VIRTUAL WINDOWS! FURTHER COMPUTER ADVENTURES
My existing system, working well but with some drawbacks
I have one older HP Envy laptop still running Windows 11, in the studio for art work. I have some ancient software that won’t run on Linux, which is now the operating system on my other two laptops. Linux has a feature called Wine which acts as a platform for running Windows programs but in my experience it doesn’t work that well, and my desktop publisher (Serif PagePlus) won’t install at all. This is an essential program for the various things that I do because I have a lot of templates that I regularly use, and it is an absolutely first-class desktop publisher. I have not found anything else half as good. It is intuitive and very user-friendly with lots of features like being able to export as pdf, and editing pdfs too. All the text and pictures are in frames that can be resized and moved around at will.
My main laptop is an HP Z-Book which I bought at the end of last year, with great specs for video editing etc. I had a terrible job trying to install Linux on it and eventually resorted to calling in an expert – a simply delightful local man called Richard who spent literally six hours getting it sorted for me. Apparently HPs are notoriously difficult to set up, especially if they have Nvidia GPU which mine does, but he got there eventually and I have been enjoying using Linux Zorin OS on it for a while now. I also bought two second-hand Lenovo ThinkPads from Ebay, one for myself and one for my hubby, after interminable hours of struggle trying to install Linux on one of his Acer laptops (my cast-off) – on the Zorin forum I had such expert help but in the end we had to admit defeat as it seemed that Acer had made some sort of a deal with Microsoft that only Windows could run on their machines. My ThinkPad is now my office computer and running very well. It doesn’t have very high specs and not a huge amount of storage but it is perfect for the usual office stuff.
I have been able to continue to run Serif PagePlus on the studio laptop. I have disconnected this laptop from the Internet because of the security problems everyone is now experiencing with Windows 11. It is rather inconvenient having to do all the desktop publishing work in the studio, and I really wanted to be able to work on things on the main HP laptop in the comfort of the sitting room, and also to have everything under one roof, as it were – photos, photo editing, desktop publishing, transferring media between computer and phone.
Virtual machines (VMs)
I have been aware of these since my Linux adventure began, but I was too scared and too ignorant to do anything about it until now. I am still all at sea with the jargon and continually ask Zorin Linux OS Forum members to speak in kindergarten, non-joined-up language when they are trying to help me!! There is a tendency amongst tech experts, in my opinion, to assume knowledge, and I have to remind them that at this stage I am an ignoramus and need hand-holding and plain English! It’s all very well them saying “do this or that,” but if they don’t tell you exactly HOW to do it, it’s a problem!
Installation
My first attempt at setting up a virtual machine wasn’t terribly successful. It did go in but my choice of platform was probably not the best one. I used Boxes, an app available on Linux Zorin, but was subsequently advised by a forum member that Virtual Machine Manager (Virt-Manager) was better because it had a console where things were much more customisable. I therefore deleted the first attempt completely, and began again with Virt-Manager.
I had downloaded the .iso file (disc image) of Windows 10 from the Microsoft website to install on this virtual platform. I really didn’t want Windows 11, despite the fact that support for Windows 10 ended last autumn. I probably won’t be using the Internet much on it anyway, but as far as I am aware at this stage, I don’t think it will be possible to run it offline while Linux (the host platform) is still online. I may have to disconnect everything from the Internet while working on the VM just to be on the safe side, unless there’s something I absolutely need online access for.
During the setup you decide how much of the computer’s available RAM (memory) and hard disc storage you want for the virtual machine. I have chosen 8 GB RAM and 200 GB of storage, which leaves plenty still available on Linux. If I find the video editing in Linux is compromised, I can probably safely reduce the amount of RAM being used by the virtual Windows. I have yet to discover whether the memory assigned to the virtual machine becomes available on the host machine if the virtual one is turned off, but I suspect it is permanently allocated.
DVD-ROM drive problems
To begin with I was unable to use my external DVD drive to install Serif PagePlus because this was the virtual drive where the .iso for Windows 10 was located. With help from forum members I was able to remove this, and the DVD drive then ran correctly on both platforms and could be used for playing DVDs and also for installing software. Success! – or so I thought, until I attempted to reboot the VM and it wouldn’t boot because the file could not be found. I spent ages on the forum trying to get help in setting up a second virtual CD drive that would play CDs and DVDs, but it kept informing me that there was a missing file, and I could not find it or install it.
I thought I was going to have to give up the whole enterprise. The main reason for the virtual machine in the first place was that I would be able to run my old Windows programs as satisfactorily as I always have on real Windows computers. This old software is on physical DVDs. I did try searching online for a downloadable version of PagePlus, and while it looked as if it was available, I couldn’t actually find it.
