Launch the virtual machine immediately.
Launch the virtual machine immediately.
Probably a stupid question, but yeah. I really wanted to install Windows 7 on my laptop. But, my laptop is too new and there isn't a VMD Storage Driver for Windows 7. Now, i looked for ways to get it to work, but I didn't find many options to run it on bare metal sadly. Which means I'll have to use a VM. I still want to have a kinda authentic Windows 7 feel to it. So is there a way to install a Win 7 VM on a distro without any gui and make it boot into the VM on startup? It should all be local on my laptop. Any help for that would be appreciated, thanks!
You could likely adapt it for hyper-V or VirtualBox, but there are reasons behind it. Windows 7 isn't supported, and performance is poor—especially inside a VM due to limited GPU acceleration. This makes most ports on your laptop nearly unusable since you'd have to manually connect each device. If you really want the Windows 7 appearance, consider using an older shell application.
If you truly don’t need extra features, just install W10 LTS and stick with it until 2028. Avoid bloatware by using only what’s necessary. Licensing is uncertain since I’ve only seen one site selling W10 Pro OEM keys in the gray market. Running it in a virtual machine will likely slow things down, which could ruin the experience of getting W7. You can add visual mods to make it look more like W7 and even restore the classic start menu. Software support for W7 is expected to end soon, so usability and security updates are likely over two years old. Unless you work in a secure environment—like big tech or government—I’d advise keeping things simple.
Consider exploring KVM or Virtualbox. They work on minimal distros such as Arch or CLI-only Debian. You’ll still need to add xorg for visibility, though a desktop environment isn’t essential. Starting the VM via systemd or a simple script in your bashrc is straightforward. It may feel awkward and leave you vulnerable to unpatched security risks... but it’s achievable.
Even without government involvement, your machine could be used in a botnet, your data could be locked for ransom, and your sensitive info might be exposed with minimal effort from the attacker.
This isn't strictly true; though I wouldn't recommend someone try to configure and implement GPU passthrough for the first time on a CLI, there is no reason to have X permanently installed. If I were doing this: Pick any distro (but use your "endgame" kernel*) Passthrough anything the host doesn't need (audio, keyboard**, mouse**) Build your VM (qemu/virtmanager) Backup the config files (the virtual drive should be a whole drive/partition) Install your final host OS Run a script from inittab to read /proc/cmdline, and start the VM when passthrough is active Re-implement the VM, set-up ssh for host administration Set-up grub with administration entry (no passthrough, for host updates etc) Optionally set-up a bootable USB with a GUI for SHTF recovery/administration Considering that the libvirtd and VMM come out of the RedHat house, CentOS seems a sensible build OS, but systemd is bloat for this use case, S6 would be the ideal choice. *Any generic kernel is going to be the epitome of bloat for this use case, config/build your own, with the extra security layer of no capability for module loading, using an initrd would also be a complete waste of time. **The reason I say these is you want the best end experience, and if you are allowing windows to load it's native drivers for things like MM keys and touchpads etc IME it'll work better, and cut down on translation layer overhead.
i've been using an old Android for about 6-7 years straight without any problems. i had no worries about getting hacked. my parents' old laptop with an ancient W7 install hasn't been updated in years either, and it worked fine. the same goes for my current S410P running Windows 8.1—i don’t feel the need to update, and so far, there’s been no issues. i’ve never experienced virus problems on any of these devices. i think a lot about the fear around W7 updates, but recently some hacking activity made the situation seem riskier. however, the source code is now public after a recent breach, which makes it a bit more dangerous than W7, but still unlikely. the main risk remains being careless or downloading malicious software.
It's a laptop, so GPU passthrough is probably not available. You'll need Xorg—or maybe Wayland—to view anything at all, I think. Is that right? I suspect it wouldn't use more than a tiny fraction of OP's CPU even in its worst case. The slight performance difference shouldn't justify the effort of setting up your own system. It's essentially a virtual machine without GPU support, and it's likely to be slow for regular tasks. Changing the kernel won't improve things much. Android sandboxing restricts apps, so you're usually better off with an updated browser. Windows lacks these safeguards, meaning you'll need to download and run software from the web if you want anything installed. That sounds risky—don't let it catch you off guard. You might not realize your phone is part of a botnet, just in case. Well, you're not missing out on security or stability, are you?
Kernel, stop loading drivers now. Let it pass through. Linux handles headless setups fine. Only about an hour from start to finish—worth it for the security boost.
This makes sense because Android antivirus tools often add performance issues and aren't really designed to shield against malware. I don’t usually install any antivirus since it can really slow things down. If you need to run potentially risky software, a virtual machine in a controlled environment might be a better option than relying on standard protection. Running unprotected software without safeguards can easily compromise your system, forcing you to erase everything and start over.