Questions about gaming in Linux / virtualization

[Jamon Camisso]

Scott Elcomb wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Scott Elcomb <psema4-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 2:33 AM, Marc Lanctot <lanctot-yfeSBMgouQgsA/PxXw9srA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> [...]
>> http://www.virtualbox.org/
>>
>>> - Can I ask the virtual machine software to boot my physical Windows
>>> partition while in Linux without having to install a virtual Windows?
>> Not having tried it I'm not entirely sure, but I wouldn't be
>> surprised.  Give me a few hours and I'll let you know.  :)
> 
> According to a thread* on the Virtual Box forums it is possible, at
> least with XP.  Whether it's advisable seems open to debate; there are
> some specific issues that you'd need to keep in mind if you want to
> try it:
> 
>  - You'll need 2 hardware profiles - 1 for the dual-boot and 1 for the VM
>  - Installing drivers from the VM may screw your Windows install up
>  - Saving the VM state may screw your Windows install up
> 
> This isn't a thorough summary so if you're interested please make sure
> your read the thread - in particular the responses from "kilou" -
> before trying it.  Joining the forums and asking further questions
> there might not be a bad idea either.
> 
> I can't risk my XP partition right now (the wife would be... upset,
> lol) so I'm not going to try it yet.  Best of luck!
> 
> * http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=2019&highlight=partition+dualboot
>   or http://tinyurl.com/6zxlkh
> 

Try using dd to take an image of the partition and boot the image? 
vmware, qemu, virtualbox etc. all either don't support or don't 
recommend booting physical partitions, esp. with windows as the hardware 
profile changes as Scott mentioned.

Jamon
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