[SOLVED] Need a new PC. Should I run Win7 in Virtualbox or use a dual boot?

[mellon]

Last night my 40GB Maxtor hard disk was no longer recognised by the bios (after 8 years).  Lucky me, it was only disk 1 and contained windows XP os only. Removed the disk, made the second master and updated the bootloader. Running now solely on PClinuxOS.

Yes, that may run for years, I know. But, the desktop is as old as the crashed disk so anything else may break. I think it is time to replace the desktop.

I do need Windows because we use in the office. I'm not interested in games or video editing. I'm listen to music and do like to play a DVD once in a while or watch broadcasts as streaming video.  

I have two choices:
1) Set up a dual boot on the new desktop.
2) Make PCLinuxOS the leading os and Run Windows 7 as a guest in a Virtualbox

I prefer option 2 and I'm thinking about a PC with an i7-2600 processor, 8GB DDR3 memory, a NVIDIA GeForce 460GTX - 1GB - GDDR5 and 2 hard disks.

I have no experience with VirtualBox.  I wonder e.g. if a new installed Windows 7,  bought a few years ago, would automatically update via Windows update within a Virtualbox to the lastest build?  Would it ? Any (other) reasons why option2 would not be a good idea?

Thanks
Mellon

[bicol_willem]

You will be better of running Windows in Virtualbox in your case. You need it only for a few tasks as I understand. Rebooting is not needed in this case while, while you are running Windows in Vbox, your trusty Linux is always there at the same time. Updates and the like for Windows are no problem.

[menotu]

My choice would be Virtualbox

I have no experience with VirtualBox.  I wonder e.g. if a new installed Windows 7,  bought a few years ago, would automatically update via Windows update within a Virtualbox to the lastest build?  Would it ? Any (other) reasons why option2 would not be a good idea?

Yup - Windows will auto update itself just like a "native" install.  In fact it runs just like an install on a "real" hard disk, so you should take the same precautions.

The spec you outline will have no problem running both PCLinuxOS and VBox/Windows 7.

One area you may have an issue is with the Windows 7 licence - have you installed it before? as some MS licences  only allow it to be installed on one system, but then again it may happily authenticate.

[Webt]

I have the same "problem" with win7 and authentication in virtualbox. On the exceedingly rare occasions I use it, it tells me that it's not a genuine version (it is) so I just ignore it, happy in the knowledge that a certain Mr Gates is getting no more funding from me. So there.

[joec]

The new machine will come with Windows installed? It might be easier to set up a dual boot initially then set up another  Win7 in Virtual box if you really want to play around with that. If the Virtual Box thing works, you can wipe and reformat the original Windows partition(or drive - you said you were getting two?).

[rubentje1991]

I've worked with Windows 7 in a Virtual Machine, but on a much slower machine.
It was too slow for me (programming in Visual Studio -- which rapidly is a slow application...)

Replaced it by a virtual XP...
But in your case, it might be working fast enough for your tasks...

And isn't it possible in your country to transfer a Windows-copy by calling a free Microsoft-number (remember that you need to use the same host, with the same settings, else you can call again....  )

[Just17]

I would go for the VBox Win7.
If in time you find it is not doing all you want (unlikely) then you can easily install it as dual boot ....  even give it its own disk as before.

From your description of the use of the machine I wonder if it might be easier to use the on-die graphics of one of the "i" series chips and forgo the extra graphics card?

I like the look of the new Z68 series of motherboards, but they are too dear for my pocket  -- yet. Although the saving on not using an extra graphics card helps compensate.
Hopefully they will become more reasonable in the coming months.
I like the combination of a Z68 and an i5 2500k CPU. (the 'k' series have the better graphics capability I believe)

regards.

[AS]

I'm running win7pro in virtualbox, on an 2 year old notebook, core2 duo T8100 / 4Gb Ram / Nvidia 8600GS, it's running at a reasonable speed.
The main drawback (may be ...) is aero interface doesn't run on my installation, I don't care about and don't know if it's possible to fix this issue.
If you need high speed graphics, probably dual boot is a better option. Additionally, if you plan to use Windows only additional hardware like may be some DVB-T/S card dual boot has some advantage over virtualbox installation.

AS

[T6]

depending on the type of license of windows 7 you have, you can or can't activate it to get updates in virtualbox

if it is a retail version, that came in a box, you probably can use it on the pc you prefer, including virtualbox, you will be able to activate it and use it as long as you like

if it is a coa sticker on a case of a pc, it is probable that you won't be able to activate it

virtualbox is really easy to set and use so if you decide to use it, you will find it very fun to use, specially with the hardware you plan to buy

i personally find more useful to have two os in my system, for games and certain apps that will only run properly in windows(wine does alot but not everything yet)

also have one os only for me is like put all your eggs in one basket

pclinux is very hard to break but still i like to have options

i recommend you to have a dualboot system

about the video card, nvidia has the best support on linux so it sounds like a great choice, this model seems to have a small fan, i personally recommend you to get a fanless model if possible, less things to maintain

[bicol_willem]

"8GB DDR3 memory"

Guess you will need a .pae kernel to make use of that 

[GermanTux]

Definitely run Virtualbox.  for windows 7, just include 24mb of video ram, and 1GB of RAM, and it will run fine.  As as said by others, not having to reboot is worth it on its own. 

One nit, you will need to activate the Virtualization feature of your CPU to run the 64-bit Windows 7 in Virtualbox.  All new CPU's have this feature, but it needs to be enabled in the BIOS. 

[mellon]

Wow ! Thank you all! I appreciate your input.

I'll will start with the Virtualbox option.  If need be I could set up dual boot. I have a retail version of Windows 7 Ultimate. 64bit  Activation should (theoretically) not be an issue.

I'll mark this post as solved.

Thanks
Mellon

[ElCuervo]

Wow ! Thank you all! I appreciate your input.

I'll will start with the Virtualbox option.  If need be I could set up dual boot. I have a retail version of Windows 7 Ultimate. 64bit  Activation should (theoretically) not be an issue.

I've tried both ways on several computers, and you should know that no matter what, the Virtualbox experience is not the same as Windows 7 straight on the hard drive - the hardware access is extremely different. It's not a big deal, but it is very noticeable.

I'll mark this post as solved.

Before you go skipping away, let me offer this caveat: if you install PCLinuxOS first and then decide to install Windows 7 in a dual boot system later, you will need to start from scratch, i.e. format the hard drive and reinstall both OSs, starting with Win7.

[pags]

Before you go skipping away, let me offer this caveat: if you install PCLinuxOS first and then decide to install Windows 7 in a dual boot system later, you will need to start from scratch, i.e. format the hard drive and reinstall both OSs, starting with Win7.

And, if you do go this route, the simplest approach would be to run mylivecd before wiping, install WIN and re-install PCLOS from your custom LiveCD...that will save you from having to re-configure / update / etc.

[russell.eberhardt]

I would do both - belt and braces.

I use Windows in Virtual box for things that work like that, that is for most occasions when I have to revert to Windows.  I keep a dual boot system for the odd programs that won't run properly in Virtualbox.

As you already have XP why not install that in Virtualbox?  You will have a faster performance and no licence problems.

Russell.