Virtual Machines - Preserving your working system
This is probably a little braver than most tech writers want to be, but it might solve a few problems for a consultant or two.Virtual machines allow you to test software without polluting your registry and file system with garbage that doesn't get removed, even with an uninstaller. Your system has to be up to running an operating system within an operating system, and setting one up can be time consuming. The time required can be annoying especially since you're creating something specifically so that you can throw it away. Still, if you're having to install software temporarily, this is a good way to keep your working computer clean.
IT professionals have been using virtual machines for years, but your average tech writer, not so much. This is probably a function of all the things we don't know about our systems. I started to think about it when installing client alpha software caused problems on my working machine. I know installing client software on my working machine is bad. I just didn't have any working alternatives. Virtual machines give me a option for next time.
I chose Virtual PC, because all the information I needed was where I could find it. Do some reading before you start. There are a few additional things to keep in mind about Virtual PC.
- You need at least 1GB of RAM, more is usable. I have 2GB.
- You need your operating system installation disks.
- You need enough hard disk storage for the Virtual PC install and the operating system files, and for the files for what you're trying to accomplish. I started with XP just under 4GB and rapidly exceeded 12GB.
- It uses space, apparently without reusing it. While testing DVD slideshow software, it balloon to 25GB quickly even though it was only using 12GB effectively. The compacting function saved 1GB. Woo-flipping-hoo. Look up the terms "virtual machine bloat". I've included a link to an article about compacting a vitual machine by copying a disk image of the virtual hard drive.
- Virtual PC includes an add-on that allows you to access the base system's CD drive and allows you to drag files between the base system desktop and the virtual PC desktop. As far as I can figure, you can't write to the base system's CD/DVD drive.
- You can close down a virtual machine without saving the changes, that means that it resets to it's previous state and you lose any changes made during the session, including data.
To learn about virtual machines, see this Wiki article on virtual machines.
Wiki provides a comparison summary of virtual machines.
Microsoft's Virtal PC 2007 has it's own introduction and download section.
Microsoft's Virtual PC installation and setup instructions didn't get me into too much trouble.
Enhancing Rollback by Using Virtual Machines by John Paul Cook is very useful. It's written for Virtual PC 2004. Note the section title, Compacting a Virtual Hard Disk Using Image Copying Software.
If you get far enough to need compacting, you'll need a bootable disk with disk imaging software installed. I use a BartPE disk with an ancient version of ghost. If you don't already have a BartPE disk for troubleshooting, see BartPE for information and instructions.
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