Best Virtual Machine software to install Windows 8 DP?

XJLanzaro

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What is the best Virtual Machine software for Windows 7 host os to install W8DP guest os?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000 Pro, and Windows 98SE
Virtual Box now has support for the WDP.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 64-bit and Win8 32-bit in VM (+ others in VM)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus K52F
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    it's an i3 :)
    Sound Card
    Conexant (rubbish - or it may be the speakers)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Internet Speed
    whatever I can get - G3

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64/Windows 8 Consumer Preview x64/Ubuntu 11.04
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual Core E6700 3.2GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5G41T-M LX
    Memory
    Strontium 8192MB DDR3 1333Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    msi GeForce N560GTX-M2D1GD5 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CHIMEI CMV 221D 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 3.5'' 2TB HDD/WD Elements External 1TB HDD
    PSU
    SHAW Viper-1500w Gaming PSU
    Case
    Black eMaxx ATX Mini Tower Case
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 1000
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 2000
    Internet Speed
    100GB @ 4.76Mbps
I use vBox all the time. But for Win8 I could not get the resolution above 800x600 whilst I get 1680x900 in Ubuntu.

Running from a VHD would be nice, but not possible in Win7 Home Premium.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Ah, I see.

Running from a VHD would be nice, but not possible in Win7 Home Premium.

I didn't realise that (I'm using Ultimate). :eek:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
Hmmm - VHD works in Vista Home Basic.....

Robin (the other one)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN7 Home Premium 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I7 920
    Motherboard
    Asus P6T-Se
    Memory
    6Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD5770
    Sound Card
    On-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW246H, Samsing Syncmaster 2233, Samsung Syncmaster T200HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500Gb
    PSU
    Coolermaster Silent Pro M700
    Case
    NOX
    Mouse
    Logitech Marble
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
    Other Info
    Dell Inspiron 1501 with Win 8 CP 32 Bit - flying along!
Hi there
vmware player is very good too since all the probs have been fixed with R4 and W8. 3D support for graphics is built in and I think it tends to be more stable and is easier to set up and use than VBOX. It's also free.

You can even run this on W7 STARTER if you want.

BTW Native booting VHD's should be possible from any version of Windows --there's a tutorial on this over at the Seven Forum.

(I see WHS beat me to this !!!!)

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I use vBox all the time. But for Win8 I could not get the resolution above 800x600 whilst I get 1680x900 in Ubuntu.

Running from a VHD would be nice, but not possible in Win7 Home Premium.

:what: I myself use vhd to boot windows 8 rp. I have windows 7 home basic. I have seen in many places that it requires ultimate or enterprise version of windows 7. Strange !!! It works not only for me but many. Can anybody explain?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Linux Mint 14
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion g4
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2330M CPU @ 2.20GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 GB Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500 GB HDD
I myself use vhd to boot windows 8 rp. I have windows 7 home basic. I have seen in many places that it requires ultimate or enterprise version of windows 7. Strange !!! It works for not only me but many. Can anybody explain?

Yes, but Your Windows 7 is on a physical partition, right?

And Windows 8 is on VHD?

Make a test, try to install Windows 7 HB on VHD.
I bet it won't work!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro WMC, OS X Mavericks
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    i7 860
    Motherboard
    ASUS P7P55D-E
    Memory
    Corsair CMX8G3M2A1600C9D ,DDR3 ,8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 ,1 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2311H
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black SATA 6.0 1TB x1 ,
    WD Caviar Blue 1TB x1
    WD Caviar Red 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair CMPSU-750TX
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech LX5
:p O ho, now understood. It should be something like that. Thanks for the info!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Linux Mint 14
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion g4
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2330M CPU @ 2.20GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 GB Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500 GB HDD
Thanks you all, I ended up installing Windows 8 on a partition nest to Windows 7 and it runs great.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000 Pro, and Windows 98SE
VMware workstation because it got unity. Works really awesome-ly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 RP x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2410M CPU @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon
    Sound Card
    Unknown but okay
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ??
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Internet Speed
    slow
VMWare Workstation is good, but native VHD boot is the best. And for those asking about Win7 compatibility, you're misunderstanding the information. To boot from a VHD, you just need Windows installed on your PC. For a VHD to be bootable, the VHD must be of Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
Thanks Kebero

VMWare Workstation is good, but native VHD boot is the best. And for those asking about Win7 compatibility, you're misunderstanding the information. To boot from a VHD, you just need Windows installed on your PC. For a VHD to be bootable, the VHD must be of Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows 8.

