Lightest Linux distros, easy for noob, with virtual winOS?

[z7vl7abxc]

trying to get aqemu set up on easyos, but wanted to quickly add that the setup wizard had a screen at the beginning that had /root/.aqemu set as default for vm configurations. once i finished the wizard, it was created.

 

[pamojja]

trying to get aqemu set up on easyos,

Really remarkable to what efforts you go to help me here. Thanks so much-

There is actually a detailed instruction how to get a VM Linux running in EasyOS on top of the Puppy EasyOS forum. That however is with command-line only. So for me it could maybe work, just as copy and pasting anything, let's say Chinese, in the terminal. The problem then would be, if anything turns sour in the process, or with use, I wouldn't know why or how to correct. Once I do understand the workings of a graphical interface, it should be easier for me to maintain it working too.

/root/.aqemu set as default for vm configurations.

That's also where I found it. With the 3rd search attempt.

 

[z7vl7abxc]

i got it working in easyos with aqemu. i just want to boot back into mint to share the screenshots and details. that shouldn't take long.

 

[z7vl7abxc]

the process was fairly similar in easyos as it was in mint. these are the Advanced details for the CD-ROM:

that's the same iso that worked on mint. i just copied it to the downloads folder of easyos. i think it would have worked in any folder. that's just where it ended up.

these are the Advanced details of the HDA that was created when making the vm:

my first two attempts refused to start because of the Audio. so in the VM tab i selected "Sound Blaster 16":

after that was set, lxle finally started:

 

[z7vl7abxc]

There is actually a detailed instruction how to get a VM Linux running in EasyOS on top of the Puppy EasyOS forum.

thank you for sharing that. i hadn't ever really figured out what to do with the windows 10 virtio drivers for my win10 vm. i will give the suggestions there a try at some point.

 

[pamojja]

Really not what I could have ever thought, an audio miss adjustment, really being ever able to hinder it here from starting up. Amazing, it works. And I wont forget

 

[z7vl7abxc]

i'm glad to hear that worked the display or graphics weren't great on my attempt, but i figured those might be able to be adjusted.

 

[pamojja]

i'm glad to hear that worked the display or graphics weren't great on my attempt,

It was only a test-run to learn how VM are set up. Though I really like its light footprint, it actually runs as live VM just as on Ventoy: without audible audio. When I have more time again I will try to install it too as VM, to see if that could make a difference.

 

[z7vl7abxc]

There is actually a detailed instruction how to get a VM Linux running in EasyOS on top of the Puppy EasyOS forum.

this link got me thinking about about what happens when aqemu runs a vm. the command ps aux will show what processes are running and the command that was issued to run them. so i ran

ps aux | grep -i qemu
USER         PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND
user         7262  4.0  1.0 403096 83712 ?        Sl   20:10   0:02 aqemu
user         7283 20.1  1.1 5227768 94900 ?       Sl   20:11   0:02 /usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 -monitor stdio -smp 2 -soundhw ac97 -machine accel=kvm -m 4096 -drive file=/home/user/Downloads/LXLE-Focal-Release.iso,media=disk -drive file=/home/user/.aqemu/lxle_focal_HDA.img,if=ide,media=disk -boot once=d,menu=off -net nic -net user -rtc base=localtime -name "lxle-focal"
user         7309  0.0  0.0   8900   720 pts/1    S+   20:11   0:00 grep --color=auto -i qemu

this is output from my mint system running the lxle vm again. basically the gui start button ran the command

qemu-system-x86_64 -monitor stdio -smp 2 -soundhw ac97 -machine accel=kvm -m 4096 -drive file=/home/user/Downloads/LXLE-Focal-Release.iso,media=disk -drive file=/home/user/.aqemu/lxle_focal_HDA.img,if=ide,media=disk -boot once=d,menu=off -net nic -net user -rtc base=localtime -name "lxle-focal"

i can copy that command and run it in a terminal. it opens the same vm without needing to run aqemu at all.

i know you've stated from the beginning that you preffered gui. i just wanted to point out that if you consider trying other options at some point it might be worth a look. part of the reason i mention that is sound choices seem somewhat limited in aqemu. in this link for setting up a win10 vm there are some others shown: https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=9028

it looks like the same ones are used in this example of setting up a linux vm: https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=9064

-device ich9-intel-hda,id=sound0
-device hda-duplex,id=sound0-codec0,bus=sound0.0,cad=0
-audiodev pa,id=hda,server=[pulse audio server string]
-global ICH9-LPC.disable_s3=1
-global ICH9-LPC.disable_s4=1


all these 5 lines are just needed to configure the virtual
audio card in such a way that it can be recognized and
used without problems by the guest OS.

 

[pamojja]

i know you've stated from the beginning that you preffered gui. i just wanted to point out that if you consider trying other options at some point it might be worth a look. part of the reason i mention that is sound choices seem somewhat limited in aqemu.

Yes, now you have me reconsider. - I wanted first to get accustomed to the Aqemu GUI, for creating an example VM, like the LXLE now, and for being able to do the same with windows11 afterward.

