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December 19th, 2005, 11:55 AM
#1
Run your OS of choice on VMware Player - for free!
Many of you will undoubtedly have heard of VMware, but for those who have not, here is a little introduction:
VMware is powerful desktop virtualization software for software developers/testers and enterprise IT professionals that runs multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single PC.
But you can erase that bit about it being for "software developers/testers" and "enterprise IT professionals", because I'm going to show you just how simple running another x86 Operating System on your PC is.
VMware Workstation has always been (and still is) a commercial product, and you have to pay a fairly large sum to get your hands on it, but VMware have now released a free application dubbed "VMware Player", which can run virtual machines produced by VMware and a few other companies. Yet, with some simple hacks, we can use VMware Player to run any x86 Operating System we like - and the best part is that this is in compliance with the EULA!
Ingredients
- VMware Player, which can be downloaded from VMware.com.
- OS.zip, which we will use to install the Operating System.
- Either the .iso of the install CD for the Operating System you would like to run, or its CD.
With these, you can be running a second OS in no time (hint: no dual-booting required :P)
Getting the OS up and running
First of all, install VMware Player onto your computer - it is available for both Windows and Linux.
Then, once you have done that, expand the OS.zip file you downloaded. A directory called "OS" should be created, and inside it there will be two files: OS.vmdk and OS.vmx. Switch to that directory and open up OS.vmx in your favourite text editor.
The third line in that file is: memsize = "512". Here you can set how many MBs of your RAM you would like VMware Player to take up when running your Operating System. I have set it to 512MB, which is at my disposal, yet you really only need about 128-256MB for the average Linux distribution. As my Operating System, I have decided to install Mandriva Linux 2006 (which I have the DVD .iso of).
So, having put the .iso for it (Mandriva-Linux-Free-DVD.i586.iso) in my C:\ directory, I reopen the OS.vmx file. Here, in the line that reads:
ide1:0.fileName = "c:\image.iso" I would change it to:
ide1:0.fileName = "c:\Mandriva-Linux-Free-DVD.i586.iso"
If you have, for example, the Ubuntu install CD .iso (let's call it Ubuntu-5.10.iso), place it in your C:\ directory. Then, alter the line in OS.vmx from
ide1:0.fileName = "c:\image.iso" to
ide1:0.fileName = "c:\Ubuntu-5.10.iso".
Note: If you would like to install an Operating System via your CD-ROM drive, then edit the OS.vmx file, replacing the following lines:
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.fileName = "c:\image.iso"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-image"
with these:
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.fileName = "auto detect"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
Ok, now that you've configured how much of your RAM you would like to dedicate to this process and pointed it to the correct .iso/CD drive, it's time for some action.
Open up the OS.vmx file in VMware Player, and you should see something like this to begin with:
Vm-startup screenshot
Make sure the CD-ROM button along the top bar is pressed, and as soon as the above screen (Vm-startup) appears press Esc. That will take to you a list of bootable devices, and on this list go down to "CD-ROM" and hit Enter.
Now, VMware Player will go to the "CD-ROM drive" (which you have pointed to either a .iso or the drive itself), and so the installation of the Operating System will begin. A hint: do not be afraid to let the OS format the "hard drive" and automatically partition it within the virtual machine, because all it will be affecting is the OS.vmdk file - which will expand as you go storing more information on it (and is a maximum of 107GB).
Here's a screenshot of mine in progress:
Vm-install screenshot
And, the finished result:
Vm-mandriva screenshot
Excellent - now you can make your own virtual machines! There are also a few prebuilt ones available for download on VMware's Virtual Machine Centre.
So, a simple way to use Linux at work when your boss isn't looking!
Enjoy!
-jk
Extra Note:
Some Operating Systems require more than one CD to be installed (example: FreeBSD). This is not a problem when you have the actual CDs, but when you plan to install the OS from a group of ISOs, the situation becomes slightly more problematic. Here is what you can do (FreeBSD is being used as an example):
Change the .vmx file to read:
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.fileName = "c:\FreeBSD.iso"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-image"
Then do the following:
Move the first FreeBSD ISO to your C:\ directory (or /home/user/ for Linux users), and rename it from "6.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso" to "FreeBSD.iso". Good, now boot up VMware Player and install it as you would any other OS; but, when the installer asks you to insert the second CD, remove FreeBSD.iso from the C:\ directory and copy the second ISO there. Then, rename the second ISO ("6.0-RELEASE-i386-disc2.iso") to FreeBSD.iso, and press Enter to continue the installation. VoilĂ*!
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