Windows 8...A Few Observations and Questions...

[JoelBC]

Observation...I have been running Windows 8 in a VM for a couple of weeks know and can say that I am not a fan...I see how it can see how the O/S' navigation could be work well on a tablet but on a desktop / laptop there is an awful lot of clicking relative to Windows 7...the only way I can see Windows 8 on a desktop / laptop is to bypass the Metro screen and pin every application / icon you need on the desktop...why this was not noticed is beyond me...

Question...I have been running Windows 8 in a VirtualBox VM and have encountered a few limitations and problems along the way...I would like to know whether any of the issues / items exist in either Parallels or VM Fusion...the issues are:

1. Is it possible for a Windows 8 VM to access the scanner capabilities of an all-in-one HP printer that the host machine has access to via a network [rather than a USB cable] in either Parallels or VM Fusion?


2. Is it possible for a Windows 8 VM to access a VPN via a network that the host machine has access to in either Parallels or VM Fusion?

3. Is it possible for Windows 8 WM to pins its applications / icons to the desktop of the host machine.

Thanks in advance,


Joel

 

[manual123]

Observation...I have been running Windows 8 in a VM for a couple of weeks know and can say that I am not a fan...I see how it can see how the O/S' navigation could be work well on a tablet but on a desktop / laptop there is an awful lot of clicking relative to Windows 7...the only way I can see Windows 8 on a desktop / laptop is to bypass the Metro screen and pin every application / icon you need on the desktop...why this was not noticed is beyond me...

Question...I have been running Windows 8 in a VirtualBox VM and have encountered a few limitations and problems along the way...I would like to know whether any of the issues / items exist in either Parallels or VM Fusion...the issues are:

1. Is it possible for a Windows 8 VM to access the scanner capabilities of an all-in-one HP printer that the host machine has access to via a network [rather than a USB cable] in either Parallels or VM Fusion?


2. Is it possible for a Windows 8 VM to access a VPN via a network that the host machine has access to in either Parallels or VM Fusion?

3. Is it possible for Windows 8 WM to pins its applications / icons to the desktop of the host machine.

Thanks in advance,


Joel

Hi Joel,

I havent run win 8 long enough on parallels to tell you how win 8 handles these actions but from my experince with all the other win os(s) from 95-7 on a virtual box heres what I can tell you.

1. yes, since its on a network, your printer/scanner will see the vm as a new machine and as long as you have the drivers installed, its in its own world. provided that the drivers for win8 supports what you want to do in the first place and that your network settings are correctly setup but those are givens so those should be operating correctly anyways.

2. I dont know, but if you do shared networking on parallels then you 'should'. I honestly cant answer this as ive had no expereince dealings with vpns and vm(s). but if you do a different network scheme (like mentioned above ) then you'll just connect to the vpn twice on the computer. once on the mac side, once on the pc side. thats like having two different physical machines. and by different i mean, a the vm will have its own ip address and own MAC address to act as a different logical connection.

3. if I understand you correctly, yes. if you connect your home directory with parallels and use that as youe home (i think thats defualt) then whateery you see on desktop on one, will be on the other. so if you install programs and place shortcuts on desktop on windows, theull show up on mac side and even will work from mac side. This will boot up/or swtich to your VM ofcourse but the bueaty is that you can almost use it like its a mac program, it will even show up on dock like a mac app.


Ive been running either virtual PC,VMware or parallels since the 68k days so let me knwo if theres something I can answer for you.

Will

 

[JoelBC]

Hi Joel,

I havent run win 8 long enough on parallels to tell you how win 8 handles these actions but from my experince with all the other win os(s) from 95-7 on a virtual box heres what I can tell you.

1. yes, since its on a network, your printer/scanner will see the vm as a new machine and as long as you have the drivers installed, its in its own world. provided that the drivers for win8 supports what you want to do in the first place and that your network settings are correctly setup but those are givens so those should be operating correctly anyways.

Appreciate the response...I did more testing after my above posting...I will post the results of my testing shortly but as a result of the testing I believe that the issue is a lack of Windows 8 driver support and not an result of using VirtualBox over either Paralells or VMFusion...whether it is a Hewlett-Packard issue or a Microsoft issues remains debatable.

2. I dont know, but if you do shared networking on parallels then you 'should'. I honestly cant answer this as ive had no expereince dealings with vpns and vm(s). but if you do a different network scheme (like mentioned above ) then you'll just connect to the vpn twice on the computer. once on the mac side, once on the pc side. thats like having two different physical machines. and by different i mean, a the vm will have its own ip address and own MAC address to act as a different logical connection.

