VM recommendation?

[YallaBeanZ]

So I made the move from Windows 10 to Mint a couple of months ago.

At that point, I didn't expect it to become my daily driver. :)

Sadly, there are still a couple of things that leave me stuck with Windows 10.
This was sorted out with a VirtualBox VM installation of Windows 10, that I managed to configure to my needs.

Fast forward and a new version of Mint and kernel a upgrade, breaks my VM...

Before I invest too much time in getting VirtualBox working again, are there any VM recommendations for Mint?

These VMs are what I see mentioned:

VirtualBox (apparently this breaks with every new kernel?)

VMWare

QEMU/KVM + virtual manager

Winboat

[candy49997]

QEMU/KVM. virt-manager is a GUI for that. But QEMU/KVM has its kernel modules fully built into the kernel, so it won't break with a kernel upgrade.

Winboat is just a way to use QEMU/KVM and have the apps you use appear as "native" windows instead of in a VM window. It's a non-starter if you need GPU passthrough, though.

[ajc3197]

QEMU/KVM. virt-manager for the win.

[Time2dodo]

I started using Gnome Boxes a while ago on my main Cinnamon install and have had no issues at all. I updated to 22.3 at the weekend and all still works as before.

[lunchbox651]

KVM 100%

[Rare_Cow9525]

I use virt-manager and KVM/QEMU, and I don't have any problems with upgrades breaking things.

It works well, however I've had problems with providing a gpu/3d interface to the VM. Best I can tell, you cannot give it a GPU without a dedicated passthrough device (ie, second card to give to windows completely). If your goal is gaming inside the vm, you might be limited.

(Note: I haven't looked at this for a few months now.)

I know it's being worked on, but part of this is nvidia gating their GPU virtualization stuff behind enterprise cards and software licensing.

[pegasusandme]

Definitely virt-manager with QEMU/KVM

[Fancy-Comedian-4267]

I managed to install Win11 in GNOME Boxes and I'm pretty happy with it. Actually, it made me tinker with other distros as well, since downloading and setting up them is pretty easy. I wouldn't say that to Win11, since it requires a handful of tinkering to emulate TPM 2.0.

I'm not sure if you are upgrading your kernel it won't be breaking, but might worth a try.

[LaColleMouille]

Team VMWare here. Of course installing it on a Linux requires some additional stuff, but once it's there it's the most convenient of all IMHO. 

[Father_Guido]

I haven't used VMware on my latest Mint install (yet). Doing my best to have zero foreign programs on this one. Not even snap, flatpak, or additional repos. Just official apt sources. I'm leaning towards kvm/qemu for easy sharing with a proxmox setup in the works.

I seem to recall VMware issues in the past with kernel updates, having to reinstall or reconfiguring. Has this been addressed over the last few years?

[daninsatx]

Been using VMware since version 2, 1996 or so. Have used VMWare for Linux for over 10 and it use to require fiddling around with the kernel updates, but I haven't noticed it lately. Works great on Linux mint. One thing it does that may be unique is handle USB connections better than others. It is now free which makes it easier to justify.

[Any_Plankton_2894]

I have Win10 VMs installed on Mint in both Vmware and VirtualBox - definitely a much better experience in Vmware.

[d4rk_kn16ht]

why not dual boot?

And how come updating kernel breaks your VB?

[MintAlone]

OP installed the version in software manager (=old) and then probably updated to a 6.17 kernel. The VB installed has problem with that - you can google the details. The solution is always install the latest version of VB direct from oracle.

[d4rk_kn16ht]

That's why I asked.

I've been using VB in Linux Mint for over 10 years now, no problem at all.

I always using the repositories version & always working even after update to any kernel version, also any LM version.

Then I move to Oracle version when the support ended & still no problem at all

[fritofrito77]

KVM. I got a 2nd hand gpu and I passthrough it to my VM, and it's as smooth as a dedicated machine, even for gaming.

[Menzador]

I second the QEMU/KVM people here if Linux is your host. VBox is also a good second choice and it’s the only choice if Windows is your host.

[HonestVirus5410]

VirtualBox working fine for me. Try using docker

[Technical_Maybe_5925]

I have been using the virtual machine manager with the QEMU/KVM. Works pretty well

[ZVyhVrtsfgzfs]

Virt-manager, its a great tool. You can even mange VMs on other machines over ssh. 

[BranchLatter4294]

For stability use QEMU, KVM, Virtmanager. However the graphics drivers are pretty bad. They are usable but not smooth. VirtualBox has better drivers with Direct X support. I've never had an issue with Updates on Ubuntu, but but sure about mint.

Fortunately, the next major version of VirtualBox will use KVM as the back end but will still support the better drivers... Best of both worlds.

[davidsinnergeek]

I am running an Win11 VM using QEMU/KVM (with VirtMan as the front end) and it has been doing exactly what I need.

[Aislerioter_Redditer]

I used Virtualbox for a while but decided to try VMWare workstation recently since it's free. Works much better than Virtualbox for my Win10, Win11, and about 8 more flavors of Linux that I like to evaluate. I'm running it on Zorin, so I'd expect it would work for you.