HOW TO: Run Other OSes On Your PC
Many of you will undoubtedly have heard of VMware, but for those who have not, here is a little introduction:[indent]VMware is powerful desktop virtualization software for softwaredevelopers/testers and enterprise IT professionals that runs multipleoperating systems simultaneously on a single PC.
[/indent]But you can erase that bit about it being for “softwaredevelopers/testers” and “enterprise IT professionals”, because I’mgoing to show you just how simple running another Operating System onyour PC is.
VMware Workstation has always been (and still is) a commercialproduct, and you have to pay a fairly large sum to get your hands onit, but VMware have now released a free application dubbed “VMwarePlayer”, which can run virtual machines produced by VMware and a fewother companies. Yet, with some simple hacks, we can use VMware Playerto run any x86 Operating System we like.
Ingredients[list=1][*] VMware Player, which can be downloaded from [url=http://www.vmware.com/download/player/]VMware.com[/url].[*] [url=http://linux.wolphination.com/data/OS.zip]OS.zip[/url], which we will use to install the Operating System. ([url=http://linux.wolphination.com.nyud.net:8090/data/OS.zip]mirror[/url])[*] Either the .iso of the install CD for the Operating System you would like to run, or its CD.[/list]With these, we can concoct the perfect potion.
Getting the OS up and runningFirst 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 youdownloaded. A directory called “OS” should be created, and inside itthere will be two files: OS.vmdk and OS.vmx. Switch to that directoryand open up OS.vmx in your favourite text editor.
The third line in that file is: [u]memsize = “512″[/u]. Here you canset how many MBs of your RAM you would like VMware Player to take upwhen running your Operating System. I have set it to 512MB, which is atmy disposal, yet you really only need about 128-256MB for the averageLinux distribution. As my Operating System, I have decided to installMandriva Linux 2006 (which I have the DVD .iso of).
So, having put the .iso for it ([i]Mandriva-Linux-2006-Free-DVD.i586.iso[/i]) in my C:\ directory, I reopen the OS.vmx file. Here, in the line that reads:
[u]ide1:0.fileName = “c:\image.iso”[/u], I would change it to:
[u]ide1:0.fileName = “c:\Mandriva-Linux-Free-DVD.i586.iso”[/u].
If you have, for example, the Ubuntu install CD .iso (let’s call it [i]Ubuntu-5.10.iso[/i]), place it in your C:\ directory. Then, alter the line in OS.vmx from
[u]ide1:0.fileName = “c:\image.iso”[/u] to
[u]ide1:0.fileName = “c:\Ubuntu-5.10.iso”[/u].
[indent][b]Note:[/b] If you would like to install an OperatingSystem via your CD-ROM drive, then edit the OS.vmx file, replacing thefollowing lines:
[u]ide1:0.present = “TRUE”
ide1:0.fileName = “c:\image.iso”
ide1:0.deviceType = “cdrom-image”[/u]
with these:
[u]ide1:0.present = “TRUE”
ide1:0.fileName = “auto detect”
ide1:0.deviceType = “cdrom-raw”[/u]
[/indent]Ok, now that you’ve configured how much of your RAM you would liketo dedicate to this process and pointed it to the correct .iso/CDdrive, 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:
[url=http://static.flickr.com/43/74469883_719f03073e_o.jpg][img=240,198]http://static.flickr.com/43/74469883_719f03073e_m.jpg[/img][/url]
[img]http://static.flickr.com/39/74469880_eaca8771e5.jpg?v=0[/img]Make sure the CD-ROM button along the top bar is pressed, and as soon as the above screen appears press [i]Esc[/i]. That will take to you a list of bootable devices, and on this list go down to “CD-ROM” and hit [i]Enter[/i].
Now, VMware Player will go to the “CD-ROM drive” (which you havepointed to a .iso), and so the installation of the Operating Systemwill begin.
[b]Hint:[/b] Do not be afraid to let the OS format the “harddrive” and automatically partition it within the virtual machine,because all it will be affecting is the OS.vmdk file - which willexpand as you go storing more information on it (and is a maximum of107GB).
Here’s a screenshot of Mandriva’s installation in progress:
[url=http://static.flickr.com/39/74469881_ad3bd33e8a_o.jpg][img=240,195]http://static.flickr.com/39/74469881_ad3bd33e8a_m.jpg[/img][/url]
And, the finished result:
[url=http://static.flickr.com/40/74469882_336c317348_o.jpg][img=240,177]http://static.flickr.com/40/74469882_336c317348_m.jpg[/img][/url]
Excellent - now you can make your own virtual machines! There are also a few prebuilt ones available for download on VMware’s [url=http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/vm/]Virtual Machine Centre[/url].
-If you have had any issues while trying this out, please feel free to leave me a message below or [url=http://linux.wolphination.com/?page_id=14/]drop me an email[/url], and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
[indent][b]Extra Note:[/b]
Some Operating Systems require more than one CD to be installed (example: [url=http://freebsd.org/]FreeBSD[/url]).This is not a problem when you have the actual CDs, but when you planto install the OS from a bunch of ISOs, the situation becomes slightlymore problematic. Here is what you can do (FreeBSD is being used as anexample):
Change the .vmx file to read:
[u]ide1:0.present = “TRUE”
ide1:0.fileName = “c:\FreeBSD.iso”
ide1:0.deviceType = “cdrom-image”[/u]
Then do the following:
Move the first FreeBSD ISO to your C:\ directory (or /home/user/ for Linux users), and rename it from “[url=http://ftp.giga.net.tw/OS/FreeBSD/iso/i386/6.0/6.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso]6.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso[/url]”to “FreeBSD.iso”. Good, now boot up VMware Player and install it as youwould any other OS; but, when the installer asks you to insert thesecond CD, remove FreeBSD.iso from the C:\ directory and copy thesecond ISO there. Then, rename the second ISO (”[url=http://ftp.giga.net.tw/OS/FreeBSD/iso/i386/6.0/6.0-RELEASE-i386-disc2.iso]6.0-RELEASE-i386-disc2.iso[/url]“) to FreeBSD.iso, and press [i]Enter[/i] to continue the installation. Voilà!
[/indent] 全英文呀!
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