Perfect, when I need to check my bank account, I’ll pop in my Live CD, Reboot my computer, then check my bank account. Then restart my computer, boot back into windows so I can do something useful.

I’m waiting for some lunatic to propose running a Live CD from within VirtualBox on Windows … Actually, I have a strange craving to hack that one up, just to see.

“I’m waiting for some lunatic to propose running a Live CD from within VirtualBox on Windows … Actually, I have a strange craving to hack that one up, just to see.”

I’m posting this from my virtualized CentOS 5 instance running on my windows 7 64 bit portable under VMWare workstation…but virtualbox for windows will work Okay as well.

Virtualizing Live disks work as well!

Actually why let linux own you hardware, when it can run cleanly and quietly under windows where it belongs

;-)

I partially withdraw “lunatic,” since you’re not posting on a Linux site. Of course you’re not … running Linux inside of Windows is Against Teh Codez! We will never see an admission that it is workable.

On the other hand, and out of genuine curiosity, why are you doing this?

I’ve been doing this because my job requires me to be fluent with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 AS – I use CentOs 5 at home because it is a “ free clone” (aka legal rip Off)of Red Hat.

Virtualization has enabled me to replace a pile of semi junk computers with two good sized (1 4Gb Core 2 Duo, 1 12Gb Core I-7) Systems on which I can experiment to my hearts content without having to worry about screwing up my working desktop systems.

If I am worried about malware, I only need to use my specialized legal copy of XP in a virtual machine with “undoable” disks. If I get “infected, I push a button, and the machine reverts back to its pre-infection clean form – sans malware sans ANY infections.

Its a good thing ;-)

@Olderman

You’ve half-way convinced me there, except that I have no use for Linux. I am seriously tempted by running a FreeBSD Live CD inside a VirtualBox on Windows, though … Obviously I’d lose the benefit of Ports, but as a stable *nix system it would be hard to beat.

@DRLOSER

Unless virtualbox is crappier than I thought. the virtual machine that your Live CD would run on should be set up with its own virtual NIC card that will be bridged into your physical NIC. I will either get its own address via DHCP or you can assign it one. Once running it should be as fully reachable as any real machine (So long as you have configured the windows firewall of the host system accordingly)

The one thing that I can not tell you is if virtualbox can support FreeBSD. You can always try the vmware workstation for 30 days and (freetards hold your ears!) purchase if you like it.

“Actually why let linux own you hardware, when it can run cleanly and quietly under windows where it belongs”
So true. Posting this from ArchLinux x64 virtualized with HyperV.

As a slight update, I did indeed install VirtualBox (ta, Oracle!) and try out my proposition of running FreeBSD on it.

I’m reasonably impressed by VirtualBox. I’m not sure I picked the proper Live CD of FreeBSD, though: FreeSBIE seems to be a little ancient and, afaik, something of a dead project. Unlike most Linux distros, though, I think it could be reactivated without much trouble.

Since I’m sitting on an ancient reconditioned box that cost all of 99 quid, I’m not going to make a final judgement until I’ve got the money to do something sensible. Initial results look reasonably appealing, in a basement-dwelling tinkering sort of way.