[OFB Cafe] Old Computers for Old Guys

[Derek Broughton]

On July 15, 2008 12:29:25 Fred Smith wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 8:52 AM, Derek Broughton <auspex at pointerstop.ca> 
wrote:
> > On July 14, 2008 23:34:42 Timothy Butler wrote:
> >> > apparently there is no way to get vmware to
> >> > boot an existing partition, which is maybe the stupidest thing in the
> >
> > Not true.  I've done it, though again not for years.  It's called, iirc,
> > "raw disk" support.  It's very complicated, and again, like the Wine
> > solution, doesn't guarantee that things work any better.
>
> raw disk support is a bad idea, and I don't suggest anyone use it on a
> dual boot system.  Here's why:

I'm sure you're right - but that's why it's not well documented how to do 
this, because VMWare really don't think it's a great idea :-)  otoh, people 
have a right to corrupt their own systems if they want to!

> 2) If you do get windows started, you'll have to re-activate it
> because your hardware changed, and you'll probably end up having to
> download a whole pile of drivers to get the VMWare "hardware" working.

Right.  Now I remember why I gave up on it.  In fact, if you have an OEM 
version of Windows, you _can't_ reactivate it without spending a lot of time 
on the phone with MS customer support, and almost certainly lying to them 
because MS policy is that your license does _not_ entitle you to run the OS 
in a VM, never mind that it's exactly the hardware you purchased it on.  
Legally, they almost certainly don't have a leg to stand on here in Canada, 
but no matter who wins, who do you think _loses_ in a legal battle with 
Microsoft?

> VMWare makes a converted product that will take a disk image of a
> partition and build you a virtual machine out of it.  I'd suggest
> using that instead.

I didn't have much success with that, but it must be at least two years ago.
-- 
derek