Windows 10: VMWARE / VBOX etc - Boot VM from USB drive to install GUEST OS

Hi there

Most VM programs allow you to boot from an ISO image -- useful when installing the Guest OS for the first time.

Since now DVD's are going the way of the DODO isn't about time these Virtual Machine software manufacturers such as VMWARE and ORACLE(VBOX) to allow booting from a USB stick for installing the Guest OS. Would need a change in the Virtual BIOS but shouldn't be too difficult to implement.

Windows itself is now going to be distributed on a USB stick.

I can see the ridiculous situation of people having to CREATE an ISO from a USB drive / stick !!!! -- Turn round for the book !!.

Cheers
jimbo

:)

 

How to display different virtual desktops on different monitors

I would suggest the most useful get-around is to run VMware virtual machine and use the power of a wider desktop to run the VMware (or HyperV etc) on the 2nd monitor. You can then run the VMware software in 'unity mode' which allows you to work directly
in the application window (the one inside the VM); this is better than having to Alt + Tab to the VM environment guest and select the app window you want inside that. It's great, and Windows / VMware is a good solution. (I don't know HyperV which I believe
has similar functionality). Just make sure you have plenty of memory, as a 64 bit VMware guest VM OS will use similar RAM as a your 'host' machine.

 

Upgrade win 10 home to win 10 pro, keep win 10 home activation key for VM?

My current OS is Win 10 home, upgraded from win 8.1. It is an OEM installation.

I have the activation key saved in a safe place.

I also have a vmware vm running the same OS (win 10 home) with the same

activation key (yes, I know that won't work for the long term as the vm or

guest OS requires a new activation key).

I want to upgrade the host OS to win 10 pro (via the Settings/Update &

Security/Activation/Go to Store button, while still being able to use the

guest OS (win 10 home) and original activation key. Is this possible?

My fear is the original activation key for win 10 home will be nullified.

End result, win 10 pro as host OS, win 10 home as guest OS, TWO LEGAL keys.

Note: I already created a win 10 home ISO and USB drive using the

MediaCreationToolx64.

Thanks for your time.

 

I've been playing with VirtualBox 5, and trying to make Windows think that a VHD file containing a Recovery Drive is a USB file.

The trick seems to *not* use the new option to add a USB controller, but instead to add my VHD as an SATA device, and select the Checkbox that says Hot-pluggable.

I'm not sure it's gonna work, but I think that's more an issue with Recovery Drive than Virtualbox.

What I haven't figured out is how to let Windows 'see' a physical USB that's plugged into the host machine, and boot from that.

 

Hi there

A NATIVE BIOS doesn't have any problems from booting from a USB device so presumably in the Virtual Bios the boot device should be able to specify a USB stick as an external device. You can boot from a physical DVD in a VM so it's the VIRTUAL BIOS implementation rather than in Windows itself or any underlying HOST OS.

I'm sure it will come -- probably not too many people have requested the feature. Note it doesn't have to be Windows -- any bootable supported Guest OS should be able to be installed this way.

Both VMWARE and VBOX will let you boot into the Virtual BIOS on GUEST startup before the GUEST boots so that's where to have a look for supported bootable devices.

Cheers
jimbo

 

Booting from USB in VM's still needs some polishing, for sure.

One way to do it is like this:
How to Boot From a USB Drive in VirtualBox

Cheers!