heads up

[brynn]

Hm ok.

- I will be able to use usb drives, in fact, just bought couple of new ones
- not sure if I would need a snapshot for comparing distros.....but might be nice during the learning process
- I wouldn't partition the hard drive for comparing distros, only after I decide which one to use long term
- not rebooting is the strongest argument yet

Are there any security or other issues with running an os from a vm on a long term basis?  Eventually I would install it on the hard drive, but while learning, and until I stop needing Windows daily or weekly, using a vm sounds awesome.  But it could be several months before I could fledge.

But when people have said "dual boot", I thought that meant running both os at the same time.  If I would have a partition and dual boot, would I still have to log off of one and log on to the other, whenever I need to go back to Windows, or Windows back to Linux?

- You mean a vm would be more isolated than a partition on the hard drive?

Thanks for the info - much appreciated 

[mikey]

Whether multi-boot, multi-device, or VM, having all my sys use the same environment is very handy.

I also keep clones of my old W2KP & W7U stored on one of my mini-racks... As usual, there are plenty of options.

What I didn't mention is that the mount point for that rack is a Robo implementation; https://www.robolinux.org/ I purposely didn't lead you toward any VM solutions because my experience has been that they tend to confuse the noob, who is already confused enough just looking at nix for the first time. Knowing you as well as I do, I still maintain the notion that your first experience should be of a free standing install of a sys suited to your needs. There are many suitable and I already suggested an official Ubuntu distro that fits the bill. As noted, there's lots of options and the choices are, of course, yours to make.   

[brynn]

Thanks again for everyone's comments.  Even if someone gave me the most glowing of recommendations about something, I would not plow ahead into it, without understanding it.  I might start down that road.  But as soon as I come to something I don't understand, I have to stop and decide whether I want to research and study further, or go back to something I understand better.

I'll probably look up what VM software looks like.  If it looks like I can understand it, I might try it with something simple.....like maybe Inkscape, before I try an operating system.  But likely an operating system will be enough of a challenge.

I'll probably start by using removable media for the first level of comparisons.  When I get to where it's driving me crazy, logging off and on, back and forth, I might revisit a VM.  But I'm often limited by certain technical things.

We'll see what happens. 

Thanks again

[Moini]

Just a note: The VM I've uploaded for the website developers (see docs mailing list) could be something you could try out, too, Brynn (Its Linux Mint 18 Xfce, with Inkscape trunk installed). Only you would have to reduce the amount of RAM you want to give to it, and you'd need enough disk space.

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

Are there any security or other issues with running an os from a vm on a long term basis?

Not that I can think of at the moment.  Probably an issue is if for some reason something went wrong with the host OS (e.g. can't boot), you won't be able to run the VMs as well.  This is in contrast with multi-boot systems or if you run live sessions.

...when people have said "dual boot", I thought that meant running both os at the same time.  If I would have a partition and dual boot, would I still have to log off of one and log on to the other, whenever I need to go back to Windows, or Windows back to Linux?

Dual or multi-boot configurations means you can only run one OS at a time.  If you want to switch to another OS, you'll have to reboot the computer and choose which OS you want to run on start-up.

You mean a vm would be more isolated than a partition on the hard drive?

 VMs are self-contained files.  When you create/run a VM, it is allocated its own resources.  It cannot interfere outside its "space" (e.g. read/write files from/to the host OS) unless explicitly allowed.

[brynn]

Moini, do you mean there's a VM installed somewhere where other people can use it?  I remember seeing something in the mailing list, but I didn't pay very close attention.  Or are you recommending a particular vm software?

When I finally have the new computer, memory and disk space won't be a problem.  I'll try to find that message in the mailing list.

Thanks Moini.  And thanks again PT 

[Moini]

I mean it's available for download to run on your own computer. You will need a virtualization software for that, though. I recommend to use VirtualBox, because that's the one I can best help with in case of any problems.
Discussion and instructions are here:
https://sourceforge.net/p/inkscape/mailman/message/35428373/