The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox - Virtual Machine. @Jamie Roos: Although VMware workstation is a great piece of software, it's not (legally) free like VirtualBox as well as being open source and cross platform. @Jamie Roos: vmware "feels" heavy compared to virtualbox, IME. OTOH, VirtualBox just recently (last 2 months) became stable on my system where I didn't have to reboot weekly to prevent a client lockup.
VMware Workstation $$$ VirtualBox $0 for non-IT supported versions. Xen rocks if you're running Linux on Linux, not heavy at all. @UbaidJobo: VMWare Viewer and VMWare Server are free software offereing from VMWare. I switched over after I got a new Vista computer, set up a Virtual machine in Virtual box for WindowsXP.
On my computer, over the past year and a half, the only things that have cause BSODs: -Virtualbox -Truecrypt (only once, generally it's stable) -DVDFlick (I don't even know how or why, but every time I tried to import a video, BSOD) What is the only thing in common between these programs? How to Rebuild your Computer and Reinstall Windows Without Headache. If your Windows PC keeps getting slower and slower, it may be time to rebuild your computer and reinstall Windows from scratch. That it, you wipe everything clean, do a fresh installation of Windows and reinstall all software programs.
Check these tips and checklist for rebuilding a computer. If you are planning to rebuild a ‘slow’ computer by reinstalling Windows (XP or Vista) from scratch, here’s a pre-installation checklist + some time saving tips. You existing data on the Windows PC will not be affected even if you do a clean install instead of repair or upgrade. Fix Problems by Reinstalling Windows As a tech blogger, part of my job involves reviewing software which is so interesting but frequent installation (followed by un-installation) of software programs also tend to slow down the computer. To deal with this problem, I did a clean installation of Windows last weekend and re-installed all the important software programs from scratch.
Pre-Installation Checklist 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I. 6. RAID Done Right. Like the eponymous bug spray, RAID gets results. But in this case, the active ingredient isn’t a deadly poison, but hard drives—or, to spell out the acronym, a redundant array of independent (or inexpensive) disks. RAID represents a storage schematic, a way to use multiple hard drives to accomplish wondrous achievements in automation and capacity. You can chain a number of drives together to create one large super-volume, you can have one drive automatically replicate the contents of another, you can do it all! So where do you start? With this guide, because while RAID may sound simple, the actual practice of setting up an array is mildly daunting. But before we start attacking the various configuration options that smack you in the face with every RAID setup, we’ll start with the easiest part first, the shopping list.
To set up a RAID, you’ll need at least two items: a motherboard with the ability to create and manage RAID volumes and some hard drives. Hands On Two Terabytes? Wait! How To: Build A NAS Box. Crush the performance of consumer network-attached storage devices by building your own! And you can use a number of legacy parts to do this on the cheap! Time: 3 Hours What You Need FreeNAS Free, www.freenas.comISO Recorder Free, Thumb DriveMotherboardCPUCaseMemoryVideocardOptical DrivePower SupplyOne or More Hard Drives A network-attached storage (NAS) device is the Robin to a LAN’s Batman. But you don’t have to go out and purchase a NAS device. We recently gathered a bunch of components that had been gathering dust in the Lab and built a FrankenNAS that absolutely pulverized its admittedly budget retail competitor, the $135 Linksys NAS200. But just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s simple. 1.Burn the FreeNAS ISO to CD The first step in the process is building the physical NAS box, but since it’s no different from assembling a PC, we’re skipping ahead to the installation of the operating system. 2. 3 Configure Your Network Settings.
Maximum PC Essentials: Ultimate BIOS Tweaking Guide. When man first booted the PC, he saw the BIOS screen: a jumble of monochromatic numbers that made about as much sense as the binary language of load lifters. Sadly, not much about the BIOS has changed since the DeLorean and skinny ties were cool. Decades later, in our modern, visual-based world, we’re still greeted with a screen full of text from machines 1,000 times faster than those that were around when the ol’ BIOS was born. Most PC lightweights simply ignore the BIOS and wait for their OSes to take over. Power users, however, know that the BIOS can be a friendly and rewarding place to go spelunking.
So just what the hell is the BIOS? Even though there are only two BIOS makers for consumer desktops today, AMI and Award/Phoenix, a multitude of BIOS variants exists. In motherboards designed for enthusiasts, board makers typically unmask as many controls as possible. How do you get into your BIOS? The days of just selecting your RAM speed are gone. Timing Is Everything Watching the Clock. Overclock Your Videocard. You’ve already pushed your CPU to the edge and taken your RAM to its outer limits.Now it’s time to put the screws to your videocard.
Every company that sells videocards based on an AMD or Nvidia GPU starts out on fairly equal footing: When building their products, all companies follow the same reference designs and clock-speed guidance that AMD and Nvidia provide. One of the oldest and easiest ways for these vendors to differentiate their products from the competition is to drop a free game in the box. Another popular tactic is to offer a more generous (or more fault-tolerant) warranty. But the sexiest way to stand out from the crowd is to overclock the card’s GPU and memory. AMD and Nvidia both frequently sandbag their reference designs, leaving headroom for third-party manufacturers to goose the components’ clocks, which can easily wring more performance from a stock card. But keep these facts in mind: Not every GPU is overclockable to the same degree. Now you’re ready to begin. Overclock Your PC. If you’re running your CPU at stock speeds, you’re missing out on your PC’s true potential, because processors often harbor power beyond their official specs.
Your proc, for example, might be rated to run at 3GHz but is actually capable of operating reliably at 3.3GHz. There are myriad reasons for the hidden headroom, ranging from natural variance among parts (even those made from the same batch), to the manufacturers’ practice of underclocking parts to meet market needs, to the improved capabilities of a part over the lifetime of its production. The point is, you’re not a true power user if you leave a CPU’s hidden performance potential untapped. And the only way to release your proc’s inner speed demon is to overclock it.
This story will tell you how. Even if you’ve dabbled in the practice in the past, you’ll want to read on. Because just as CPUs have changed over the years, so has the art of pushing them to their limits. The Basics of CPU Overclocking Determining a CPU’s Speed.