Windows XP on VMWARE best configuration

Windows XP on VMWARE best configuration

A Virtual Machine is an operating system that runs independently on your current operating system. You cannot see it physically like your computer having an actual OS platform but it does exist in another environment. The “host” is where the Virtual Machine “guest” is installed. A host can run multiple Virtual Machines simultaneously depending on the capabilities of the host, meaning if your computer have a great specifications in can dynamically distribute its resources to all installed VMS, without having to suffer from lags.

If you have Windows, Linux, or Mac as you host, you can install different operating system with it. Like in Windows Operating System, if this OS will be your host, you can install Linux or Mac products on it. When you install a guest operating system it is like installing an operating system to a brand new computer, meaning you’ll have to provide details like license key, username, LAN or Modem configuration etc. You can use the installation disk of your operating system or you can use the Image file version of the OS “. iso” Before installing any Virtual Machine you must install the VMware workstation first.

There are many limitations on a Windows 7 starter edition; you should check it first if it can handle virtual machines, any ways as far as I know the limitations of Windows 7 starter edition won’t affect programs that you will install. You can install variety of operating system on computer; you have a descent RAM and CPU. Install an operating system following its basic requirements, but I suggest if you will install Windows Vista set 1 GB or memory when using the ultimate version and 500 mb for Vista Basic, latest version of Ubuntu or other Linux distributions set the memory under Virtual Machine configuration to 512. For windows XP you can use the minimum 256 MB of RAM. If you will install XP SP3 use 512 MB memory. Don’t change any default hardware configuration it is set for best performance of guest OS.

Here’s a guide on how to setup a virtual machine:

Using the Operating System installation disk

1. Connect to virtual machine by launching VMware Workstation.

2. Insert the installation disk that you will use on creating a guest operating system.

3. Power on the virtual machine by clicking the “Play” on the tool bar.

4. Complete the needed requirement for the operating system like license key, username, password etc.

5. After reboot it will install VMware tools, and your Virtual Machine is ready to use.

Using ISO version of operating system

• You can create an ISO version of your guest installation cd and save it to your hard drive. Launch VMware and browse for ISO file and follow the installation instruction for the operating system.