Because I am a Elevator, I thought I'd share my experience for others here
with installing and using VMWare for the last three days.

Executive Summary: Get it now. Right now. Go to the web site and download it
and install it now. http://vmware.com

I installed it because my IDE install got messed up yet again and I thought
it would be a good time to try it. The first thing I did on my computer was
uninstall all of my Delphi libraries and IDE enhancements for which I have
regular install programs, then the two Delphi IDEs I use. Then I did the
same with Visual Studio. The libraries I just have in folders such as ICS,
VCLZIP, and others I just moved over to the VM with drag and drop (yes, it
works great).

Then I created my empty operating system virtual machine. I should have
given it a bigger disk I found later, so I would recommend 16GB now, where
it increments by 2GB as needed. I used Windows Server 2003 as my operating
system because I had trouble getting my Windows XP installed. A friend
recommended Windows 2000 (smaller), but I don't have a disk anymore for any
2000 OS.

So with my initial VM created, I did all the Windows updates and installed
all my tweaks for W2K3. Now I have a blank VM completely updated and ready
to clone for installing an IDE - which is what I did next. I install three
IDEs in three separate VMs. I keep all of my program code as a shared folder
on my primary hard drive.

So what's so cool about all this? Each of these VMs is just a folder on your
hard drive. You can back them up easily and know for a fact that your IDE
will always be usable and have a quick recovery point. You can also clone
you base IDE and create specialized versions, removing things you will never
use for certain projects. And since you don't have everything and the
kitchen sink installed in each VM, they are quick to start (boot) and stop.

I'm sure I haven't yet touched on all the coolness of this product, but for
a new user I can certainly say I am very happy so far. Trust me - get it.

-Johnnie
(spamming for those that have no reason to ever need to spam)

Johnnie


A different solution but I use Norton Ghost, not as cool, but I generally create a Ghost when I've installed / upgraded some major component. Anything screws up, restore from Ghost - c25 mins.

Roy Lambert

> I installed it because my IDE install got messed up yet again and I thought
> it would be a good time to try it. The first thing I did on my computer was
> uninstall all of my Delphi libraries and IDE enhancements for which I have
> regular install programs, then the two Delphi IDEs I use. Then I did the
> same with Visual Studio. The libraries I just have in folders such as ICS,
> VCLZIP, and others I just moved over to the VM with drag and drop (yes, it
> works great).

It's also a invaluable tool for testing applications on different operating
systems or install environments. Keep yourself a clean install of all OS ready
that your products support. Clone often to allow yourself to match customer
machines as closely as possible.

If someone hasn't tried it yet, yes try it NOW. It might very likely become
the most valuable tool you've ever downloaded.

--

Hannes Danzl [NexusDB Developer]
Newsgroup archive at http://www.tamaracka.com/search.htm

"Roy Lambert" <roy.lambert@skynet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:BE53FC48-08E8-4979-B639-09BF5A8BDCA9@news.elevatesoft.com...
> A different solution but I use Norton Ghost, not as cool, but I generally
> create a Ghost when I've installed / upgraded some major component.
> Anything screws up, restore from Ghost - c25 mins.

The cool thing is that it is a whole simple operating system install, so you
can continue adding and removing stuff from your normal OS, and your IDE OS
will be clean and safe.

Right now I am creating a special VM with an older version of Delphi just
for coding for a new customer. He has specific libraries and applications
used for all of his programs. I'll be able to yank out any component
libraries we don't need to streamline the IDE perfectly.

I haven't got into the multiple OS versions for testing my applications yet
and don't really think I will in the near future. Too many other things to
do right now.

I still can't say enough nice things about it: http://vmware.com

-Johnnie

"Johnnie Norsworthy" <jln206@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:8D55060F-28F0-4074-9620-08D2225E47D7@news.elevatesoft.com...
> Right now I am creating a special VM with an older version of Delphi just
> for coding for a new customer. He has specific libraries and applications
> used for all of his programs. I'll be able to yank out any component
> libraries we don't need to streamline the IDE perfectly.

And I just realized...

I can throw all the web links and email links for this client right on the
VM's desktop and have no worries about clutter.

-Johnnie

I have been using it for over a year now. I have a Win2k VM for Delphi
and a WinXP machine for Visual Studio. I have a USB2.0 HD that I keep
them on with a copy of VM Player so I can run them on any machine I want.

