Virtual PC 2007

Installing an OS on x64 Vista insides Virtual PC 2007

OK, so I’m climbing a learning curve with x64 Vista and Microsoft Virtual PC that is at times frustrating, at other times just plain weird, but always interesting and even sometimes moderately entertaining. I’m starting to get the hang of this whole Virtual Machine thing at long, long last and have learned some interesting lessons that may help those who have themselves yet to venture down this path.

The old aphorism: “When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” resonates with the first of my recent Lessons Learned with Virtual PC 2007. I’ve recently set up a baker’s rack in my office, and now have all of my test and experimental machines racked up next to my desk. Ordinarily, I use Remote Desktop Connection to access and work with those other machines from the comfort and convenience of my dual-screen-outfitted desktop. One of the first lessons I learned with Virtual PC 2007 is that the number of levels of indirection for mouse and keyboard when installing an OS into a new virtual machine is limited. That is, I actually have to use the mouse and screen on the Virtual PC 2007 host machine to install a guest OS onto that machine. I can open and load an existing VM via a remote session, but no joy in performing installation tasks. Good to know.

At this point, the biggest benefit to using VMs is that I can create a reference machine for some target environment, install all the patches and updates, add whatever other scaffolding I want (antivirus, antispyware, necessary apps, and so forth), then save that machine for re-use. I just need to remember to load that VM from time to time to update it, then save it again so it becomes my point of reference for continued/continuing reuse. I’ve also learned to be very specific in naming the virtual drives I create for such machines, so I can tell them apart, and to copy the “reference versions” (for later reuse) to another hard disk, so I can always get back to a pristine state by copying over the backup version from that drive to its primary location as needed.

This approach makes it much easier and safer for me to install and test software to write about it, and then to rid myself entirely of it after the work is done. I’m still running only one VM at a time and figuring out how to make things work, while discovering a whole new set of virtues for shared or networked drives (they’re easily accessible to both host and guest systems, and thus provide a perfect means of file/information transfer between the two otherwise distinct and independent systems). As I learn more about how to make this environment stand up and bark, particularly while working with Windows 7 (I’ll be installing Build 7001 shortly) I’ll keep reporting back with new observations and lessons learned.

64-bit Vista: Myths and Realities

For a long time now — perhaps even too long, if recent experience is any indication — I’ve avoided x64 Vista on my production and test machines. Myths and rumors about lack of drivers, stability issues, software compatibility problems, and more, had dissuaded me from using the product on my production or test machines.

But no sooner did I find myself in a situation where 64-bit Vista was an absolute necessity for setting up a virtual machine host platform that could host both 32- and 64-bit test environments for a book on Windows 7 I’m working on, than I also learned that “news” to the contrary notwithstanding, 64-bit Vista is both workable and pretty robust. To jump to the end of the story before returning to the middle for more details, I’ve now installed 64-bit Vista on a couple of notebook PCs (each with 4 GB of RAM) and a desktop PC (with 8 GB) without too much difficulty and with very good results. To me the biggest thrill of all comes from seeing this kind of display in Task Manager on a machine with 8192 MB of RAM:

Task Manager Performance tab Physical Memory pane shows 8190 MB RAM!

I don’t know where the “missing 2 MB” of RAM went, that being the difference between the amount installed 8192, and the amount showing here (8190), and I’m not sure I really care. What I do appreciate is access to nearly all the RAM (99.975% in fact) that I installed in the machine.

Why did I do this? Because I had to be able to install both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 on a platform that would let me shoot screenshots of the installation process at work. Today, this means one of three approaches to obtaining the needed screencaps:

• Photographing the actual screen itself (doable, but tricky because of lighting and reflections, especially when using a flash)
• Using special hardware to pipe graphics output from the target PC (where the install is underway) to a second PC (where an OS is already running, and can operate screen capture software; complex to set up and extra costs for graphics cards one must use to do this)
• Installing inside a virtual machine, so that the virtual machine window can be captured on the desktop of an operating and fully-functional OS (to make this scenario even more compelling, MS is still giving away its Virtual PC 2007 software, which worked like a charm for me)

Needless to say, I opted for the latter, and have now set up and run virtual machines (.vhd files) for both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Premium edition versions of the new beta OS. Throughout, the 64-bit Vista Business software I’m using has been stable, accommodating, and workable. I haven’t yet figured out how to create a VM greater than 4GB in size, so I’m thinking I may need to build a configuration with 12 or more GB of RAM to make that possible. Other than that, I’m a pretty happy guy right now.

In installing the 64-bit version on an MSI and HP notebooks with 4 GB of RAM I encountered exactly zero driver issues: everything came up with a working driver immediately upon the install, and I was able to use DriverAgent to get the default drivers updated to the most current versions without too much difficulty. I did hit a snag on my Asus P5K motherboard, primarily because the built-in GbE interface identifies itself as Attsanic but the most recent drivers are now from the renamed builder’s Website at www.atheros.com. Once I figured out that the L1 GbE Ethernet interface I wanted was now an Atheros product, I was able to find, download, and install the right drivers pretty quickly thereafter (though I was lucky to have access to other machines so I could download those drivers and read them from an easily-inserted UFD).

I’m working with the RC version of Windows Vista Business with SP2 slipstreamed, and I must also observe that I’m impressed with the stability and capability of the upcoming Service Pack, scheduled for release some time in May. Looks like this will be a worthwhile upgrade!

Another key to legacy Windows Apps: Virtual PC 2007

One ongoing and legitimate beef about Windows Vista is that it doesn’t support older Windows applications, particularly those written specifically for older Windows versions or that don’t follow well-established guidelines for “good behavior” in terms of referencing APIs, interacting with hardware, and so on and so forth. Now, Microsoft comes to the rescue with a product called Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization aka MED-V. It’s still in beta, and you have to register with Microsoft connect to obtain access to this otherwise free download, but you gain the ability to install Windows 2000 or XP in Vista using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (also free) so that the VMs can do for you and your users what Windows Vista sometimes cannot.

A commercial version of this software is expected later in 2009, and is based on technology that Microsoft acquired when it purchased desktop virtualization firm Kidaro in mid-2008. The idea, of course, is to spur upgrades and migrations to Windows Vista because previous obstacles to such motion are now mitigated by a solution that permits immovable legacy software to run in a back-rev Windows VM on top of Vista. This also lets enterprises impose centralized management and control over construction, deployment, and maintenance of system images, both virtual and real, and helps to add structure and organization to sometimes-chaotic desktop environments. Microsoft itself makes much of TCO improvements that switching to its Desktop Optimization Pack can confer. Above and beyond MED-V and application virtualization, this also includes an advanced Group Policy manager, an asset inventory service, a diagnostics and recovery toolset, and a tie-in to System Center for desktop error monitoring. It’s definitely worth checking out.

But if you’re fighting to migrate or upgrade systems to Vista, and legacy apps are getting in the way, MED-V may be just the lever you need to break that particular logjam. Give it a try!