Attila Horvath wrote: > All > > Have read some very good things about VMware - particularly it's ability > to support Linux distros. I notice Debian has VMware only as an > experimental package. > > Has anyone any opinions/experiences you can share re: VMware? > > Thx > Attila
I run WMware workstation 5.5 on my Dell laptop (i810 chipset), using debian sid as host and WinXP pro as guest for those few apps that I regrettably can't find an equally good/or better OSS alternative for. I have had no problems whatsoever with the installation relating to debian. I have encountered a few snags on the Windoze side though. First of all the automatic activation with Micro$oft went wrong as my Dell OEM Windoze XP Pro appeared NOT to be running on my Dell laptop, but on something else. I had to call the Micro$oft hotline. That ended abruptly with the laconic message that I was trying to install an illegal copy of Windoze and should contact a local dealer in order to obtain a legal version. When I finally succeeded in getting a call center dude on the phone he also observed that something was wrong. I told him that I was attempting to install XP in a virtual machine on the original hardware, he said: OK and sent me off with a valid activation code. As I later inserted one of the original Dell cd's in the dvd-drive it immediately aborted with the message that: This CD is exclusively meant for installation of Dell hardware! So I had to go to the Dell website and individually download the stuff that I needed to complete my installation. I was actually positively surprised by the performance of the virtualized Windoze install. My laptop is a 1.4GHz Pentium mobile with a meager 512MB of RAM. Not really what you want to run an virtual machine on. I have set aside 192MB of RAM (the maximum recommended by VMware) for the Windoze VM and 14 x 2GB files = 28GB as harddisk on a hdd partition, formatted with reiserfs. This actually used to be the Windoze ntfs partition on a dual-boot setup (sid and XP). I occasionally run one rather heavy Windoze app on this setup. It is a bit slow but still acceptable because it is not that often. The only negative experience was the VMware company itself. I bought the software off their website based on the possibility of getting a USD 50 rebate on the purchase price. First I had to buy VMWare at the normal price, then I could apply for the discount with the serial number. Only then I was confronted with the terms and conditions that stated that the rebate was only available in the US and Canada. To make my grief even bigger they added European VAT to the purchase price. Thus I ended paying about 45% more for the sw than I had planned on. That really sucked :-( Best regards Jan -- ** Do NOT use the reply-to address. You'll end up in the trash can ** Mail me at: jan A.T schledermann D0T org -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
