The copy of XP home which was on the Asus laptop when I bought it remains, surrounded by Squeeze and all its works. Squeeze and all its works work better, andbut...
The XP volume was not installed properly, and some things do not work - for example, some software installations will not proceed beyond a certain - or rather, an uncertain - point. In any case, even for Billyware, XP runs at a snail's pace. It takes several minutes to unmount a USB memory stick.
"Oh, reinstall it!" is the usual Billyware user's remedy. As Penguinistas will well know, this will result in XP marking all the territory round it like an incontinent dog - so - here is the question: I have a (legal) XP Pro CD, SP 3, and WGA Crack.
What is the concensus of the cognoiscenti - should I install a severely truncated XP to USB memory, or run a similarly curtailed XP in Virtual Box?
I tend towards the former solution as the XP can then run any of my machines (any which will boot from USB, that is...), and running a virtual XP will surely take up nearly as much HDD space as keeping it in its own partition?
And, can I install it on a memory stick on the Acer without XP scribbling all over Squeeze?
Oh, I want XP (well, anything which will run Paintsho Pro, Photoshop and Irfanview) for some programs which IMO Linux-based programs can't match.
Please don't suggest The Gimp... I *do* use The Gimp, but only when I CBA to reboot into that very sub-standard XP installation.
On 3 February 2012 14:22, Anthony Anson tony.anson@girolle.co.uk wrote:
And, can I install it on a memory stick on the Acer without XP scribbling all over Squeeze?
XP will let you choose your install partition, so it shouldn't trash the other partitions. It might puke over the MBR, so be prepared to fix that afterwards.
Oh, I want XP (well, anything which will run Paintsho Pro, Photoshop and Irfanview) for some programs which IMO Linux-based programs can't match.
Bibble / AfterShot Pro? Recently snapped up by Corel it supports Linux, MacOS and Windows, non-destructive raw photo editing, etc. I didn't like where Paint Shop Pro was going so switched a few years ago. http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4670071
Good luck! Tim.
On 03/02/12 14:22, Anthony Anson wrote:
"Oh, reinstall it!" is the usual Billyware user's remedy. As Penguinistas will well know, this will result in XP marking all the territory round it like an incontinent dog - so - here is the question: I have a (legal) XP Pro CD, SP 3, and WGA Crack.
If it's legal why do you need the WGA crack ?
What is the concensus of the cognoiscenti - should I install a severely truncated XP to USB memory, or run a similarly curtailed XP in Virtual Box?
I tend towards the former solution as the XP can then run any of my machines (any which will boot from USB, that is...), and running a virtual XP will surely take up nearly as much HDD space as keeping it in its own partition?
XP generally hates being moved between machines like that. WGA crack or not you will still probably repeatedly kick off the Activation Mechanism even if it boots (which if the hardware is sufficiently different it might not)
About the only way you will get this to work reliably is by using a PE variant of Windows or a set of tools to build a PE version of Windows XP yourself although the only free one I am aware of "BartPE" was designed for building to a DVD image not a USB stick...To get access to the "official" tool for doing this you need to be a registered System Builder
If the Acer has plenty of RAM I would go the virtualisation route every time. vbox has sufficient 2D acceleration to handle Photoshop etc for light duties and you can move the machine between Hosts at will....That said if you can justify the combined cost of Photoshop and Paintshop pro for whatever you are doing then you may want to consider financing a dedicated machine to run them.
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Anthony Anson -
Tim Green -
Wayne Stallwood