Why use a virtual machine? **RESOLVED**

[Ignazio Palmisano]

Gene Heskett wrote:
> On Sunday 30 November 2008, Ignazio Palmisano wrote:
>> Steven Vollom wrote:
>>> Ignazio Palmisano wrote:
>>>> To legally use windows on a virtual machine, you need a license for it.
>>>> What do you mean "not having XP any more"? Did you have it installed on
>>>> some computer, and was it preinstalled (a OEM version) or did you have a
>>>> separate copy you installed? The preinstalled OEM copies usually cannot
>>>> be used on any other hardware, so no virtual machine as well, but if you
>>>> had a regular copy you can use it.
>>> This is the part that I did not understand well.  I don't know other
>>> people's reasons for leaving Microsoft products, but they hurt me.  If
>>> you register a purchase then have an accident and damage your CD, they
>>> make you pay again.  From Windows 95 through XP I always had a legal
>>> copy of Windows, however, when I had need for help, they made me pay,
>>> even though the problem was of their creation.  I don't see the value of
>>> registration, if they are unwilling to provide replacement when a
>>> customer has an accident.  They MO is to make you put your CD back into
>>> the system all the time.  That creates opportunity for accidents and
>>> wear and tear.  The last time, I got so mad, I broke my CD so that I did
>>> not have it to fall back on.  I wish I hadn't done that, I would like to
>>> have a virtual machine, now that I better understand, but I will never
>>> give Microsfoft another penny.  It may be cutting my nose off to spite
>>> my face, but I want Linux to win this battle, and that kind of
>>> commitment is necessary to make it happen, I believe.
>> As far as I can tell, this means you have a XP license, just not a cd.
>> In legaleseland, that might mean that you could get a XP cd from anyone,
>> install it and use your serial number to activate it (and at least in
>> Italy you have the right to make one copy of your original disc as a
>> backup, so if the original medium gets damaged you don't have to buy a
>> new one - applies to audio cds and dvd movies as well, even if it's not
>> widely advertised...)
>>
>>>> What have you tried that didn't work? Have you tried creating virtual
>>>> machines and installing operating systems into them?
>>> I was hoping there was some application out there that did not require
>>> giving any money to Microsoft that would make the virtual environment
>>> rather than using an actual Microsoft program.  Pretty naive, however,
>>> that was the only way I would use it.
>> to run windows programs, i.e. any of the free/open source ones, you may
>> try looking into Wine. Or for the open source ones, use the linux version :P
>>
>>> The only thing I miss from Windows is Spider Solitaire, it was
>>> entertaining once in a while.
>> It's available in the KDE card games :) (KPath I seem to remember?)
>> I.
> 
> You all have forgotten that M$ now uses Windows Genuine Advantage, aka WGA, to 
> certify that it is running on the box it was originally installed on.  Any 
> hardware change, a new hard drive, adding more memory, changing the video 
> card, yadda yadda disables the logins and the box cannot be used until it 
> gets re-registered, and arguing with them about it is a PITA, often denied, 
> making you buy yet another copy.  I was given an hp desktop short tower by a 
> neighbor because the psu had died.  I shoehorned a std psu into it, and since 
> it only had 128 megs of memory added another stick beside that one which 
> turned out not to be a match as it was a 256M stick. On the test powerup, WGA 
> kicked in and would not allow a login, presumably because the memory had been 
> tripled.  That sort of stuff I used to find on the ground behind the male of 
> the bovine specie when I was a farm kid in Iowa 70 years ago.

:D from my related memories of about 10 years ago, that does not 
significantly differ from what's found behind the females of the same 
species... I don't know about the Genuine disAdvantage, but right after 
the first install on VirtualBox I made a copy of the disk image file, 
and it seems to stay authorized when mounted in a new VM, so there 
should be no problems as far as I don't change the configuration of the 
VM too much... not that I have much use for it anyway...
I.