AROS Windows Hosted

[AMIGASYSTEM]

I am trying out the Windows Hosted version, which seems very useful for quickly testing a Distro.

The system is quite fast; however, there are some errors.

1) To test the Graphics Card, I tried running an OpenGL game MunchDude Hero, and I get an error on the Gallium.library, see screenshot

On WMware with VESA Graphics Card the game MunchDude Hero works fine although it is very slow.

2) The network does not work, what setting needs to be done ?

3) Dopus4 crashes, here I think I know the reason, I will do some tests

[deadwood]

For 1) make sure you have the same amount of RAM in your Windows hosted AROS as in your VMWare aros. The switch is "-m", for example -m 512 for 512 MB RAM

[AMIGASYSTEM]

I get the string wrong I get error, can you give me a real example with 1GB RAM or 2GB, I wrote this, where am I wrong ?

memory -m 2048 MB - Allocate -m 1024 MB

[deadwood]

On Windows it's probably something like:

Arch\mingw32\AROSBootstrap.exe -m 512

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Yes it works up to 1024 MB, 2GB is not supported, probably because I use a 32Bit Windows System, I will try on a 64Bit system.

In any case the Gallium.library error persists, see screenshot (Wandere has 1GB of RAM)

[deadwood]

I'll take a look at this problem.

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Thanks, given the quality and speed there will probably also be an AROS One x86 Hosted on Windows

[OlafS3]

it would potentially be a good platform for aros distributions. Many people use Windows so they could download and use it without needing something like VMWare. Biggest problems are still missing sound and expecially missing network so no internet. If both would be added it would potentially be one of the most interesting distribution options for aros in my view.

So to answer 2) there are unfortunately no settings for that. No network implemented. The only workaround for that would be using windows apps for it (if possible)

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Yes indeed audio is missing which is very important, otherwise no application using Audio will work, same thing for kla Network, hopefully they will be implemented.

The fact remains that with Hosted Windows the number of possible users could become momlto but very numerous, Linux uses it only 20 %100, of which many seen disinterested given the many Linux Distributions.

Conclusion AROS Hosted Windows allows you to test software very quickly, to upgrade simply copy the files to be tested into the folders and reboot.

[hardwaregeek]

With current computer prices, a minimum i3 system can do either 32/64 bit. With prices on eBay from $70 for a desktop or $149 for a laptop. Get the 4 core version. One could then use VMware 16 with full open GL support you can get it free for non-commercial at https://archive.org/details/VMwareWorkstation-16
old vmware-https://archive.org/search.php?query=vmware&page=8
Note many of the old i3 need ram upgrades to 8GB and a small SSD for a boot drive, use the old drive as a data drive. The computer will seem 100 percent faster.
If it needs Windows see-https://www.howtogeek.com/186775/how-to-download-windows-7-8-and-8.1-installation-media-legally/
to get a key cheap check whokeys.com windows keys for about $14 or under.
If aros developers can not afford a newer system maybe we should start a fun-raiser

[paolone]

it would potentially be a good platform for aros distributions. Many people use Windows so they could download and use it without needing something like VMWare. Biggest problems are still missing sound and expecially missing network so no internet. If both would be added it would potentially be one of the most interesting distribution options for aros in my view.

So to answer 2) there are unfortunately no settings for that. No network implemented. The only workaround for that would be using windows apps for it (if possible)

Every time I release(d) a update to Icaros Desktop or a new version, one of the most asked questions is "has windows hosted mode improved?". And I guess there's a reason for that: WSindows is by far the most used operating system at home, and AROS has many little gems that aren't simply reliable without sound and proper graphics support, not talking about network.

Some little quirks that I eventually prioritize when enhancing Windows hosted:

1. let the screen resolution get on par with the host's one, there are plenty of 16:9, 16:10, 21:9 and other bizarre screen ratios resolutions which cannot be selected with AROS Screen Prefs under windows, let alone FULL SCREEN mode that simply does NOT work. I have published an article here that might be of interest, to understand how strategic a good AROS hosted configuration can be on Windows:
https://vmwaros.blogspot.com/2020/11/serving-gui-to-hyperv-server-2019.html


2. AUDIO: Amiga was THE platform of choice for trackers and company, and these applications still have their appeal on AROS. On Windows hosted, everything is so sadly muted, even the few games that actually work.


3. NETWORK: I have tried several times if I could find a workaround to bring networking to the AROS side, but its seems a good TAP device is missing for Windows hosted. I wonder if Neil or someone with the right skill could have a look at this.

4. GALLIUM: this is the last one IMHO, since our Gallium implementation is already old per se. But having our games passing API instructions to the underlying Direct3D or Vulkan subsystems would be a great step further.