If, however, an Aqemu installation of a WM is with limited options, maybe indeed better to follow the instruction at that Puppy EasyOS forum link by the (non-understood) letters.

this is output from my mint system running the lxle vm again. basically the gui start button ran the command

qemu-system-x86_64 -monitor stdio -smp 2 -soundhw ac97 -machine accel=kvm -m 4096 -drive file=/home/user/Downloads/LXLE-Focal-Release.iso,media=disk -drive file=/home/user/.aqemu/lxle_focal_HDA.img,if=ide,media=disk -boot once=d,menu=off -net nic -net user -rtc base=localtime -name "lxle-focal"

i can copy that command and run it in a terminal. it opens the same vm without needing to run aqemu at all.

But how it is an advantage to type 3 lines of commands into a terminal? - instead of starting Aqemo and click 'start' the VM only? In other words, if the VM is created only from command-line (with more sound choices), it probably doesn't register in Aqemu, and I will have to use command-line every time I start a so created VM?

 

[z7vl7abxc]

Yes, now you have me reconsider. - I wanted first to get accustomed to the Aqemu GUI, for creating an example VM, like the LXLE now, and for being able to do the same with windows11 afterward.

for the record, i believe that is a good idea and approach. i didn't mean to suggest that using aqemu didn't have any value at all. i only meant to share that it might be possible to add to that value at some later time and didn't want to forget to include that information when you got to that point.

But how it is an advantage to type 3 lines of commands into a terminal?

hopefully you wouldn't need to type those lines every time. you could save them to a file or create a script that runs the vm. these are the contents of a script named lxle_vm_launch.sh that runs the lxle vm on my mint system:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

/usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 -monitor stdio -smp 2 -soundhw ac97 -machine accel=kvm -m 4096 -drive file=/home/user/Downloads/LXLE-Focal-Release.iso,media=disk -drive file=/home/user/.aqemu/lxle_focal_HDA.img,if=ide,media=disk -boot once=d,menu=off -net nic -net user -rtc base=localtime -name "lxle-focal"

in that script, i have replaced my username with just user. the paths would need to be adjusted to your system like how you found the .aqemu folder in /root. you might need to adjust the first line depending on where bash or possibly env is located.

when i first created the script it wasn't executable (no x permissions) so i made it executable with chmod.

ls -l Documents/easyos_aqemu/lxle_vm_launch.sh
-rw-rw-r-- 1 user user 309 Aug 24 09:57 Documents/easyos_aqemu/lxle_vm_launch.sh

chmod +x Documents/easyos_aqemu/lxle_vm_launch.sh

ls -l Documents/easyos_aqemu/lxle_vm_launch.sh
-rwxrwxr-x 1 user user 309 Aug 24 09:57 Documents/easyos_aqemu/lxle_vm_launch.sh*

another possible advantage later is that you would be able to add or remove vm options quickly and easily to the script to try them out.

editing to add: i forgot to say that i can just double-click the script in the file manager window (or possibly your desktop) to run it.

 

[pamojja]

Guess there is no way around, than bite that bitter apple..

But a more pressing issue, from your EasyOS Aqemu setup shot:

Originally I allotted 2 GB of memory (available 4 CPUs also never stick with my Aqemu setup). Now the maximum is 4 GB in this dialog. But even when 'Remove limitation on maximum amount of memory' - I have to assume from an OS as Easy, who usually runs in RAM and only saves on USB (in my case now) when directed, there isn't really any more than the physical RAM available for an installation?

IXLE however, does ask for more:

It needs 8.6 GB for an installation, while having only 2.1 GB (that was after allotting 4 GB to it?!). Therefore, is this a practical limitation of my 8 GB RAM (and apparently yours too)? How more difficult that is going to be with Windows11? - Which at startup of my new miniPC already occupied about 30 GB of space?

Or is this a limitation of the Aqemu GUI again? - Obviously, in the setup guide at Puppy Linux it sounds differently implemented:

3) Configuration:


first of all we will have to create the file which will act as the virtual system drive for our VM. This file will grow dynamically in size. Meaning that it will be just a few kilobytes big at the beginning and will be allowed to grow on demand till the size we want to allow. I assume that 20 GB are enough. Otherwise, adjust the command as needed:

So it appears even 20 GB are possible for windows10 as VM created by command-line qemu. But is that also the case with 8 GB of RAM only?

 

[z7vl7abxc]

It needs 8.6 GB for an installation, while having only 2.1 GB (that was after allotting 4 GB to it?!).

that looks like it is referring to disk space rather than RAM or memory. i believe you should be able to show amount of RAM with

free -m

and possibly disk space with

lsblk -f

or

sudo parted -l

i'll send this reply then look at the rest of your post to see if i can help with it.

