Maximum PC

I'm looking into VMware and VirtualBox and wondered which is more user friendly for a newbie like myself to implement. I am also curious about this 'Virtual' software capacity in the area of mixing 32 and 64 bit OS flavors. Like if the CPU is 32 & 64 bit capable then if the 'host' OS is 64 bit can a 32bit OS be run inside the 64 or are there some kinda restrictions/limitations I've yet to learn about?

I've used both quite a bit and have found VirtualBox to be easier to use. VMWare is a good product to know since it's a leader in the crowding server virtualization market, but Virtualbox does just as good IMO and is a great option for the home user.

If you're CPU is 64bit capable, than you can run 32bit or 64bit virtual machines in either a 32 or 64bit host OS. I've run Debian 64bit in XP Home a lot. There are some extra options you'll have to check off to boot a 64bit virtual machine though. I can't remember the option names, but check all the boxes for the CPU settings for that VM.

When I was running Debian Etch last year, I tried installing VMware and Virtualbox. Both wanted write kernel modules for something, and they gave all kinds of errors about having a different version of GCC than the version that compiled the kernel. You may have to recompile your own kernel for this.

If you run into any problems, let us know and we'll see if we can't help you out.

What sort of things are you looking to do with your VMs? How important is USB (other than mouse/keyboard) support?

I don't use VMWare, so I can't speak to it - although it does seem to be the more popular standard.

I AM running VirtualBox on a 64-bit host (both Vista and Ubuntu) and have installed both 64-bit and 32-bit guests (Again, Vista64, WinXP32, both 64 and 32 bit ubuntu). As far as I know, you can't go the other direction. If your host is 32-bit, you can only install 32-bit guests. For the most part VirtualBox does everything I need - though I haven't played with snapshots much. I like that it has additions for both Linux and Windows guests, which means seamless mouse integration and desktop resizing on the fly both work fine. I also can share the same hard disk file between O/Ses. So, I can boot into windows (host) and fire up the same VM that I was using under Ubuntu (host).

My main gripes are that VirtualBox only does two button mouse integration - so anything outside of the scroll button and right and left mouse click don't work. Also, while it will "share" folders, it doesn't have simple drag-and-drop file support between the host and the guest.

In my experience, VMWare pwns Virtualbox and Virtual PC. Then again, VMWare isn't free.

Both VMWare Server 1.09 and Server 2.0 are free. The major difference between Server and Workstation (along with the paid versions) are tech support, Workstation gives DirectX 9.0c support for the guest OS'es, as well as Workstation has drag and drop file transferring from host and guest. Workstation also has better usb and sound support.

I've used both VMWare Server 1.09 and 2.0 without a problem and seem to be more feature filled than VirtualBox. To get Server 1.09 and Server 2.0 all you have you do is register for a cd-key and then download the .exe, .rpm, or .tar.gz depending on your host OS.

This is great info for me to get working with. I already knew Workstation to be a purchase [$189 at the web site]. My game plan is to be using a Phenom II X3 720 so that is 32 & 64 bit. I was thinking of Windows 7 [when available] as the 'host' in the 64 bit flavor. Then virtualize Ubuntu 32 and 64 for learning and future development. Since both seem to allow for this I guess it will just be the money issue which might not be a bad trade-off since tech. support would come with it and I'm going to want to spend most my time learning Linux and Linux App.'s as opposed to all ways trouble-shooting set up and compatability problems.
Thanks a whole bunch for the responses. I'm looking forward to learning more

I personally find VirtualBox easier to use on a regular basis (seamless mode ftw!), and it was easier for me to get running than VMware on Arch. (yaourt -S virtualbox_bin)

I run on an Archlinux 64bit host and run an XP 32bit VM and a Win7 x64 VM. I would note that the hardware virtualization is required if you want to run a 32bit VM and a 64bit VM in parallel. All VMs running need to have it ON or OFF.

I also have used the USB support (PUEL edition) to get a USB blaster for class working as well.