Be careful though. Make sure you keep backup copies all over the place.
I have three folders on my home machine and 3 folders on my work machine
that contain the last three versions of each VM. Inside the VM I use
Hamachi VPN to backup the source files over the internet to my work
server and my home server *before* I shut down the VM.

All it takes is one corruption and the whole VM is gone. (been there,
done that)

VM is great for generic machine programming. I love having the exact
same programming environment everywhere I go (home desktop, laptop, work
desktop). Programming that accesses devices like soundcards or usb2.0
devices (web cameras) can be a big hassle or impossible, however.

Jim Margarit



> Because I am a Elevator, I thought I'd share my experience for others here
> with installing and using VMWare for the last three days.
>
> Executive Summary: Get it now. Right now. Go to the web site and download it
> and install it now. http://vmware.com
>
> I installed it because my IDE install got messed up yet again and I thought
> it would be a good time to try it. The first thing I did on my computer was
> uninstall all of my Delphi libraries and IDE enhancements for which I have
> regular install programs, then the two Delphi IDEs I use. Then I did the
> same with Visual Studio. The libraries I just have in folders such as ICS,
> VCLZIP, and others I just moved over to the VM with drag and drop (yes, it
> works great).
>
> Then I created my empty operating system virtual machine. I should have
> given it a bigger disk I found later, so I would recommend 16GB now, where
> it increments by 2GB as needed. I used Windows Server 2003 as my operating
> system because I had trouble getting my Windows XP installed. A friend
> recommended Windows 2000 (smaller), but I don't have a disk anymore for any
> 2000 OS.
>
> So with my initial VM created, I did all the Windows updates and installed
> all my tweaks for W2K3. Now I have a blank VM completely updated and ready
> to clone for installing an IDE - which is what I did next. I install three
> IDEs in three separate VMs. I keep all of my program code as a shared folder
> on my primary hard drive.
>
> So what's so cool about all this? Each of these VMs is just a folder on your
> hard drive. You can back them up easily and know for a fact that your IDE
> will always be usable and have a quick recovery point. You can also clone
> you base IDE and create specialized versions, removing things you will never
> use for certain projects. And since you don't have everything and the
> kitchen sink installed in each VM, they are quick to start (boot) and stop.
>
> I'm sure I haven't yet touched on all the coolness of this product, but for
> a new user I can certainly say I am very happy so far. Trust me - get it.
>
> -Johnnie
> (spamming for those that have no reason to ever need to spam)
>
>
>

I've been using Microsoft's Virtual PC (because it's free) and am wondering
about the speed.  I only use V-PC for testing, never for development because
it is SO FREAKING SLOW!  Granted, my machine is running at "only" 1.5 MHz,
but it has 1.5 GB RAM, which should be plenty to slice up.  But I only pull
it up when I absolutely have to because it is soooo slow.

What kind of horsepower do you have?  Is VMWare much better than Virtual PC?
I've read some of the options and it looks like a better product, but
nothing compelling me to make want to layout the cash.  However, if the
speed is significantly better, I'll try it out.

--
David Cornelius
http://corneliusconcepts.com

"Johnnie Norsworthy" <jln206@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:D5290EC3-66B4-4192-8C82-B8F5262B3926@news.elevatesoft.com...
> Because I am a Elevator, I thought I'd share my experience for others here
> with installing and using VMWare for the last three days.
>
> Executive Summary: Get it now. Right now. Go to the web site and download
> it and install it now. http://vmware.com
>
> I installed it because my IDE install got messed up yet again and I
> thought it would be a good time to try it. The first thing I did on my
> computer was uninstall all of my Delphi libraries and IDE enhancements for
> which I have regular install programs, then the two Delphi IDEs I use.
> Then I did the same with Visual Studio. The libraries I just have in
> folders such as ICS, VCLZIP, and others I just moved over to the VM with
> drag and drop (yes, it works great).
>
> Then I created my empty operating system virtual machine. I should have
> given it a bigger disk I found later, so I would recommend 16GB now, where
> it increments by 2GB as needed. I used Windows Server 2003 as my operating
> system because I had trouble getting my Windows XP installed. A friend
> recommended Windows 2000 (smaller), but I don't have a disk anymore for
> any 2000 OS.
>
> So with my initial VM created, I did all the Windows updates and installed
> all my tweaks for W2K3. Now I have a blank VM completely updated and ready
> to clone for installing an IDE - which is what I did next. I install three
> IDEs in three separate VMs. I keep all of my program code as a shared
> folder on my primary hard drive.
>
> So what's so cool about all this? Each of these VMs is just a folder on
> your hard drive. You can back them up easily and know for a fact that your
> IDE will always be usable and have a quick recovery point. You can also
> clone you base IDE and create specialized versions, removing things you
> will never use for certain projects. And since you don't have everything
> and the kitchen sink installed in each VM, they are quick to start (boot)
> and stop.
>
> I'm sure I haven't yet touched on all the coolness of this product, but
> for a new user I can certainly say I am very happy so far. Trust me - get
> it.
>
> -Johnnie
> (spamming for those that have no reason to ever need to spam)
>
>
>