 

[z7vl7abxc]

Or is this a limitation of the Aqemu GUI again? - Obviously, in the setup guide at Puppy Linux it sounds differently implemented:


So it appears even 20 GB are possible for windows10 as VM created by command-line qemu. But it that also the case with 8 GB of RAM only?

that part of this page (just to make sure i am understanding correctly): https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=9028&sid=3c8d63de017de345b9ee59004d334d0f

is referring to the virtual system drive or the vm's virtual hard drive. just after that it shows an example of how to create a qcow2 file which is what i use for the disks with virt-manager.

later that page discusses the option used to create RAM or memory:

-m 4G --> we assign 4 GB of RAM memory to this VM. We have tested that Windows 10 does not run well enough when it's only given 2 GB of RAM. Hence, it is unfortunately not adviceable to do this on PCs which only have 4 Gigs, since one should never assign more than 50% of the available physical memory to a VM generally speaking.

that last part is similar to what i found with my vm that used -m 4096.

i got to thinking earlier that there may be others here who use aquemu that may not see these posts since they are buried so deep in your original thread. that isn't to say you should change or not. i just started to wonder if this specific question might get a broader or more renewed audience in its own thread now that the focus has shifted a bit.

 

[pamojja]

free -m

, since testing so many distros with it, I of course can't forget again. I did mention that EasyOS isn't that frugal with RAM, after installation.

gesamt       benutzt     frei      gemns.  Puffer/Cache verfügbar
Speicher:       7802         923        4728         868        2150        5909
Swap:              0           0           0

That was with one tab in Firefox open, with lxle live VM up, it's already close to 3 GB used memory.

sudo parted -1

isn't working in EasyOS.

# lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL       UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
loop0
     squash                                                              0   100% /mnt/.easy_ro/easy_sfs

sdc                                                                               
├─sdc1
│    vfat         BOOT        3FD7-404C                                           
└─sdc2
     ext4         easy        47abe9f7-b0ee-415f-8ba0-221c2d7072bd   14,5G    44% /mnt/sdc2
sdd                                                                               
├─sdd1
│    exfat        Ventoy      4E21-0000                                           
└─sdd2
     vfat         VTOYEFI     1E1C-88C8                                           
zram0
                                                                                  
zram1
     ext2         TOPLEVELZRAM
                              23330086-0197-4f45-aa0e-c4f74cad2ef7    8,8G     1% /mnt/.easy_rw
zram2

I removed sda and sdb info, since they aren't relevant, and didn't show space use, as in the Ventoy entry above.

 

[z7vl7abxc]

i could have been more clear, but my thought was to try those commands in the lxle vm since that is where the screenshot about space or possibly memory came up.

sudo parted -1

i forget to explain sometimes that the -l is a lowercase L. i know when the formatting changes, it can look like the number 1. i'll leave the formatting off this time:

sudo parted -l

 

[pamojja]

i got to thinking earlier that there may be others here who use aquemu that may not see these posts since they are buried so deep in your original thread.

Don't feel obliged to reply to my question to a GUI you're not really comfortable with. It seems to me, experienced Linux users just aren't. Though not really mine, I do understand the differing perspective. At least a search of Aqemu does suggest: https://www.linux.org/search/1963132/?q=aqemu&o=date

try those commands in the lxle vm

How to copy/paste from the VM?

 

[z7vl7abxc]

Don't feel obliged to reply to my question to a GUI you're not really comfortable with.

i don't feel obliged. i promise. i think it is interesting to learn about.

How to copy/paste from the VM?

that i haven't figured out so far. up to this point i had focused mostly on getting it running from the iso.

with virt-manager that requires installing a package (usually spice-vdagent) in the vm itself and i believe some other spice packages installed on the host machine. of course that would be after installation where it seems like you are stuck at present. in case you get that far though, these are the spice packages installed in my mx linux host system. the first one is also installed on my mint host:

apt list 'spice*' -i
Listing... Done
spice-client-glib-usb-acl-helper/oldstable,now 0.39-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
spice-vdagent/oldstable,now 0.20.0-2 amd64 [installed]

 

[pamojja]

that i haven't figured out so far. up to this point

apt list 'spice*' -i

Not installed in EasyOS, it seems.

Ok, then manually. Swap has 0 for total, used and free. total is 4201, used 264, free 2286, shared 177, buff/cache 1651 and available 3513.

lsbik -f shows:

NAME FSTYPE LABEL UUID                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
fd0
loop0 squashfs
sda iso9660 LXLE 2022-05-30-01-56-56-00    0 100% /rofs
-sda1 iso9660 LXLE 2022-05-30-01-56-56-00   0 100% /cdrom
-sda2 vfat 0DSF-1D86
sdb
sr0

sudo parted -l

Warning: the driver descriptor says the physical block size is 2048 bytes, but Linux says it is 512 bytes.
Ignore/cancel?

 

[z7vl7abxc]

total is 4201

that looks like it should be good or represent the ~4GB of RAM or memory you allocated.

sudo parted -l

Warning: the driver descriptor says the physical block size is 2048 bytes, but Linux says it is 512 bytes.
Ignore/cancel?

i think if i hit the letter I for Ignore then Enter, the command then runs and shows some info about the disks. according to lsblk, sdb doesn't look formatted, but hopefully parted will show size.