Windows 10: SKY GO on a Virtual Windows Machine

Hi folks

anybody managed to get SKY GO to work on a Virtual Machine yet - under any virtualisation system (VBOX,VMWare,HYPER-V,KVM etc) --it installs OK but when you start it you just get left with a black screen. There's no problem running on a real machine and I can't see any mechanism that would forbid you to run this program on a VM if you are entitled to use the SKY GO application. The VM has plenty of horsepower so lack of processing power isn't an issue -- I regularly do video editing on this VM so the capability is there.

Even on an Esxi test server with graphics passthru to the guest it still won't work (at least for me)

Cheers
jimbo

:)

 

SKY GO on a Virtual Machine


Hi folks

anybody here managed to get SKY GO up and running on a Windows Virtual Machine.

I'm bashing my head against a brick wall here.

Netflix, BBC Iplayer and Amazon prime all work perfectly so what's with SKY. - Even BT sports works fine on a VM.

Once Netflix / Amazon can distribute the equivalent of SKY SPORTS I'll ditch the whole SKY package -- seems they are still stuck in "The Dinosaur Age" --for example who needs Silverlight and IE 11 to get the wretched thing to work in the first place.

My English colleagues say it can't be done - but I don't give up that easily --and in any case why shouldn't it work --you are allowed 4 devices on SKY GO EXTRA -- a VM should definitely work if it has enough hardware resources which mine does.

When I'm in the UK I've PAID for this service so it should work !!!! -- The graphics card is no problem and the DRM should work just as well on a VM as a real machine.

Maybe Customer service is a long ago distant concept in "Blighty" these days --who knows. Unfortunately that seems to be getting true in the rest of the planet as well -- although a topic for another Forum. !!!!

Strange thing is --works fine from an android phone or tablet - which AFAIK don't use Sliverlight.

Cheers
jimbo

 

Installing a Virtual Machine in Windows 10

Step #1 is to decide which virtual machine software you wish to install.

The three most popular choices are:

• VirtualBox (from Oracle)
• VMWare Workstation Player (from VMWare); and
• Hyper-V (from Microsoft)

Once you've made your choice you can find detailed, illustrated instructions for installing each one on the internet.

As a personal suggestion: You might find it easier to use either VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation Player. Hyper-V is more complicated to setup.

Between VirtualBox and VMWare, I think you'll find VirtualBox more user-friendly, and it has the advantage of allowing you to create checkpoints - backups of your virtual machine - whereas to do that in VMWare you'll need to upgrade to their (expensive!)
paid version.

 

Clean install of W10 not possible in Virtual Machine.


Please get a cup of coffee, lean back and think an answer for these two questions. Take your time, then check the answers below the questions:

Questions:

1. If you do a clean install of let's say Windows 10 Insider Build 10525 on a totally new computer which has never had an activated Windows 10 on it, does it activate?
2. If you do a clean install of Windows 10 Insider Build on a computer where the underlying Windows 10, upgraded from a qualifying old operating system has already been activated, does it activate?

Answers:

1. No, of course not.
2. Yes, of course.

Why do you think that a virtual machine would make any difference? You have tried to install Windows 10 on a totally new machine which has never had an activated Windows 10 installed, therefore the Microsoft activation servers block the activation due invalid machine ID. In the highlighted part in below quote you admit your mistake yourself, plain and simple, yet you when doing this wrong draw conclusion that even if done correctly it would not work:

What you have tried is essentially the same as if you took a brand new real physical PC without any operating system, which has never had any operating system, and then installed Windows 10 Insider Preview wondering why it does not activate! Virtual Machines behave exactly the same way; if you want to clean install Windows 10 Insider Preview and get it activated you must do it on an existing virtual machine, one which has already had an upgraded Windows 10 activated. This "computer", the virtual machine, its machine ID is marked on activation servers as valid and activated and it will of course activate.

Be it a virtual machine or a physical computer, you cannot activate a clean installed Windows 10 Insider Preview on a totally new machine. How difficult can this be to understand?

When clean installing Windows 10 Insider Preview on a computer which has already had a previous Windows 10 Insider activated, you do not use the product key! It will be asked twice, once before the installation starts and once after the last reboot to OOBE phase. In both cases you skip the product key and your Windows will be automatically activated.