[Qemu-devel] Qemu Windows Host & Client Feedback

[Doctor Bill <docbill@gmail.com>]

Hello,

I am a new user of qemu.  I notice the user forum does not exist
anymore, so I hope this is the appropriate place for comments.

After spending a day attempting to configure Bochs, I was pleased to
find qemu works almost directly out of the box.  My goal was to run
Windows 98se under Windows XP so I could test software without running
my old noisy machines.

The first problem I noticed is that with the 0.70 version, keys are
not mapped correctly.  For example, if I try to type in a URL as soon
as I press the letter e explorer opens.  As soon as I type the letter
m, the window minimizes....   I installed a the "CVS" snapshot and
that problem appears to be fixed.

I then got curious and wondered how fast is the virtual machine
running.  At times it seems like a 200MHz machine, and at other times
it seems much faster.  So I installed Norton Performance Test from my
Norton System Works 2003 CD.  However, whenever I launch the
application I get the blue screen.  Afterwards, other programs
including explorer periodically cause blue screens.  When I reboot,
the qemu machine reports it failed to regrab the mouse and freezes
until I close the window.

Obviously more work is needed, but it is no worse quality wise than
when I first beta tested VMWARE.  I am particularly impressed with all
the hardware platform that can be simulated.  I am considering trying
OSX simulation next.  If the performance is comparable, then the
simulated machine will be only slightly slower than my G3.

Bill