never used VMware vCenter Converter

[theaceman]

I own a 32bit HP small form factor d530 PC running Windows XP and would like to get a new 64bit PC. I'm thinking about an Acer Veriton VL4620G-Ui7377X running Windows 8 currently. I learned about this product from a trusted source and believe that a) it is free to download and use b) would enable me to create a virtual version of my d530 under the Acer which as I envisage things would provide all the same functionality currently available to me on the d530 as if I were actually using the same physical PC. Is this understanding correct? Assuming it were, what would actually be involved (apart from going out and buying the Acer platform) to implement all this? I have included an abbreviated description of my d530; the weblink describing the Acer I'm looking at is : http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/DT.VFUAA.004

[patanassov]

Tom,

I begin to believe this discussion is in the wrong forum. It looks like theaceman is looking for hiring a consultant that can perform the migration rather than for technical advice. Do you know where to redirect the query?

Regards,

Plamen

[TomHowarth]

To be fair there is not really a location that would fit that, the nearest would be the virtual lounge however even if I moved the post there, it is unlikely that he would be able to hire a consultant, my advice would be to look in his local yellow pages or on line for a local IT house that could provide this service.

[theaceman]

I think I know at IT friend of mine who moonlights and might be interested. He might not be familiar with the products themselves but hopefully would avail himself of this thread.

The new 64 bit machine I have in mind comes with Windows 8 Pro which can somehow be dropped back to Windows 7 Pro through downgrade rights. Which of these OS would be the one to work with?

[patanassov]

Converter 5.0.x supports Windows 7 but not 8. However this affects the source machine's Windows version. Since it will convert to Workstation format, which is essentially just files, this shouldn't matter.

AFAIK Player 5.0 supports Windows 8, though you should double check to be on the safe side.

Converter 5.1, which is currently in beta, supports Windows 8 fully.

So it's a matter of personal preference.

[theaceman]

Did I forget to mention I've never used any VM products?

I think I would prefer to run Windows 8 on the new PC. So what do I do?

And what is AFAIK?

[patanassov]

> Did I forget to mention I've never used any VM products?

No

> I think I would prefer to run Windows 8 on the new PC. So what do I do?

Fine, install it.

> And what is AFAIK?

As far as I know

[patanassov]

I've checked about Player - yes, VMware Player 5.0 can be installed on Windows 8, previous versions cannot. However it has some hardware requirements that can be seen here: https://www.vmware.com/support/player50/doc/player-50-release-notes.html#Installation_Requirements ('host system' is the machine on which Player will be installed)

[theaceman]

My IT guru friend expressed some interest in working through this migration though I don't know that he's actually worked with these products.

The weblinks to the downloads and documentation posted earlier will or I should write probably become relevant as this thing starts to get off the ground.

Being naive, I imagine the pair of machines will need to be hooked up by a cable (osmosis has probably not entered the computer age), but how?

Hopefully the documentation that's provided will prove sufficient in terms of 'choreographing' the process.

[theaceman]

As I wrote, I'm not one who's used VMware's products ....this question assumes that the migration if you will has gone well and now there's this happy new 64bit Acer running Windows 8 and letting the user access a virtual version of a 32 bit Windows XP PC with all the files and applications avaialble as if the physical machine were around (that's what I'm understanding this is all about). So, quick question: can a file or files on the vitual machine be somehow made accessible to the Acer (would 'copy', from the virtual to the Acer, be the appropriate way to phrase the goal)? Correlated question: can file or files on the virtual PC be printed using the standalone HP printer? There are a heck of a lot of applications on the XP PC that none wants to have to re-install, so having a virtual version that was a 'clone' of the XP machine + a new 64bit machine would be really good, if it works.

[patanassov]

Quick answer - yes, you can. You can share file via network shares and use most of the host machine's devices as if they were om the guest machine. That's something intrinsic to virtualization.

[theaceman]

Y'know, it's kind of 'amazing', in that way you wish it weren't, that I've sent this firm three emails using their 'contact us' interface requesting support on the question that prompted this 'thread' and left a couple of voice mails with their sales staff to boot every one of which has gone unanswered.  From a financial perspective I can sort of wrap my mind around how they would give short shrift to free items llike the pair of their products under discussion, but why not just be forthcoming and say something like 'see the user community' instead of making you think investing time and energy into communicating with them will lead anywhere. That's what makes your responses valuable to a newbie: thanks!

I still wish I understood the migration process better though. I feel as though I ought to have a check-list of  unambiguous 'to dos'. What software goes on which machine and when and then what happens, etc., etc.; my IT friend may have worked with VM products in the past, his email was a bit sketchy because of time.