1

I have a working dual-boot configuration with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS as the primary OS, and Win7 x64 Ultimate as the secondary.

Most of the time, rebooting to run Windows programs is just fine, as I want the Windows session to have full access to the hardware. However, there are occasions where I just need to use a Windows application relatively briefly, and/or while something is running under Linux that I don't want to interrupt.

For these circumstances, is there a Linux-hostable VM solution that will run the version of Windows 7 I normally boot to as a VM guest? For reference purposes, VMware Fusion on the Mac does this for "Bootcamp" partitions; I'm looking for a Linux solution.

I'd prefer an open-source solution, but am happy to buy a commercial product if the price is reasonable and it's the best/only way.

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

You could look at VirtualBox, or even easier might be to just configure Wine to use your Windows Partition and run the programs directly. If you just need to use a windows program breifly, Wine can quickly cover most of the bases without even having to bother with a virtual machine. Larger applications (like .Net or Office) might require a full VM though.

Improve this answer
1
  • Wine is, sadly, not an option – the applications I regularly need are Visio, Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool (based on and requires Visio), and Visual Studio. None work particularly well through Wine.
    – DarrenPMeyer
    Commented May 16, 2013 at 18:21

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .