Topic: Windows 7

[RossRoy]

Another quick question about Win7:

I use VueScan to do my scanning. It is a 32bits program that has yet to be upgraded to 64bits. It cannot interface with the 64bits driver of my scanner in Win7.

No problem, I installed it into XP mode, USB-attached my scanner, installed the 32bits drivers in XP mode. Works fine.

So hibernate the machine and run VueScan in XP mode... no scanner found! Ok, that means the scanner isn't attached.

Question: Any way to make XP mode automatically attach my USB scanner? I'd like to be able to run only VueScan in XP mode... as it stands, I have to run the whole virtual machine because I have to attach my scanner...

[Touti]

I wouldn't know about that Seb but have you tried changing the compatibility mode and running it in Win 7 ?

[RossRoy]

I just tried the compatibility mode.. no luck. It still sees the scanner driver as 64bits and can't interface with it. Guess I'll have to run it from the virtual machine for the time being..

[Touti]

I don't think it's gonna make any difference but this is worth trying anyway I guess.  

Click Start->All Programs->windows Virtual PC->Windows Virtual PC

That should open the virtual machines folder.   Click on your Windows XP Mode virtual machine and then click "Settings" in the links bar.  At the bottom of the Settings page you'll the "Close" setting, set it to automatically shutdown or "prompt for action".

Then start your VM and close it.  If you selected "Prompt" then choose shutdown.  Then try running your vuescan in XP mode.

My thinking behind this is that I've noticed that the background XP OS seems to remember/use the state from the last time you closed your Virtual Machine if it's hibernating.  For instance sometimes when I ran applications it gave me warning messages about users being logged in, files being opened etc.

I'm hoping here that a complete shutdown of the virtual OS will force an application running in XP mode to start new clean one and that maybe it's gonna behave differently than when using the hibernated one.

[RossRoy]

Good thinking! Unfortunately, it didn't work..

BUT!

I had an accidental Eureka moment! "Made for Windows 7" applications have that little menu on the tasbar you r can access by right-clicking? Guess what I found in that menu? Yes! A "Manage USB Device" entry! But at that moment, the application already scanned for a scanner and didn't find any.. so no help.. Right?

Wrong! Once you've run a XP-mode application, the virtual machine keeps running in the background, even after you close the app (I don't know for how long though).. that makes it remember the USB attachement setting!  

+1 Microsoft

[Touti]

Wrong! Once you've run a XP-mode application, the virtual machine keeps running in the background, even after you close the app (I don't know for how long though).. that makes it remember the USB attachement setting!  :

I guess it will kill it the next time you fire up  your windows XP VM.

[RossRoy]

Wrong! Once you've run a XP-mode application, the virtual machine keeps running in the background, even after you close the app (I don't know for how long though).. that makes it remember the USB attachement setting!  :

I guess it will kill it the next time you fire up  your windows XP VM.

Actually no, I tried that, and it just opens it, you don't even have to wait for it to wake up from hibernation. I does kill it when you shut down the VM.

[Najemikon]

That's right. It's why virtual operations are so powerful and becoming more widespread all the time. I've worked with virtualised servers occasionally over the past few years and they are very reliable because of aspects like this. It's not a gimmick and business critical operations run on them, so they have to be rock solid. If the host stays on and you haven't actually gone through the process of shutting down or "powering off" the VM, services and hardware should continue to run just as if it was a physical machine.

[RossRoy]

It is making something painfully obvious though: me needs more RAM!

That VM is hogging down the whole system by constantly using the page file (it is set at 256MB of RAM by default, I've raised it to 512MB). But a quarter of RAM allocated to a phantom VM that I don't need all that often?

Me needs more RAM! 4GB total oughta do it (I have 2GB at the moment)

[Najemikon]

I know! I'm thinking that when I build my server, I'll max out the RAM. I'm using a PC at the moment with Windows Server 2008 (same one that was running the admirable FreeNAS) and it has 4gb of a maximum 8gb installed. You soon eat it up!

[Touti]

Ok this may be a very stupid question but I never thought of that before and since we're talking about virtualization...........now that the MAC runs on Intel...........does that mean you one can actually install the MAC OS on a PC ?  Could I run a virtual MAC on Windows OS ?

[Najemikon]

Well it's hard to find the right thing because there are so many emulation solutions, but I think I've heard of it being done. I just Googled the phrase and saw a company specialising in what seems to be a Mac VM for Windows.

Whether you can manage it in conjunction with your other VMs I don't know. I think there are virtual PCs for Macs, which is interesting too.

I find it fascinating though. I've just done a course on SharePoint Server and the training PC had nine Windows 2003 servers on it at different stages of a SP install! They were set to run one at a time, but it was incredibly easy.

[Touti]

I knew that certain emulators were available but my question was really about installing MAC OS on a pc.  I did search a bit too and I apparently it's not really an option, running on an Intel CPU is one thing but it seems that installing from an original MAC DVD wouldn't work as it requires MAC hardware.

Apparently there's some versions available that have been tampered with somehow to make it work but it doesn't sound like it's really viable.

[Touti]

It was too good to be true............I finally had my first deception with Windows 7.  I created a new virtual machine, loaded the ISO image of Ubuntu on the virtual DVD but I can't install it.  It starts up, brings the language selection screen and then the Ubuntu logo with the install menu but no matter which option I choose I get a "Cannot read boot CD" error.

[RossRoy]

Haha! Just found another great feature of Win7!

Per-application volume control! 

(Was it already in Vista? I know it wasn't in XP and I wish it had it repeatedly)