Hi all:
Here is an update to my previous email concerning VMware and VNMRJ.
1. I got no responses regarding Solaris x86 running inside VMware. This implies that my observation is correct that this mix is not compatible (yet) with software like VNMRJ; the current version of VMware allows Solaris to run at only 640x480 display resolution.
2. A few other people out there are happily running VMware. Woody Conover recommends using RedHat 7 or 8, rather than RedHat9 or FedoraCore, where he had problems. I can rule out FedoraCore for VNMRJ; the vnmrj installation script does not understand FedoraCore's placement of libraries, and thus fails.
3. There is at least one happy user out there using RedHat9 and VNMRJ, so perhaps that version has had some fixes (or VMware has) since Woody tried it. After wasting time with Solaris 10 x86 and FedoraCore, I purchased RedHat Professional Workstation, and have it loaded with VNMRJ. All seems to be fine, although the cdrom mounting is a bit flaky (but does work with a couple retries). RedHat Prof loads _much_ faster (<2min) than FedoraCore did, and provides a nice (if bloated, at least in all the junk that is installed) environment. I would recommend 1Gb of memory in your machine if possible; my portable has only 512Mb, and that is clearly getting max'ed out when VMware is up and running.
Charlie
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles G. Fry [mailto:cgfry_at_wisc.edu]
> Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2005 6:54 PM
> To: ammrl_at_chemnmr.colorado.edu
> Subject: VMware
>
> Hi all:
>
> I have been working on a suggestion from Ron Crouch at Varian to try
> VMware's Workstation 5 product. This software--which is available as a
> free trial--allows one to setup a "Guest" operating system within a "Host"
> OS. The host can be Windows or MacOS (or Linux), with the guest OS being
> Red Had Linux (or Windows), for example. Ron has this working nicely on
> his Mac, running VNMRJ inside a Red Hat Linux VMware virtual machine. No
> dual booting. Has internet connect and printing through the VMware
> connection to MacOS drivers. etc. Very nice.
>
> So, a question and comment. If any of you have tried the Solaris 9 or 10
> (experimental) virtual machines, please let me know. The questions is,
> have you been able to get it to work reasonably?
>
> I spent some time yesterday getting a Solaris 10 x86 installation going as
> a guest virtual machine within my laptop's Windows XP host. Solaris 10
> x86 is available for free, and I know Solaris and have VNMR6.1c and VNMRJ
> for that OS, so this seemed like a great idea. Got Solaris 10 x86
> installed and working, and then found out what the (experimental) meant
> that VMware puts next to these Guest OS options. Cannot get it to run at
> higher resolution than 640x480! Not very usable.... I can see that
> simple stuff in Solaris works ok, but....
>
> So, comment is, don't try Solaris 9 or 10 x86 inside VMware unless you see
> specific notes that allow for obtaining a usable display resolution.
> Perhaps someone else out there has figured out a way around this
> (repeating my question)?
>
> I got Fedora Core 3 (Red Hat's open/free software) installed in a virtual
> machine, and it seems to be happy (but takes >4 mins to boot on my laptop
> :(; it's an AMD XP 3000+ w 512Mb, so a reasonable PC). Haven't tried
> VNMRJ in it yet; waiting for Varian to get me a Linux CD.
>
> Cheers,
> Charlie
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles G. Fry, Ph.D. Tel: (608)262-3182
Director, MR Facility Fax: (608)262-0381
Chem. Dept., 1101 University Ave, Univ. Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI 53706 USA email: fry_at_chem.wisc.edu
Received on Tue May 10 2005 - 12:56:46 MST