Best Virtualization Software?

holygamer

holygamer

holygamer

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I've heard of VirtualBox and Shadow Defender and others but I'm not sure which is the best to use.

Basically I create a backup image of Windows once I've installed every program and configured everything how I want. I restore that image when I get problems.

There are programs that cause issues that I don't want to install because once I've installed them I would then have normal programs installed after them then obviously when I create a backup image, the problem programs will be backed up as well.

So I'd like to use a program that allows me to "install" programs without writing anything to the real registry. So if I want to delete the installation I can do so easily without effecting the real registry.

Sandboxie doesn't work with all programs. So will VirtualBox or Shadow Defender do what I want?

Perhaps I could create multiple virtual C drives, one for each program. That would be ideal. Then I could just delete the virtual C drives when I want.
 
Not heard of Shadow Defender, however it appears to be a configurable alternative to Windows' own built-in Shadow Copy.

VirtualBox on the other hand is for virtualisation, just like VMware Workstation etc. Depends on what you want to install, however VB should be just fine.

What do you want to install in the VM? Video acceleration can sometimes be flaky with VB.
 
I'm installing VideoRedo (video editor). New releases are constant so I don't want any of the uninstalled data effecting a new install.

Hotspot Shield (IP address changer). It's know to cause crashes

Will be installing other programs as well.

How easy to use is VirtualBox. Is there a guide anywhere?
 
Do you want to create an image of your current system, or do you want virtual machines running on your pc within your current Windows install (used for testing).

Your posts seem to suggest you want to take an image..

If you're video editing, you don't want to be doing it from within a virtual environment.


Macrium Reflect sounds like what you're after, it creates an image file of your hard drive, which you store on another hard drive. (Think of it as a zip file of your whole hard drive, taken at the point of making the image).

If in 5 weeks time, you mess up your current install, you can boot from the Macrium Reflect disc (you can create on in the software), and restore your PC to the backup image that you took. All data on that drive will be restored to how it was when taking the image.

It's straight forward to use.
 
For example I want to create a virtual hard drive within Windows and install whatever I want on that. Then I can just delete the virtual drive if I get problems.
 
You want to create a virtual machine, not a virtual hard drive although that will be created in tandem with your new VM. Virtualbox will do a fine job handling what you want though as was mentioned above, it may be a tad slow handling video editing software.
 
Basic guide for Vbox..

Install Virtualbox.
Create a Virtual machine
Mount your Windows ISO file in Virtualbox as a DVD drive.
Tell it to boot from this DVD drive.
This will install Windows in the Virtual machine.
Enter your extra CD key that you have for Windows. (DON'T USE YOUR CURRENT KEY)
Away you go.
 
For each virtual machine, you need a licence key.

This is why I suggested macrium reflect.


You need to know how both options work and what's involved.

I don't think virtual machines is what you're after.


Expand fully on your requirements and usage needs
 
Maybe Cameyo is the sort of thing you are after
You need to have a clean version of the OS, then install the program you want to encapsulate using cameyo. The result is an exe that should include all dependencies, and once finished running should remove them all
[edit]
Alternatively Enigma VM does a similar thing
Both are free (Cameyo for home use)
 
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bledd. said:
For each virtual machine, you need a licence key.

This is why I suggested macrium reflect.


You need to know how both options work and what's involved.

I don't think virtual machines is what you're after.


Expand fully on your requirements and usage needs
Click to expand...

Basically I want to be able to install certain programs so that nothing is written to the Windows 7 registry and when I want to uninstall them I can just delete the virtual hard drive or whatever that they're stored on so it was like it was never installed. Because as I'm sure you know when you uninstall something and re-install multiple times you can get glitches in that program - like I did in a video editor.

Sandboxie doesn't work for everything such as a Video editor. So I was thinking I could install a Virtual Machine as anything I install on that won't be written to the registry. I tried Cameyo, etc but they don't seem to work.

How would Macrium Relect help? I create a backup image of my C drive. Then I want to install known glitchy programs. Then I install some normal progams after that. I can't create a backup image without also backing up the glitchy programs. So my only choice is to install all the good programs on my PC then create a backup image. Then install all the glitchy programs after that. When I get issues I can restore the backup image I had before I installed the glitchy programs. But then I need to install all the glitchy progams again.
 
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I feel like you're tackling this incorrectly.

What programs are giving you isssues?

Upon removal, you could try removing any folders relating to the program from C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData
 
VideoRedo for example which is a video editor. I can't remember exactly what happened but I installed uninstalled it multiple times and the next time I installed it there was a glitch. That glitch wouldn't have happened if I did a clean install where the program was never installed before.

Another thing is Virtual Audio Cable. I installed this early on when installing all my programs. I eventually discovered it was causing my PC to crash every several days or so due to a driver glitch it has. I've patched the program and deleted the file which causes the glitch but the problem remains. There's no way to fix it now.

So for programs like that which could potentionally have problems I want to install them so that they don't' write anything to the main registry and when there's problems I can just delete the virtual C drive they're installed on. Can VirtualBox or another program do something like that?
 
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