Ubuntu

Can kvm share a partition to dual boot?

Asked by JeffV

I have a dual boot system for when I need Windows. WinXP is in a partition.

I'm running Hardy Heron most of the time. Hardy has kvm built in, and virt-manager for dealing with setting up and running virtual machines.

When Virt-manager is run with root user, it can use a partition as the residence of an OS.

What I'd like to be able to do is run dual boot, using that partition to boot Windows if I need underlying hardware - for instance the graphic card is good for games - and at other times use that same partition/install of Windows XP through kvm.

Questions:
- Is this possible under kvm? (So far my experiments haven't worked.)
- What about Windows registration? Each time I boot in the other system, the hardware is going to look different. Uh-oh.
- Are there other reasons why this might not work?

Thanks,

Jeff

Test - looks like I can edit the question, but not bring it back to life so I can answer it....

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Expired
For:
Ubuntu Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said : 		#1

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.

Revision history for this message
JeffV (jeff-launchpad-tanasity) said : 		#2

I have a partial answer:

I experimented a bunch more, and couldn't get it to work.

This question was also asked on the kvm list (by someone else), where a kvm developer essentially said; "that would be cool, experiment but don't expect it to work, and report back." I think the author of the question never got it going either.

But kvm is 'supposed' to be able to do it because quemu is supposed to be able to do it.

I also found a reference that suggests that Windows registration might not be a problem if you have more than one hardware profile. I haven't got it working, so I can't comment.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said : 		#3

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.