What is a Virtual Machine and how to use them?

Question

THANK YOU NOTE:
Thanks, for everyone of you who answered this question!!!

Answer 1

Gives you "space" for a blank OS.

Allows you to run multiple OS's within the operating framework of a host OS. For instance, I can run XP, Win98, Linux all within W2K host!

You can foul up one installation and correct it by deleting it, with out having to reformat HD's and all that other trouble! In fact, once you have a "nice" test environment, you can replicate it by simply copying the file on the host system. Takes a good bit of disk space on the host - typically, a Virtual Machine will use 4 gig of HD space (what ever you give it, really).

Answer 2

Virtual Machine...

VMware creates an imaginary (or virtual) computer for you to then install an operating system and other software into. Your real computer is referred to as the "Host" computer, and the virtual computers you run are known as "guest" computers. The host computer can be either Windows or Linux, and the guest can be just about anything (vmware supports a wide variety of guest OSes, from DOS to Linux).

Your host computer needs to have enough free space, enough free memory and enough free CPU to support your guest system. Each guest system is assigned resources to it, but you can't use more than you've got, and you can't use what you need to keep the host system running. So if you've got a slow computer, installing VMware is going to make things slower. And the systems you run as guests will be even slower. VMware is VERY resource intensive, so you generally want to use the fastest system you can get your hands on and lots or RAM (you can get away with 512mb ram but I would go with a min of 1G.)

A virtual appliance is a pre-built, pre-configured and ready-to-run software application packaged with the operating system inside a virtual machine - usually a linux distro. These may run out of the box with little or no configuration required, others "some assembly required".

Ok got that...

What can you use it for? You can install any OS into a VM so if you are running XP you can install a linux distro into one and run full blown linux on the same machine. A nice way is to install a live CD into a VM, you can get to know linux and still keep your XP at the same time. It will also work the other way as well if you run linux you can install XP on the same machine.

You can even install a test install of XP on your existing XP computer, why? well there's quite a few reasons really. You may want to test some of software that you are not sure how it will affect your existing install. Want to test a new firewall or antivirus software etc. Run some other software like quiksilver, for an interesting (or not) browse spywarewarrior I'll leave you to follow that and stumble upon the myriad uses.

A Virtual Machine enables you to run a 'computer' inside your computer.

Answer 3

A Virtual Machine is a way of running the same or a different operating system on another operating system. For example I have windows XP on my main PC but I have an application that will only run under windows 98. I setup a Virtual PC and load windows 98 on to it. I am then able to run my application without it knowing it is running under XP.

There are two versions that I use. Microsoft Virtual PC and VMware. Here are the links to the pages for each.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx

http://www.vmware.com/products/desktop_virtualization.html

Answer 4

Virtual systems are computers that run inside your host OS. for example you can install multi systems to test networks and software.

this can be done with progeams like VMWare

Answer 5

I know its a utility software that allows you to run many OS especially on a mac.