activation in vmware and when running natively

[Tom Garcia]

Hi all,

I am in the process of building a new PC which will dual boot between
Windows XP Pro and Linux. I also want to be able to run Windows XP within
VMware-for-Linux hosted from the same installation that is used to run
Windows XP natively.

(The reason for this arrangement is that for regular work usage, I will be
running XP alongside Linux, but if I want maximum speed, I will want to
boot in to XP natively. The method has been documented by VMware for
Windows versions supporting separate hardware profiles.)

However, I see a problem for XP --- since the virtual PC hardware that XP
sees when under VMware is wildly different from the physical hardware, XP
will think I've attempted to install it on two separate machines and
request reactivation.

So, before I purchase my copy of XP, I want to confirm that there's some way
of easily implementing the above arrangement. Since it involves one install
of XP running not more than one instance on one machine, I have no doubt
that it's a legitimate use.

Thanks for your help,

 

[Michael Stevens]

Hi all,

I am in the process of building a new PC which will dual boot between
Windows XP Pro and Linux. I also want to be able to run Windows XP
within VMware-for-Linux hosted from the same installation that is
used to run Windows XP natively.

(The reason for this arrangement is that for regular work usage, I
will be running XP alongside Linux, but if I want maximum speed, I
will want to boot in to XP natively. The method has been documented
by VMware for Windows versions supporting separate hardware profiles.)

However, I see a problem for XP --- since the virtual PC hardware
that XP sees when under VMware is wildly different from the physical
hardware, XP will think I've attempted to install it on two separate
machines and request reactivation.

So, before I purchase my copy of XP, I want to confirm that there's
some way of easily implementing the above arrangement. Since it
involves one install of XP running not more than one instance on one
machine, I have no doubt that it's a legitimate use.

Thanks for your help,

XP run in a VM configuration needs it's own license.
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
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[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

Hi all,

I am in the process of building a new PC which will dual boot between
Windows XP Pro and Linux. I also want to be able to run Windows XP within
VMware-for-Linux hosted from the same installation that is used to run
Windows XP natively.

Tom,

We make no distinction between a VM and a physical PC.
You are therefore required to purchase a license for Windows XP for each
physical PC or VM you intend to install it on.
In your example you have an install on the physical device and a single VM
running under Linux, you therefore require to purchase 2 copies /licenses
for Windows XP.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Tom Garcia]

We make no distinction between a VM and a physical PC.
You are therefore required to purchase a license for Windows XP for each
physical PC or VM you intend to install it on.
In your example you have an install on the physical device and a single VM
running under Linux, you therefore require to purchase 2

copies /licenses

Firstly, thanks very much for your response.

However I do not intend to make two separate installations, but
a _single_ installation with two XP hardware profiles which I
shall be booting either natively or in the VM. Half my aim here is
to not have to maintain two separate installations of Windows.

Since I am installing only one copy, my reading of the EULA
suggests that I only need one licence, but if I need two licences
(and two activations), then how can I switch from one boot
method to the other if it'd keep telling me to reactivate every
time I switch profiles?

Thanks again,

--
Tom Garcia

 

[Michael Stevens]

copies /licenses

Firstly, thanks very much for your response.

However I do not intend to make two separate installations, but
a _single_ installation with two XP hardware profiles which I
shall be booting either natively

How do you define natively? If this is booting from the hard drive, this
will be a separate installation than the VM installation.

or in the VM.

How do you do this with one install?

Half my aim here is
to not have to maintain two separate installations of Windows.

If you boot from the hard drive for one installation and from the VM for the
other, how is that not two separate installations?

Since I am installing only one copy, my reading of the EULA
suggests that I only need one license, but if I need two licensees
(and two activations), then how can I switch from one boot
method to the other if it'd keep telling me to reactivate every
time I switch profiles?

This is not how activation works, and not how a VM installation works. You
need to figure out the exact install and activation procedures you will
need to fulfill before attempting the system configuration you have
attempted to explain. I may have missed something, but it seems you need to
research how VM works and it's limitations a vs. it's positive returns.

 

[Tom Garcia]

If you boot from the hard drive for one installation and from the
VM for the

other, how is that not two separate installations?

Here's how to do it in VMware:

1. I install Windows onto a native (physical) hard drive partition,
by booting natively from the BIOS into Windows XP setup.

2. I use XP's hardware profile support to create a second
hardware profile.

3. I configure a VMware virtual machine to use the _physical
hard disk partition_ prepared in step (1) to boot from. This is
known in the VMware documentation as using a "raw disk", and
basically means you use the same physical installation as when
you set up the OS natively.

4. I boot up my virtual machine, telling XP to use the hardware
profile I created in step (2) when it gives me the hardware
profile prompt.

5. Windows XP then sets up the virtual machine's hardware
profile.

Now, every time I boot natively, I can simply select the original
hardware profile, and every time I boot via the VM, I select the
other hardware profile.

I've seen this working fine with earlier versions of Windows.

Hope this clarifies my intentions,

--
Tom Garcia

 

[Guest]

I was under the impression that MS just changed the licensing policy regarding virtual machines. MSFN has an article regarding this topic http://www.msfn.org I would go there myself, but i'm behind a proxy @ work at the moment.

----- Mike Brannigan [MSFT] wrote: -----
Tom,

We make no distinction between a VM and a physical PC.
You are therefore required to purchase a license for Windows XP for each
physical PC or VM you intend to install it on.
In your example you have an install on the physical device and a single VM
running under Linux, you therefore require to purchase 2 copies /licenses
for Windows XP.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

If you are a volume licensing customer the the volume license for
Windows XP Professional now allows for the use of that license for a single
additonal install to a single
Virtual Machine instance on that physical machine.
see
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/volbrief.asp
Microsoft Windows Desktop Operating Systems for Software Virtual Machine Use


--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

I was under the impression that MS just changed the licensing policy

regarding virtual machines. MSFN has an article regarding this topic
http://www.msfn.org I would go there myself, but i'm behind a proxy @ work
at the moment.

----- Mike Brannigan [MSFT] wrote: -----
Tom,

We make no distinction between a VM and a physical PC.
You are therefore required to purchase a license for Windows XP for each
physical PC or VM you intend to install it on.
In your example you have an install on the physical device and a single VM
running under Linux, you therefore require to purchase 2 copies /licenses
for Windows XP.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups