Text 29, 73 rader
Skriven 2013-05-06 13:19:36 av BOB KLAHN (1:135/382)
     Kommentar till en text av PAUL QUINN
Ärende: Virtual Machine
=======================
 BK>>> I was just thinking of adding ram to an old laptop, and got to
 BK>>> thinking about linux distros that run in ram. I was wondering
 BK>>> about running Win 98 in ram, and if it would run much faster.

 PQ>> For running Win98 you just need to have plenty of HDD space.  It runs
 PQ>> fine in just 128Mb, in a vBox.  (I'm not sure about a laptop,
 PQ>> though.)

 PQ> On further reflection, I'd recommend that you consider
 PQ> something later than Win98.

 That was one of the things I needed to know.

 PQ> There are a few gotcha's to running it.  It has to be
 PQ> installed with forcing ACPI by using the "/p j" setup
 PQ> switch, otherwise a vBox just blasts away at the CPU at
 PQ> warp-8.  *This* vBox also uses Rain 2.0 to smooth its
 PQ> operation, BTW. The other vBox didn't need Rain.  Go figure.
 PQ> The next tough bit is finding the best SVGA display adapter
 PQ> driver to use.

 Hmmm... looking less desirable all the time.

 PQ> Win98 installs with just 800x600x16 colours VGA, which is
 PQ> woefully inadequate. I've managed to dig up a couple of
 PQ> SVGA drivers by reading through the vBox support forum(s).
 PQ> Both provide 1024x768x32-bit SVGA, however one of the
 PQ> drivers (VBE Mini-port by Anapa Corp.) absolutely crashes
 PQ> if I try to run any DOS apps; luckily (by good planning on
 PQ> my part [adjusting halo] it doesn't need to).

 OTOH, I am looking at very limited uses. Web browsing and media
 player, and maybe skype. Though I don't think the old versions
 of skype work much anymore.

 PQ> *This* vBox uses the 'SciTech Display Doctor' and runs
 PQ> everything, nearly perfectly; the driver is a beta IIRC
 PQ> which has had some wobbly moments, a few times requiring me
 PQ> to shut-down the Radius mailer by using a semaphore file
 PQ> from another vBox, and, then a three-finger salute... twice.
 PQ> All of this is _not_ required for XP.  Also, the vBox
 PQ> "Guest Additions" (not

 OTOH, I have no plans for using anything like that.

 PQ> available for Win9x) make operating XP a real charmer.

 PQ> If you want to try Linux distros from time to time, then I
 PQ> can suggest something similar to my Linux tester vBox.  It

 I am using old laptops and can be dedicated. I have enough small
 old HDs that I can just use linux anyway convenient. It's
 windows I am wondering about.

 PQ> has 512Mb defined (which can be changed, if required) along
 PQ> with a 2.1Gb HDD.  The HDD allows for a permanent swap
 PQ> partition which Linux distros l-o-v-e to have available,
 PQ> along with some storage for anything I want to save during
 PQ> a session.

 Ok, that sounds interesting. I bought out a bunch of 4Gig HDs
 when a business rental company went under. Got something like 8
 or 10 of them. Most are still around and usable, but not much
 use for something that small these day. I say that and remember
 my first desktop with a 160meg HD. Dang...



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... I prefer to remain anomalous.
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