About to install Vista

[rye9]

I downloaded VirtualBox, the free virtualization software from Sun earlier today, as opposed to purchasing VMWare Fusion for my 13" MBP. I have a copy of Vista I got free from my college that I'd like to install in the next day or so after having it sit around all summer. I'm just wondering, however... should I do anything prior or after installation; and is there anything special I should know to optimize my system? I only have 2GB of RAM, which may be an issue I fear. Anyways, if all is good, I plan on simply launching VirtualBox and then popping in the Vista disc... I'm assuming it's a simple process?

Sorry for worrying but my insecurities force myself to ask if there's any tips or tricks there is to know.

Also, I may try to install the original Call of Duty for Windows (probably 5 years old at this point)... so yes it's a game but is it old enough where its requirements won't matter too much to require boot camp?

 

[Bill Gates]

First of all, don't allocate more than 1GB of RAM to the VM. With 2GB total, you could easily begin paging lots of memory to disk which would slow performance considerably. Secondly, post-install, I assume there is a tools package to install with drivers and such, similar to VMware Tools. My cardinal rule is to make sure Windows is fully updated before installing any 3rd-party programs. Once that's done, there really shouldn't be anything left to do other than to install any and all programs you intend to use. I don't know how Call of Duty will run, but don't get your hopes up. 3D acceleration in virtual machines isn't and probably never will be very good when compared to a natively running system.

 

[rye9]

Okay thanks. Do you recommend that I upgrade/install more RAM then? Also, how can I minimize the memory usage of Vista?

Being it's a virtual machine and not a real one... does defragging even do anything now?

Finally, if I do the software update in Vista, does it require me to restart my MBP? I'm totally new to the idea of a virtual machine, as you can see.

 

[rye9]

Okay so I just installed 32 bit windows vista ultimate service pack 1 under virtualbox, and just went through about 3 hours of updates... I won't be using windows too often, if so probably just for a program called "dev ++" which I'll be using for a compute programming class in college in a month. And as I said I might try to install the original COD. under my MBP's configuration of a 2.26 ghz processor, 2gb of ram and 256mb video ram... I allocate 25gb HDD space, 921 mb of ram, and 64 mb of VRAM under virtual box for vista. Does this sound okay? And should I defrag under windows? I don't uderstand how virtual machine work compared to physical... Thanks for any help I really appreciate it

 

[Bill Gates]

Okay thanks. Do you recommend that I upgrade/install more RAM then? Also, how can I minimize the memory usage of Vista?

Being it's a virtual machine and not a real one... does defragging even do anything now?

Finally, if I do the software update in Vista, does it require me to restart my MBP? I'm totally new to the idea of a virtual machine, as you can see.

I do recommend that you install more RAM. I would upgrade to 4GB (2x2GB) which seems to be the sweet-spot right now as far as pricing is concerned, and should serve your needs well. To minimize the memory usage of Vista you could disable graphical enhancements and effects.

Defragmenting is still useful because the virtual disk files act like a standard hard drive to any guest operating system. Files can become fragmented across the virtual disk.

Windows Vista will restart in its own virtual environment, as you've no doubt by now realized. OS X will remain operational throughout the rebooting process.

Okay so I just installed 32 bit windows vista ultimate service pack 1 under virtualbox, and just went through about 3 hours of updates... I won't be using windows too often, if so probably just for a program called "dev ++" which I'll be using for a compute programming class in college in a month. And as I said I might try to install the original COD. under my MBP's configuration of a 2.26 ghz processor, 2gb of ram and 256mb video ram... I allocate 25gb HDD space, 921 mb of ram, and 64 mb of VRAM under virtual box for vista. Does this sound okay? And should I defrag under windows? I don't uderstand how virtual machine work compared to physical... Thanks for any help I really appreciate it

25GB isn't much at all for Vista, but if COD (provided that it works) and dev++ are all you intend to install then it should be plenty of disk space. I would actually recommend a larger virtual disk in the future because the disk actually grows in size as space is needed. If you allocate 100GB to a virtual disk, it will only consume the space actually needed, and grow to a maximum of 100GB before running out of space.