Subscribe Now
Buy deviantWEAR
Advertise Here
[x]
All Deviations
Sign up to post to the forums! <3

Virtualize from partition

Categories Forums > Operating Systems > Linux/Unix/BSD
[x] Advertisement
Subscribe Now | Buy deviantWEAR | Advertise Here
~PsyPing:iconPsyPing: May 9, 2008, 10:42:55 AM
While I don't really like Windows, I still have to use it for school, and games. Since I don't like leaving my trusted Linux environment, I have chosen to virtualize a Windows image.

However, most virtualisation software doesn't seem to allow graphics acceleration, which automatically rules out any game I'd want to play.

The only options seem to be Xen (which, as far as I heard, does allow graphics acceleration but is a nightmare to install for noobs like me), paying for VMware (I heard they have experimental graphics acceleration... but I won't and can't pay), or keeping a copy on an actual partition and dualboot.

So here's the idea: I'd like to use that partition on which I have Windows (or rather, will install) to be loaded into some virtualisation program for common tasks and school, and reboot into Windows for games.

However, it doesn't seem to be possible, as all virtualisation software can only read from an image.

So. Anyone knows how I can read an existing partition and virtualize it? :)

--
My signature is down here

--
No seriously, here it is:

--
Pfuh. Never mind.

Devious Comments

love 0 0 joy 0 0 wow 0 0 mad 0 0 sad 0 0 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0

*exsecror:iconexsecror: May 9, 2008, 12:34:03 PM
Even with Xen you can't do gaming. If you want to do gaming look at an ELF Compatibility Wrapper like Wine. Plus Xen isn't free either it costs money and requires you use a processor that supports virtualization technology (same with OpenVZ)
*exsecror:iconexsecror: May 9, 2008, 12:41:16 PM
Additionally, that's not how virtualization is supposed to be used. Xen and OpenVZ are designed for use in running multiple server operating systems (mainly UNIX and GNU/Linux) on one server. They're not designed to run as a drop-in hybrid replacement (like VMWare). All of these are not designed for gaming either.
~kmkl:iconkmkl: May 9, 2008, 12:51:06 PM
what about VMware?

--
When you own a Mac, you'll realize why there's no such thing as a Windows lover.

visit my profile: [link]
and my gallery: [link]
~PsyPing:iconPsyPing: May 9, 2008, 12:52:38 PM
Ah, I see.
Ah well. Guess I'll have to stick to dualbooting, then. Or buying a game console.

Wine never really worked for me. I can only play games that are at least five years old, and even those don't work without a lot of sound issues and lag. :)

--
My signature is down here

--
No seriously, here it is:

--
Pfuh. Never mind.
~PsyPing:iconPsyPing: May 9, 2008, 12:53:21 PM
It doesn't support any of the things I need. ^^ I'm working with it right now, on an image file, but that means I can't play games. :)

--
My signature is down here

--
No seriously, here it is:

--
Pfuh. Never mind.
*exsecror:iconexsecror: May 9, 2008, 12:55:28 PM
You might want to try the newer builds they have much better success rates with modern games (though this heavily depends on you having a decent system in the first place). Sound lag is caused by your tickrate being too low (e.g. no kernel preemption). You need a low latency kernel to fix that.
~PsyPing:iconPsyPing: May 10, 2008, 1:26:57 AM
I download from the Debian repositories on the wine servers, so I think I should have a pretty recent version. :)
I'll try installing a low latency kernel, thanks for the tip. :)

--
My signature is down here

--
No seriously, here it is:

--
Pfuh. Never mind.
=pebcak:iconpebcak: May 10, 2008, 5:22:29 AM
Make yourself a chroot system with cedega & crossover office. Not really virtualisation, but close enough.

--
It's better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for who you are not.
*exsecror:iconexsecror: May 10, 2008, 7:19:04 AM
Make sure you also run winecfg that is very critical
Previous Page    12    Next Page
Sign up to reply to this thread! <3
©2008 deviantART. All rights reserved
About Us | Contact Us | Help & FAQ Advertise | Services Etiquette | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Copyright Policy