VMWare Fusion Questions

[safetyobc]

I am running Windows XP Pro right now on Boot Camp with 10 GB allocated to that. I am thinking of buying VMWare Fusion and doing away with my Boot Camp partition if possible.

My question is do you still have to partition the drive for VM Ware. Also, does it also require you to use the 10GB of space. XP didn't require it, I just read it was recommended.

Or can I simply install VMWare and it runs Windows? OR does it simply use the partition I have created and let me access it from my Mac?

Thanks for any info.

 

[tersono]

VMWare tends to run a little faster from a BootCamp partition, but you can run Windows from a disk image if you prefer (this is a special type of disk image that Fusion creates for you on request as part of the XP installation).

When you create the disk image, VMWare will ask you the maximum size you want. It'll start small and expand as installed software and usage requires. Bear in mind, though, that whilst XP can run on a much smaller drive than 10gb, it's not going to be very useful as you won't have room for much in the way of software - or for a decent scratch file. I'd suggest allowing the image to expand to at least 15-20gb, more if you have the space available.

 

[safetyobc]

Sooo, i can delete the partition I have now?

 

[Guy Incognito]

Sooo, i can delete the partition I have now?

Yes, although then you'll have to reinstall Windows. You can also run a VM based on your current Boot Camp install.

Also, contra the other respondent, I don't know that it's true that Fusion runs faster off a Boot Camp partition than from a VM. You might want to check the Fusion forums on this point.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I don't notice any slowdown running XP off of a disk image, but I also threw 368megs of RAM at it, just to run AIM and Firefox... (and WMP)

 

[MurphyM]

I converted my Boot Camp to a regular VMware Fusion virtual machine. I didn't like having to shut down windows when I was done with it under Fusion.

I do some pretty intense media stuff in Windows and see no loss of quality or performance when using Fusion WITHOUT Boot Camp.

Here are instructions on using VMware's free converter to turn your boot camp install into a regular vm. To me that's better than reinstalling Windows and all the patches and whatnot.

 

[aswitcher]

I allocate 768MB ram for Vista business and one processor. Runs pretty slow but is usable. Would be nice to know if 1GB would make a significant difference.