Appreciate the response...as noted above I did more testing after my above posting...as a result of the testing I believe that the issue is a lack of Cisco / Windows 8 driver support and not an result of using VirtualBox over either Paralells or VMFusion...whether it is a Cisco issue or a Microsoft issues remains debatable.

3. if I understand you correctly, yes. if you connect your home directory with parallels and use that as youe home (i think thats defualt) then whateery you see on desktop on one, will be on the other. so if you install programs and place shortcuts on desktop on windows, theull show up on mac side and even will work from mac side. This will boot up/or swtich to your VM ofcourse but the bueaty is that you can almost use it like its a mac program, it will even show up on dock like a mac app.

Excellent, assuming I understand you properly...to be clear, you can setup Parallels such that applications/icons placed on the Windows desktop will appear on the OS X desktop and, when in coherence mode, will essentially allows Windows to work like OS X apps [other than, of course, the need to shutdown Paralells to recover the resources once done with the Windows applciations].

This is not possible -- or at the very least, I have not figured it out despite pouring through the 300+ page manual -- in VirtualBox.

Ive been running either virtual PC,VMware or parallels since the 68k days so let me knwo if theres something I can answer for you.

Will

Will, thanks for the very useful information...the other thing that comes to mind is what are i) the differences ii) pros and cons and iii) the best virtualization software between Parallels, VirtualBox and VM Fusion [NOTE: I am new to virtualization, I have only used and dug into VirtualBox (because it both free andmulti-platform)]

Thanks so much.

Joel

 

[JoelBC]

I have done more experimenting and testing and here is an update...

1. Scanning...

A few facts to help everyone better understand...I have a HP LaserJet 3390 printer/scanner that is connected to my network via ethernet.

For Windows Vista there are Windows Vista specific drivers...for Windows 7 there are no Windows 7 specific drivers but rather one uses the Vista 7 specific drivers in compatibility mode and everything works flawlessly.

I installed Windows 8 as a virtual machine in VirtualBox. I noticed that there are no Windows 8 specific scan drivers for my printer. I tried installing the Windows Vista specific drivers in the same manner that I successfully installed them in Windows 7 but the installation failed with a "fatal error message" (i.e. I can neither install the drivers nor scan in a guest Windows 8).

I then installed Windows 7 as a virtual machine in VirtualBox (using the same VirtualBox settings) to test whether the above problem was VirtualBox or Windows 8 related. I was able to install the Windows Vista specific drivers in the same manner that I successfully installed them in a host Windows 7 environment (i.e. I can scan in a guest Windows 7 environment).

I therefore believe that the problem that I am having is Windows 8 related (i.e. Windows 8 does not support scanning on my printer). If this is correct then this is a large failure of Microsoft and very disappointing to the end user particularly since Microsoft claims Windows 8 is backwards compatible.

Therefore I would appreciate answers to/assistance with the following:

a. Am I right in concluding that my problem is Windows 8 driver related problem?

b. Does anybody have any suggestions / work-arounds to "get me scanning" in a Windows 8 environment (NOTE: I have tried third party solutions such as VueScan and it too does not work)?



2. VPN...

A few facts to help everyone better understand ...I have a Cisco SA 520 router/security appliance that is connected to my network.

I am able to establish a VPN connection in a host Windows 7 environment using The GreenBow VPN client and in an iOS environment using the iOS included VPN client.

I installed Windows 8 as a virtual machine in VirtualBox. I noticed that there is a VPN client included in Windows 8. No matter what I do I cannot get the Windows 8 VPN client to establish a connection though it is admittedly possible that I may not be properly configuring the VPN client.

I then installed The GreenBow VPN client in my Windows 8 VirtualBox virtual machine to test whether a VPN connection can be established from within this environment. I was able to successfully establish a VPN connection.

I therefore believe that the problem that I am having with the Windows 8 VPN client is either i) I have not properly configured the Windows 8 VPN client OR ii) the Cisco / Windows 8 combination is not compatible .

Therefore I would appreciate answers to/ assistance with the following:

a. Is there anyone out there who is sufficiently knowledgeable with VPN configuration who could provide me with off-line help in properly configuring the Windows 8 VPN client to the extent that this is even possible (i.e. see b. below)?

b. Is there anyone out there who is sufficiently knowledgeable with Cisco and Windows 8 who can tell me whether the problem is a Windows 8 / Cisco driver related problem (i.e. the Windows 8 VPN client does not support Cisco SA appliances or vice versa)?

c. Is there anyone out there who has gotten the Windows 8 VPN client to work with a Cisco SA?



Thanks for reading the above and, in advance, for your help which is must appreciated.


Joel