopard).

andrew. gave a good answer.

You still did not say what exactly you are going to do with it, Xen and other Linux based hypervisors (kvm, openvz) are out if it will be running on windows. I have never had any need or desire to run Mac OSx so i have no idea what software would be best for that, however i do know it will likely be breaking the DMCA to tell you even if i did, so it can't be posted here (unless you have a legal copy of Mac OSX).

If you do want to run virtual servers on a linux server i would recommend Xen (however i have hured good things about openvz if you just want to run linux VMs). For running a desktop VM on windows i have used Virtual PC 2007 (which we use for dwite for now) however i am unsure how that would work out for running none windows VMs.

In any case you will not be able to find a legal VM image of a non free OS (windows, mac osx) as you need to have the rights to use the software to use it (even on a VM), and as such it would break the ToU of the site to post a link to one.