I've been using VMWare for some time.

I'm able to, as you said, back up the folder which would have the OS and
IDE environment just right.




Johnnie Norsworthy wrote:
> Because I am a Elevator, I thought I'd share my experience for others here
> with installing and using VMWare for the last three days.
>
> Executive Summary: Get it now. Right now. Go to the web site and download it
> and install it now. http://vmware.com
>
> I installed it because my IDE install got messed up yet again and I thought
> it would be a good time to try it. The first thing I did on my computer was
> uninstall all of my Delphi libraries and IDE enhancements for which I have
> regular install programs, then the two Delphi IDEs I use. Then I did the
> same with Visual Studio. The libraries I just have in folders such as ICS,
> VCLZIP, and others I just moved over to the VM with drag and drop (yes, it
> works great).
>
> Then I created my empty operating system virtual machine. I should have
> given it a bigger disk I found later, so I would recommend 16GB now, where
> it increments by 2GB as needed. I used Windows Server 2003 as my operating
> system because I had trouble getting my Windows XP installed. A friend
> recommended Windows 2000 (smaller), but I don't have a disk anymore for any
> 2000 OS.
>
> So with my initial VM created, I did all the Windows updates and installed
> all my tweaks for W2K3. Now I have a blank VM completely updated and ready
> to clone for installing an IDE - which is what I did next. I install three
> IDEs in three separate VMs. I keep all of my program code as a shared folder
> on my primary hard drive.
>
> So what's so cool about all this? Each of these VMs is just a folder on your
> hard drive. You can back them up easily and know for a fact that your IDE
> will always be usable and have a quick recovery point. You can also clone
> you base IDE and create specialized versions, removing things you will never
> use for certain projects. And since you don't have everything and the
> kitchen sink installed in each VM, they are quick to start (boot) and stop.
>
> I'm sure I haven't yet touched on all the coolness of this product, but for
> a new user I can certainly say I am very happy so far. Trust me - get it.
>
> -Johnnie
> (spamming for those that have no reason to ever need to spam)
>
>
>

Which VMware product are you using? I looked at the VMware website and they
have a slew of offerings...

Craig Hunt


"Johnnie Norsworthy" <jln206@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:D5290EC3-66B4-4192-8C82-B8F5262B3926@news.elevatesoft.com...
> Because I am a Elevator, I thought I'd share my experience for others here
> with installing and using VMWare for the last three days.
> I'm sure I haven't yet touched on all the coolness of this product, but
> for a new user I can certainly say I am very happy so far. Trust me - get
> it.
> ...
> -Johnnie

"Craig Hunt" <Spamless@blackhole.invalid> wrote in message
news:46992D18-41E7-4328-84E4-1247349F736F@news.elevatesoft.com...
> Which VMware product are you using? I looked at the VMware website and
> they have a slew of offerings...

Craig,

I just downloaded the trial for VMWare workstation 5.5. There is a beta for
a newer version, but I don't like the word beta when it comes to my work
environment.

If you are going to give it a try, my only real recommendation is that you
up the hard drive size from the default 8GB to something like 12 or 16. It
will actually expand in 2GB increments up to that maximum. I keep my program
code in a VM shared folder which resides on my actual OS's C: drive, so that
is just for the VM OS, programs, and other thing relative to the IDE. With
the 8GB size I couldn't install MSDN, so I had to go through a little
process to upgrade the disk size. I am using Windows 2003 Server for all my
VMs, so that is also a bit large. After you get the OS installed on one VM,
with all necessary updates, just clone that one for all you other uses and
make a backup.

-Johnnie