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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Questions about running Linux in a VM on Windows (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi, I'm an old windows user who have played with linux* a few times, but never commited to it.

I want to dive deeper and I though about installing linux in a VM. Some basic questions:

Is that a good idea? / Anything I should take into account?
Is there any preferred VM manager for this? Windows comes with Hyper-V, but I remember reading about how Hyper-V is not ideal (I could be wrong).
Do different distributions work better or worse on VMs?
Are there any major differences when using linux in a VM compared to a bare metal installation?

And some not-so-basic ones:

Is there any [dis]advantage to "Linux VM on Windows" VS "Windows VM on Linux"?
If I start with "Linux VM on Windows", would it be possible to swap them in the future? What I mean is:
- Virtualize the Windows installation so it can be run as a VM.
- Un-virtualize the Linux VM (with all its contents and configuration) and move it to bare metal.
- Run Windows VM on linux.

Notes:

I did a quick search and, although I found multiple articles about the topic, the ones I've read just show one way to do it without comparing it to the alternatives.
I'm aware of WSL(2), but I would like to be able to decouple from Windows in the future.
EIDT: I tried dual booting in the past. The main problem is that I'm too lazy to reboot every time I want to try something in linux and I end up not using it.

Thanks!

* Mandatory linux = GNU/Linux

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[–] Eldritch 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While there's nothing wrong with VMs or USB live systems. I'd like to put forward the suggestion of hopping on eBay and picking up a piece of old business e-waste. If you really want to dive in with security and safety. It's about the best way. A 4th generation i7 Business Systems has been going on there for anywhere from 50 to $80.

Especially since if you are techie enough to have the itch to actually dive in on your own. Should you decide to keep exploring with it. You will eventually want a small Homeland set up of some sort most likely. At which point you can convert that system into your server for your main system.

I have a number of systems amassed over the last 30 40 years. And ironically despite having much newer rizen systems that I use for a bit of gaming here and there. One of the systems that I use the most is an old 4th generation i7. I have it near the bed so I can sit on it at night puttering around reading, light gaming or a little coding if the mood hits. Loaded up with endeavor os. I have a few other systems around with debian and fedora. One of them being a server. With home shares on NFS. Which makes things really nice because if anything happens to my user systems I just wiped reinstall toss on a couple configs and I'm back to where I was

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Interesting suggestion, I'll think about it.

[–] Eldritch 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Pre pandemic I would have recommended people get something like a Raspberry Pi to explore learn and experiment on. Even if you aren't into all the electronics possibilities the gpio on them allows. They are awesome compact little systems. But right now they're so costly and hard to find. These ancient x86 Business Systems are a more cost-effective platform for just having a learning system. Which is fairly nice. That way you're not tying up one or the other. But can use both at once.

Though I actually am trying to hold off at the moment from getting one of those new Lichee pi 4a systems to toy around with riscv. They seem pretty polished already. But I'm not quite that technical and would rather wait around for a bit more polish on the software side lol. That and a host board with m.2 nvme support.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The Orange Pi boards are readily available at a decent price if you want an ARM SBC with some GPIO pins.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, RaspberryPi-alike stuff if also something I want to look into in the future. But it is probably best to take it one step at a time.

Thanks for the ideas!