Dave's Not Here

The age-old question: Can you have your Linux, and eat windows too?

I have been wrestling with getting linux and XP running together on a box for some time. I have never quite “failed”, but I have also never been completely happy with the results — is there any solution?

I am a long-time unix geek. I started using Unix in 1988. In 1991 I installed linux onto my computer, and used talk (I think that’s what it was called — a network multiplexer over a serial connection, pre ppp) to get multiple terminals working into my school. So — I’m definitely a fan.

But, as life has it, corporate laptops must run some version of Bill’s OS. I had been dual booting from Windows XP to Linux, when I decided I had had enough. I preferred linux, but there were several killer-apps that I needed under windows: Gamez, Cisco IP Phone, and MS Office. (I know, I know — Open Office is pretty nice. But, some things don’t convert perfectly, so I still need MS Office sometimes)

I got the brilliant idea to convert my Windows XP Partition to VMWare, wipe the disk, install only a linux partition, and use Windows in a window. After a couple of days of fiddling, I did just that — and — it mostly worked! I could run linux all the time, then just double-click when I needed windows. But there were some problems:

1. ATI’s accelerated drivers did not support my chipset. So, no accelerated opengl -> no gamez.
2. Linux has poor power saving abilities. So, my lap would sometimes get cooked, and, I had poor battery life. I started messing with things some, dropping the CPU frequency when it got hot — but it still eats up batteries.
3. VMWare Flaws: For some reason, VMWare takes longer to suspend / restore a session than to simply reboot the virtual machine — which is saying a LOT — it takes FOREVER for a machine to boot. And even though I limit the memory / cpu the session takes, it seems to impact the system’s performance more and more, the longer the VM runs. I also noticed that after a while, I need to reboot the host, to get decent VM performance
4. Cisco IP Phone simply does not work in a VM. I get pauses, then chipmunk-speak. To solve this one, I converted to skype — but I shouldn’t have needed to.

So — I’m not happy any more. It was fun for a while — but the problems are outweighing the benefits to running linux. I need windows often (this is my only corporate windows box), and only need linux when I travel (when it’s my only computer).

So, I’m considering turning the table. Using WindowsXP as the host OS, and running linux as a guest. Which then poses several questions:

1. Can I use an entire partition for linux, and choose to either dual-boot, or let windows boot it into a vm? Or, should I do what I did with windows, and have a VM-only linux?
2. I assume that Linux will be a more courteous guest than Windows — is that assumption valid?

And, the most important question of all: Will I ever be happy?