How to Use KVM with Virtual Machine Manager

kvm logoVirtualization has many uses. You can use it to test another operating system, run applications that your OS does not support, or even maintain virtual servers within one or more virtual machines.

KVM (kernel-based virtual machine) is a Linux virtualization tool that makes use of hardware-assisted virtualization (also called native virtualization) using processor technology such as Intel VT-x and AMD-V. Red Hat’s Virtual Machine Manager now has support for KVM, making it easy to setup a virtual machine with a free graphical interface. It is also available for Fedora, Gentoo, FreeBSD, Ubuntu, and many other operating systems.
[Read more...]

Prayaya Virtualizes Your Windows OS And Make It Portable + Free Giveaway

prayaya-logoUpdate: the giveaway contest is now closed.

Portable apps can be very handy if you only need a few applications. Portable Virtualbox enables you to bring along the whole OS in a thumb drive, but it can be slow and often take up a big chunk of your USB storage space. What if you can have the best of both world – a lightweight and portable OS that contains all the applications you need?

Prayaya V3 creates a portable Windows operating system on your removable storage device such as USB drive, iPod, external hard disk etc and allows you to install your own applications (and games), customize your own settings and even manage your own bookmarks. You can then bring the storage device around in your pocket and use it on any Windows computer.

Note: We have free giveaway for this great software. Read on for more detail.
[Read more...]

Cameyo: Virtualize Your Applications And Make Them Portable (Windows Only)

cameyo-logoPortable applications are useful in that you can run it in any computers and without installation. The bad thing is, not every applications can be made portable. One of the solutions that we reviewed previously is to make your Windows XP portable so you can carry all your apps around. However, that can be an overkill for many. Most of the time, we just need access to a few applications, not the whole OS. This is where Cameyo comes in to fill the gap.

Cameyo is a Windows only software that virtualize your applications into a single exe file. With this virtualize application, you can bring it around and use it in any computers, without installation.
[Read more...]

How to Create a Virtual Machine of Your Existing Windows Operating System

disktovhd-windowsA virtual machine is a software, that lets you create and run a separate operating system in your existing computer system. You can boot the virtual machine from the parent operating system and run just like another software application.

For example: If you are using Windows xp, you can install popular virtualization software like Windows virtual PC, Vmware workstation to create a virtual machine within your current operating system. Now in that virtual machine, you can install any operating system e.g Windows xp, vista. You can run these operating systems in a new explorer window within Windows xp.

The problem with virtual machines is that you have to install an operating system from scratch. This includes loading the operating system from cd or dvd, installing all the drivers and system software etc. This can be very time consuming and is not a quick job.
[Read more...]

How to Run Multiple Linux Distros Without Virtualization

multipledistros-all-logosA few weeks ago, I wrote an article on How To Run Multiple X Sessions Without Virtualization, which demonstrated how you can run multiple desktop environments at the same time on the same computer, and switch between them at the push of a button. I admit, this was somewhat of a warmup for the real show – how to run multiple Linux distributions at the same time without having to deal with the drawbacks of virtualization software.

Today, we’re going to be using chroot to treat certain parts of your Linux filesystem as (almost) completely isolated systems. This can let you do all kinds of interesting things, like run a full Gentoo system from inside your Ubuntu system with little to no performance loss.
[Read more...]

How To Run Multiple X Sessions Without Virtualization

X.org logoOne of the best things about a Linux system is its flexibility. Even though I’ve been a heavy Linux user for years, I still come across features in the OS a related applications that surprise me. A while back I learned to run multiple desktop environments at the same time, using nothing but the features of the software already built in to my distribution, and it’s been very useful for me. It may not sound like much, but it can be VERY useful to be able to run Gnome, KDE, Window Maker, and any other desktops all at the same time. You can flip from Gnome to Window Maker in seconds without having to log out or stop applications or use any kind of virtualization software. X already has everything you need.
[Read more...]

How To Enable 3D Acceleration In VirtualBox

VirtualBox LogoVirtualbox is an excellent application to have if you’re looking to try out new operating systems and/or are generally interested in virtualisation for the many benefits it offers.

Make Tech Easier has extensively covered VirtualBox a couple of times earlier and we are great fans of this cross platform, open source application.

One thing which VirtualBox was missing till some time back was support for 3D acceleration for guest operating systems. What this means is that the graphics driver used inside the guest virtual machines was only capable of simple 2D graphics and thus interfaces like Compiz on Linux and Aero on Vista were not useable.

There was basic 3D support for Windows guests in Virtualbox 2.1 but users using Virtualbox to run Linux guests were mostly confined to the 2D graphics driver. That has changed with the release of VirtualBox 2.2 recently and VirtualBox now supports 3D acceleration. The 3D acceleration support built in VirtualBox uses your native machine’s graphics hardware to provide this capability, so if your native graphics driver doesn’t have 3D capability, VirtualBox cannot make use of it.

[Read more...]

How to Create a Ubuntu Virtual Machine With QEMU Manager

qemu_logoQEMU is a CPU and process emulator which allows you to create virtual machines that can run on any platform. QEMU manager uses this emulator to virtualize Linux on windows systems. In this post we show you how to create an Ubuntu virtual machine on Windows using QEMU manager.

[Read more...]