Re: [Qemu-devel] What is the minimal linux setup for running Qemu ?

["jeebs" <jeebs@yango.us>]

From: "Richard Neill" <rn214@hermes.cam.ac.uk>
> Lastly, have you checked out Metropipe's product? This (free) package 
> from:  http://www.metropipe.net/ProductsPVPM.shtml
> contains:
> All that is needed to run Qemu under Linux
> All that is needed to run Qemu under Windows
> A Linux Guest system.
> And it fits on a USB key.

Thanks for telling us about this...  Nothing inovative, but nice to know.

However, I'm not so sure I'd want to run it on a flash memory device!

Any virtual disk is going to do quite a few writes, and flash memory can only do so many before it starts to fail.

It's worse with an OS that does a swap file (such as BartPE (WinXP) or Win9x on a flash device), but even for a non booting drive, the directory structure could still go through a lot of writes.  (Especially if the OS modifies the 'file accessed' time for a file that gets accessed often.)

Sure, flash memory can do many writes, but it only takes a single bit to fail to cause problems and possibly make it impossible to get important stuff off that virtual disk.  And directory structures are prime candidates for failing first.

It would have been better if they had done something to set up a small ram disk to hold things, and then copy it back to the device when you get done.