Thanks for that clarification. :)

Why can't MS provide simple concise explanations like yours?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
Why can't MS provide simple concise explanations like yours?

Because I'm the person who works in IT as a technician and actually has to explain this ish to end users?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
Whats The Best VM app to use for Windows 8?

That's Super easy. Parallels Workstation - hands down bar none!

Why? - I'll tell you...

I just spent the past 5 hours trying to get Windows 8 to even install.

In Virtual Box I kept getting this message
VT-x/AMD-V hardware acceleration has been enabled, but is not operational. Certain guests (e.g. OS/2 and QNX) require this feature. Please ensure that you have enabled VT-x/AMD-V properly in the BIOS of your host computer

I followed all the instructions on many websites and this one to trouble shoot the problem, because it should worked out of the box.. I do have Hardware Virtualizaqtion in my Bios activated. I even flash updated my bios to the newest version and it didn't help. That took several hours.

Next I tried VMWare. It got a tiny bit further. I got the error screen that said My PC didn't have enough ram to set up the Ram Disk. My PC has 4 gigabytes of ram, and installing windows 8 was the only thing I was doing.. I know I had plenty of ram left over. Again, tried for several hours all the tricks I could find around this problem, nothing worked.

These two problems are the two most common problems people have when trying to install Windows 8 in a virtual machine. Google them and you'll see.. tons of threads on these issues.

Last, I tried Parallels Workstation. I even had Firefox browser open taking up extra ram, and it installed and ran Windows 8 perfectly from the word Go with no errors or problems - and its very fast too.. so fast with my single core PC that I don't even know I'm in a VM.

For me anyway, Parallels Workstation was my savior. You guys can do what you want, but I suggest you give it a try before you waste 5 hours trying to get Windows 8 to install when you see your having trouble. It might just save your butt too. I think their use of VT-x and AMD-v must be better than the other two apps I mentioned.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion G7-2251dx
    CPU
    AMD A-8 4500M
    Memory
    8 Gigabytes DDR3 sdram
    Graphics Card(s)
    Discrete ATI Radeon HD 7640G with 2 Gigs
    Sound Card
    IDT Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    500 gig
    Internet Speed
    3.5 mb/sec
Welcome to the forums!
Thanks for confirming this. Good to know Parellells W. works that well Dark Rider. Which version is it (I guess 6)?

VMware Player works perfectly here on x64 Win7. I agree VBox has some bugs and it's good you avoid it because there are some issues with some AMD processors (can be yours, you never know).

I guess some programs work good on some pc hardware and don't work (or pretty bad) on other pc's: it depends on hardware and drivers. It's good that you tested all those virtualisation programs and using the one that works best on your machine is something everyone should do.

VM Player and VBox are free Parallells not, but it has some nice additions (and there is also the Extreme version for newer hardware...)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Thanks for the welcome.

Yeah, I have seen people post that VMware worked for them when other VM apps could not.. its just a hardware thing. The version I'm using is Parallels Workstation 6. It's odd that there are so many differences to these programs that some work better than others based on your hardware. For me Parallels is king for windows 8. I was amazed it didn't have any errors at all when the other two balked. I'm using the trial version, just to test a few things. I suppose if one needs to run Win 8 for an extended period of time and Parallels worked for them when others didn't, the app would pay for itself in the long run. I'm actually tempted to buy it anyway for its speed. On my machine, it blows VMWare and Vbox out of the water. I have tested it with a few other Linux distros and PC-BSD and it always the faster of the three.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion G7-2251dx
    CPU
    AMD A-8 4500M
    Memory
    8 Gigabytes DDR3 sdram
    Graphics Card(s)
    Discrete ATI Radeon HD 7640G with 2 Gigs
    Sound Card
    IDT Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    500 gig
    Internet Speed
    3.5 mb/sec
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