Windows through virtualisation

y52 · Published in 2016-2-20 21:54:13

Are virtualisation features QEMU or XEN built with the ARM kernels for OPI's-xx allowing install Windows system?
I saw it was done for Raspberry :
http://shackspace.de/?p=3859

Anyone has any knowledge on how to mount the Windows system on an OPI board thus replacing the desktop computer?

WereCatf · Published in 2016-2-21 17:33:12

It's not virtualization, it's emulation: all the current desktop-versions of Windows are x86 whereas Orange Pis are ARM and there is no way of running an x86 Windows through virtualization. That said, yes, you can install Qemu and run Windows under if you wish. It's just going to be slow as all fuck.

y52 · Published in 2016-2-22 06:05:51

I am currently running the Armbian H3 image on the OPI+ board, which still lacks the X system. So my Qemu virtual machine was unable to run:

root@orangepiplus:~# qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom winXPfr.orig.iso -hda winXP.qcow -boot d -net nic -net user -m 512 -localtime
Could not initialize SDL(No available video device) - exiting

Has anybody tried it to evaluate the performance?

I understand, that ARM will not make the x86 virtualization. Nevertheless, it is interesting to evaluate this OPI+ for that usage. Has anybody tried it so far?

At the same time, will XEN make a lot of difference?

It was also reported, that Win RT for ARM existed and probably a new Win10 version will run on ARM as well.

WereCatf · Published in 2016-2-22 12:46:25

Xen uses Qemu for emulation, so no, you wouldn't gain anything from using Xen. WinRT has been abandoned and it was only used on the ARM-based Surface-devices -- it has never been released as a separate product and trying to run it under Qemu would, first of all, require you to extract an image from one of those surface-devices and then modifying. The Windows 10 - version for ARM does not include GUI -- it's meant for IoT - devices. There are some rumours going on that they *may* release a version with GUI, too, but... well, those are just rumours at this point, and even if it did happen it'd be at least a year away.

Besides, what would you gain from running an ARM-version of Windows when 99% of all software is compiled for x86 and thus you wouldn't be able to run them?

y52 · Published in 2016-2-23 04:28:58

Thanks for sharing your ideas. The way you explained it, the only way to run Windows is to emulate it in Qemu.

Has any experience been made?

WereCatf · Published in 2016-2-23 16:35:27

Not by me, I have zero interest in trying to emulate Windows on an Orange Pi.

rodolfo · Published in 2016-2-25 00:42:57

Edited by rodolfo at 2016-2-24 17:45

y52 replied at 2016-2-22 21:28
Thanks for sharing your ideas. The way you explained it, the only way to run Windows is to emulate i ...

I've run several Windows versions s l o w l y under QEMU on RasPi for fun. It clearly makes no sense.
The RasPi link you mentioned is not about running Windows on Pi, but shows accessing a windows host from a Pi.
Using PIs as thin clients for Windows boxes ( vnc, rdp ) or Linux servers ( x2go, nx ) will be valid use cases once
graphics perfoms adequately.

If you want to enjoy Windows on a PI, install it in VirtualBox on a Linux host running x2goserver and connect
to it using x2goclient on a PI. Works fast and beautifully with RasPi 2 / RasPi B+ / RasPi A+ / Odroids and several
Rockchip TV-sticks.

As soon as I get my OPI ONEs I will try out some of the RasPi use cases. Hopefully there will be some basic
documentation and support from the OPI seller in the meantime.

y52 · Published in 2016-3-6 19:47:58

We learn everyday the new technique.
A two-layer architecture to run Windows on a PI could be an interesting solution. How many clients could be run from the x2goserver ?

Is there any solution for a diskless Windows station running on a PI ?

rodolfo · Published in 2016-3-8 03:34:10

Edited by rodolfo at 2016-3-8 00:33

y52 replied at 2016-3-6 12:47
We learn everyday the new technique.
A two-layer architecture to run Windows on a PI could be an int ...

Run your windows on any suitable physical ( with all the liabilities of running M$ malware ) or virtual ( don't care, restore if you break it ) host.
Windows is closed source high entropy malware best run on X86 hardware, " Windows10 for IoT" on the RasPi is just marketing hype, what
you get is a Windows-console vastly inferior to the most simple Linux-shell.
What you probably want is some M$-desktop appearing on your OPI-display. Access Windows Terminal Server via rdesktop ( rdp-client )
or choose the poor man's universal Windows virtualization : Run any number of Windows-adventures in VirtualBox on a Linux server running
x2goserver and connect to it using x2goclient.

For serious low-cost high-yield computing ( strictly reserved for business-minded people without previous addiction or status problems ) you
would of course invest in a modest Linux server providing XFCE or LXDE desktops via x2goserver to dozens of x2goclients running on cheap OPIs.
( works on RasPi, I will test OPI Ones once they make their endless journey from the New Year )

Have fun !

y52 · Published in 2016-3-9 00:00:06

Thanks. I am primarily a business user, hence a Windows workstation could hardly be discontinued at this stage. But with the ARM architecture it is becoming very tempatious dropping the costly X86 processor and individual Windows installations. The initial idea was replacing the office individual X86 workstations with the diskless netboot clients running Windows on a PI, if Qemu appears for a moment to be a slow and unreliable setup.

In the meantime I tried to pop up Windows in Qemu on an OPI+ board allocation 512M for the WinXP client. The installation started, but dropped abruptly on a disk partitioning stage and without leaving an error in a log.

It would be interesting to evaluate a Windows workstation setup on a SBC ARM hardware.