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> set up a Windows guest under Linux using the Windows partition as the VM's boot drive. > with the option of booting natively into Windows for anything strict

> set up a Windows guest under Linux using the Windows partition as the VM's boot drive. > with the option of booting natively into Windows for anything strictly hardware dependent IIRC, years ago, when Windows 7 was the latest Windows, this couldn't be done. Windows used to take offense if the hardware it was running on changed significantly from boot to boot. Has that changed with Windows 10?

morganvachon 9y ago
It's gotten better both with changes in Windows itself and with improvements in virtualization. VirtualBox allows you to use different hypervisors so you can get closer to native hardware access in a VM. It works best when the guest is Linux but it also works well with Windows and recently, macOS. You can even do GPU passthrough for better Windows gaming on a Linux host.
- yyyttt555 9y ago
  With a separate, dedicated GPU is my understanding, which is a deal-breaker. I've recently moved to Mint with Win7 in a vm and its lack of GPU and DirectX support is not really workable. Basic apps are fine.
  - morganvachon 9y ago
    > "With a separate, dedicated GPU" Well, yes, if you want to do any significant amount of gaming on a computer, you'd want a dedicated GPU. If integrated GPUs meet your demands for gaming, you're better of with native Linux games and Wine for Windows casual games. > "I've recently moved to Mint with Win7 in a vm and its lack of GPU and DirectX support is not really workable." It sounds like you're better served by dual-booting then. Running a VM isn't a solution for everyone, just another option for some.