The solution
Then I did a bit of lateral thinking and came up with a different way of doing things. It struck me that the virtual CD for installing the virtual Windows machine ran from an iso which is an image of what would be on a physical disc. Why could I not create an iso of my PagePlus installation CD and install it from that? I did this, and opened the iso on the virtual machine, and it showed all the files needed for PagePlus. It was a simple matter to scroll down through it all until I found the installation .exe file, and when I double-clicked on it, lo and behold the program installed itself on the virtual machine like a lamb. It is now up and running and working perfectly as it always has. I have saved and backed up this .iso file in case it is ever needed again.
Other software
My old Microsoft Office 2003 won’t install because I am informed that a file is missing. Installing this software in the past, I was able to click an “ignore” button and everything went in fine, and it worked perfectly well thereafter, but for some reason I can’t get further with the installation onto the virtual Windows and had to abandon the attempt. I have downloaded Libre Office instead – free, open-source and works on both Linux and Windows. I have installed my default template on Writer (the equivalent of Word), and it is running fine.
I have also installed WinX MediaTrans which is one of the best programs I’ve found for transferring files to and from the iPhone and Windows. It won’t work with Linux. When I tried to register my purchased version, it wouldn’t recognise my lifetime licence code so I emailed them for help with this and they reset it for me, so no problems there. They told me to de-register it before reinstalling if I ever need to do this again (transferring to a new computer etc.)Â so I must make a note of this for future reference. So far I have not been able to get it to recognise the phone when it’s plugged in with the cable. I looked up whether it would work with a virtual machine and was informed that virtual Windows works just like normal Windows and the program should work fine with it. I’ve tried a different port, shutting down both the computer and the phone and rebooting, and checking I’m using the most up-to-date version of the program and the phone, but to no avail. The only thing I haven’t tried is a different cable, but the present one works fine on the Linux setup so I don’t think there can be anything wrong with it. I’m hoping to be able to get this resolved in due course, because while I can transfer photos off the phone onto the computer in Linux, I can’t find a way to put edited photos back onto the phone, which I have been able to do in the past with MediaTrans. Everything seems to come up with its own individual set of problems which have to be worked through, but I am getting there slowly.
Screen resolution issues and other niggles
I have a problem with the Windows screen resolution not matching that of Linux and am hoping for some help with this issue from the forum. Virt-Machine is supposed to deal with this seamlessly but so far no joy. It is impossible to change it from within the virtual Windows because the setting is greyed out. Meantime, it is usable.
You are supposed to be able to copy and paste between the two platforms as they share the same clipboard but so far I haven’t got this to work. I have got my external hard drive to be recognised, though, and can transfer it back and forth between the two operating systems but it won’t work on both simultaneously. When you want to use it with the virtual machine, you have to migrate it via the Virt-Manager’s console. If you shut down the virtual machine, the external drive reverts back to Linux. If I can’t get straightforward copy and paste transfers working, I can just stick the files on the external hard drive and transfer it back to Linux where I’ll be able to access them for editing.
So… there are a few remaining niggles but with the help of the wonderful guys on the forum I have no doubt that this new system will be fully up and running fairly soon. In the meantime I am gradually working on various settings to get them how I want them – mostly things like display settings, and what’s on the desktop and task bar and stuff like that. I have a Virt-Manager button on the Linux taskbar which will take me to Virt-Manager’s console with a single click. If the virtual machine is already running, clicking on this will open Windows immediately. It’s very smooth.
Conclusion
I am glad I took my courage in both hands and decided to install a virtual machine. Granted, it has been quite a rocky road to get it working but I am very pleased with the result and would certainly recommend it. If I had had more knowledge and experience, the process would probably have gone a lot more smoothly but this whole thing has been a learning curve, and well worth the effort. Each level of success builds my self-confidence too.
There have been huge benefits moving over to Linux. It is a much leaner, less bloated and more efficient operating system than Windows, and has none of the current major problems caused by Microsoft’s obsession with getting AI into every corner of Windows, causing constant irritating interruptions, the associated serious privacy issues, and the need to have an account, and all your stuff in the cloud, so that your computer ends up not feeling your own, and acting merely as a terminal. Also, every update to fix previous problems only seems to introduce more problems. The whole thing sucks, and moving over to Linux is like a breath of fresh air. I am only reluctantly staying with Windows for my essential programs that won’t work with Linux. What I’ve got now is a pretty good compromise.
