Playing around with OS deployment (and teaching MS MOC courses) I often use virtual environments such as Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server.
Now more often that not I find myself pulling out what little hair I have left, in sheer frustrated over the speed with witch VPC/server runs… I mean trying to run a DC, a SCCM server and a client is near impossible unless you like long walks along the beach and other slow boring things…
So I find myself converting stuff to VMware as it seems to run some what faster along with other need features.. But the irritating thing is VMware cost money, so I can not just install it at my customers, and My MOC courses come in virtual PC or Server, so no help there either. I actually also like the fact that you do not have to install additional drivers for VPC to work and it doesn’t mess up my environment with allot of virtual net cards the way VMware does…
Then last Monday my colleague Jacob tells me that, if I go to the BIOS on my LENOVO T61p and enable Virtualization mu VPC’s might run a little better and faster.
So I boot mu PC and enter the BIOS. Go to
<Config><CPU><Intel® Virtualization Technology> switch from Disabled (which is the default setting) to Enabled.
I save changes an log into VISTA where I start up my Virtual PC’s an suddenly everything seems to be running 10 times faster. I mean I can’t believe my eyes, it like working on real hardware. Even a DC with only 256 MB ram is running smoothly, everything opens op real fast and SCCM doe no longer hang..
Now maybe I’m the only on who did not know of this feature, and if so I can’t understand no one told me about this earlier. Or maybe this feature just became available recently, (don’t even know if it works on other models). But non the less it totally changed the way I at VPC, so if you haven’t enabled this yet I would suggest you do it, because it will save you allot of time and frustration
Oh.. I only tested this on my T61p but it should work on all Intel Centrino, DuoCore and Vpro machines
…
