Virtual Box and Vista

[o'bogamol]

I am currently planning out how I want to do my install. I'd like to have access to Linux at all times, on my laptop, but I need to be able to access Windows for various reasons...software that isn't out for Linux yet and other compatibility issues, etc. So, while my system is Dual booting Ubuntu and Vista, I'd like to change that so it just boots into Gentoo and then if I need windows for anything I run it inside Gentoo.

This is the best option because if I make a file in Linux, I can have immediate access to it in Windows and vice versa. Currently, I am able to mount the drive that has Vista and save files into .../user/<username>/ but I can't go forwards from Windows to Linux. ...pain in the arse.

I'm looking at Virtual Box as a solution to this problem, is this viable? Will I have problems with authentication for Vista? Will I be able to install software for windows as normal? ...and my favorite... Can I have windows open in a window in Linux?

Finally, AFAIK, there are no N-trig drivers (I have a HP touchsmart tx2z) available for Linux, though I hear LinuxWacom is working on them. Will I be able to use the N-Trig functionality in the windows window in the meantime?

On another, more hypothetical note, I have a desktop...It's actually my wife's...that I would definitely consider doing this too, but in order for it to work, it would have to shove all the Linux stuff out of the way for Vista. Linux would have to run everything in the background without being noticed. If I do this it might cause endless fights if I don't get it right the first time... However, If I am successful, the immediate advantages is that I would have access to a Linux system with significantly more power than my little lappy. Additionally, in the future, I plan on setting up a server and I think dealing with a single OS, for purposes of networking would be far preferable to having a mishmash of OSes.

[keet]

I've installed Windows XP, Vista, and 7 in Virtualbox. Honestly, I haven't figured out directly coping files from a virtual machine in Virtualbox over to Gentoo, nor vice-versa. However, I've had no problems with registration of Windows 7, though that was with the beta and release candidate, though I suspect it will probably work fine with a regular release.

Plenty of other people here can probably answer your other questions, but please let me encourage you to Go Ahead and Try! Just back everything up, of course, and the worse that will happen is that it won't work and you'll need to reinstall Ubuntu and Vista separately again.

[o'bogamol]