[avr-chat] Reprise: AVR Studio under VirtualBox, anyone?

[Graham Davies]

I started this discussion thread about a month ago.  My problem was that connections with debuggers from AVR Studio running in VirtualBox was flakey and unreliable.  The conclusion was that I should try GNU/Linux as the VirtualBox host operating system, rather than Windows.  I was asked to report back to the group.  Here is an interim report.

 

Installing GNU/Linux - I chose Xubuntu 8.10.  I left space for GNU/Linux when I first set up the computer, so there was no need to mess with partitions.  In spite of hours of research and using the alternate install CD, GRUB Stage 1 was written over NT Loader in the Master Boot Record even though I specified that this was not to happen.  Even so, I took a copy of the first 512 bytes of the GNU/Linux root partition, which is where I specified that GRUB should be installed.  I repaired NT Loader by reinstalling Windows XP in a temporary partition and fixed up the boot.ini file to include the line pointing to the file containing the 512 bytes ripped from the GNU/Linux root partition.  To my surprise, this worked just fine, so now I can continue to reinstall Windows XP regularly but also boot to GNU/Linux via GRUB stage 1.5 whenever I want.

 

Installing VirtualBox - The Ubuntu APT repositories are not kept very up-to-date, so to get the latest VirtualBox (2.2.0) I had to download the .deb package and install using dpkg -i.  This, of course, left the system broken as a bunch of dependencies were not resolved, but I ran APT which picked this all up and repaired it nicely.  VirtualBox looks and works pretty much the same whether hosted by Windows or GNU/Linux.  One disappointment was that I can't just glom onto the virtual machines I created under Windows.  I have to create new virtual machines and hook them up to the same disks.

 

Creating Windows Virtual Machines - So far, I've met with no problems creating a Windows XP virtual machine in VirtualBox hosted on Xubuntu.  Interestingly, although mouse pointer integration and seamless mode don't work for a GNU/Linux guest hosted either on Windows or GNU/Linux, both work fine for a Windows XP guest on either host.  So this means that while running GNU/Linux as the host I can have Windows XP applications dotted about in their own windows, not stuck inside the window of the virtual machine, and gaily mouse around between them.

 

Big Disappointment - The trouble is, even if this all works when I'm done, I'd have to give up something I don't want to do without, which is dual monitors.  The ATI video driver for GNU/Linux only supports dual monitors of the same resolution.  I have a big 1600 by 1200 monitor and a secondary 1280 by 1024 off to the side.  This works great under Windows, but the best I can do under Xubuntu is to run the big monitor at 1280 by 1024 as well.  I'm just not going to be happy with this after years of 1600 by 1200.

 

What's Left - I will try to find time to install AVR Studio in a Windows XP guest under the GNU/Linux host, see if I can stay connected to my debuggers and report back on that.

 

Graham.