[AccessD] VM for different versions of Access

Doug Steele dbdoug at gmail.com
Thu Mar 27 18:38:37 CDT 2008


I use VMWare, and I have an 8gb USB stick with a full Windows XP install and
Office 2003.  Works very well, as long as you've got at least 2gb RAM!  You
can also set up the VM to be copyable (with VMWare Workstation, anyway),
copy it to another machine running VMWare Player, and run it there.

I use VMs for keeping various development environments separate
(specifically, different versions of Office) and it's great.

It would be so cool to set up a VM on a client's computer so you could have
total control over the environment that your database was running in.  The
VMs are a bit large for shooting back & forth, though, and I haven't yet got
up the nerve to ask any client to purchase an extra set of Windows installs
for every computer running my database!

Doug Steele


On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 8:54 AM, Tina Norris Fields <
tinanfields at torchlake.com> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> Double-posting, since this is a technical virtual machine question but
> involves Access.
>
> The database I wrote about that got corrupted has been mostly repaired.
> That is to say the tables are intact, all the data are there, and the
> table relationships are good.  However, there are bits and pieces that
> definitely are out of whack.  I am going to remodel the database, to use
> only the features the client actually uses and wants, to restore the
> switchboard interface the client likes, and then split the sucker into a
> proper BE and FE.  Client agrees.  Here is the puzzle: client uses
> Access97.  My machine is WinXP Pro with Office 2003.
>
> I would like to install a virtual machine and run Office 97 in that
> machine (yes, I still have a licensed copy on the shelf -
> unbelievable!).  I would like that machine to reside on my USB external
> drive.  Is this do-able?  What are the gotchas I need to watch out for?
>
> I have Microsoft's VirtualPC installed as well as VMWare's Server.  The
> MS VirtualPC seems the better candidate for making a virtual machine to
> run another version of Office.
>
> Suggestions?  Ideas?  Watch-out fors?
>
> Thanks,
> Tina
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