Need a VM software recommendation for a headless ubuntu server

[jtg1993]

I have a ubuntu 8.10 server (check sig) that I want to load a XP VM onto because torrentflux sucks and I want to use utorrent. It has a old socket 939 Sempron 1.8ghz single core which doesn't have VT so virtual box won't work. Since it has no GUI installed I was thinking id load the VM software on both my server and my laptop and I would just create and setup the VM on my laptop then copy it to my server and run it from there. I tried to use Virtual Box but when I went to load the VM it spit out and error and after some googleing it turns out I need VT which my cpu doesn't support. I have tried VMware server 2 before but it was to damn slow. What's a good recommendation for VM software?

 

[Joe Average]

Install VirtualBox, or just start it up again, and when you create a VM for XP alter the settings so it's not using VT-x support. VT-x support is optional, not an absolute requirement with VMs. If it's available, then you can set it as an option, but it should not be enabled by default for new VMs you create, at least it's never been automagically enabled in the VMs that I've created; I have to check the box to enable the VM to be able to use the VT-x features of the host machine's CPU.

If that's confusing, then I said it right.

VT-x is a CPU technology which allows virtualization code to run almost at nearly native performance; it exists in all modern processors less than about 2 years old except Atoms in Netbooks and some very low end regular processors. If the Sempron box in your sig is the one you intend to host the VM on, you're out of luck. But you can still use XP in VirtualBox without issues, you just have to make sure the VM doesn't try to use the feature by unchecking the VT-x support box so it's not requested.

XP is a fairly lean OS so even with no VT-x support it'll run at nearly native speed in a VM - just make sure you give the VM plenty of RAM if you can, more than 512MB if possible.

Good luck...

 

[jtg1993]

I got it to work. Originally I tried $sudo apt-get install virtualbox well I got it to work by installing the virtualbox deb file. For anyone else you wants to install virtualbox on there linux pc here is a link to the download page.

Thanks Joe

/thread

 

[Dangman]

Install VirtualBox, or just start it up again, and when you create a VM for XP alter the settings so it's not using VT-x support. VT-x support is optional, not an absolute requirement with VMs. If it's available, then you can set it as an option, but it should not be enabled by default for new VMs you create, at least it's never been automagically enabled in the VMs that I've created; I have to check the box to enable the VM to be able to use the VT-x features of the host machine's CPU.

Hmm, odd. My Linux VMs, well specifically Ubuntu, required VT-x enabled to boot successfully in Virtual Box.

 

[jtg1993]

Hmm, odd. My Linux VMs, well specifically Ubuntu, required VT-x enabled to boot successfully in Virtual Box.

I read somewhere yesterday while trying to install virtualbox on my server that sometimes Ubuntu won't boot in Virtualbox and you will need to use the install cd again to recover it and install a different kernel or something like that. I would provide a link but I cant find it now. I had to do this a year or two ago installing Ubuntu Server in VMware Workstation. If you google you could probably find out exactly what you need to do to get it to work on a non VT-x enabled pc running Virtualbox.