Containerising Windows

[debiruman665]

Such a huge pain to backup all my files in prep of a clean wipe, since I've also used my non primary drives to install the software I'm also going to wipe all my other drives to.

I'd like to take some precautions with my new windows install to stop some of the mistakes I've done with this one where I'm getting error messages that pop up at boot time and the windows store being unable to download apps, my windows update service cannot reliably stay on either.

Does anyone know how segregated windows profiles can be? Can I use them to isolate potentially problematic software from other software which I use for developing or video editing?

I'm also toying with the idea of installing some vmware for ubuntu and doing all my internet browsing activities going through that.

Does anyone have any ideas or input on the topic? I really don't want to have to sift through a years worth of file clutter again to try and find out what's worth saving next year when windows develops some of the same problems.

Goals:

Keep the core windows install as virgin as possible
Would like to create different user accounts that I can use for different purposes (only if there's an actual benefit to doing so)
Using VM's to create containment zones for potentially buggy software or activites

 

[ubuysa]

TBH I'm not completely sure what you're asking here.

If you're asking whether it's possible to setup Windows so that the Windows components are separate from application components then the answer is no. Windows has a single registry (though it's in five 'hives') which is used by both Windows and applications. Any software that accesses hardware must do so through a driver, and most drivers install into the Windows kernel (though there are some user-mode drivers).

It is possible to install applications into any folders you like, you don't have to use Program Files or Program Files (x86), but that doesn't containerise them, they still use the same registry and kernel-mode drivers.

Running VMs in which to install your development software is a good idea, but legally each virtual machine requires its own Windows license, that might become expensive. You can't simply use the host machine license in VMs. See https://download.microsoft.com/down...g_Windows_Desktop_OS_for_Virtual_Machines.pdf.

You can create multiple accounts in Windows and they get their own storage, their own applications, etc. However, they still run in the single Windows environment which means their applications use the single registry and kernel-mode drivers.

I would suggest that your best 'protection' against buggy development software is to take regular images of your system drive (and keep Windows and all programs on the same system drive). I take a disk image of my system drive via Macrium Reflect every night, and I keep the last 7 images. If at any time I get an issue I'm not happy about (I'm something of an experimenter too) I simply restore the previous night's image (or one earlier if necessary) and the issue is gone. I can restore in under 10 minutes too.

 

[Tony1044]

I'm with Ubuysa - it isn't really clear what you are trying to achieve.

You CAN run Docker containers on Windows 10 - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/vi...art/set-up-environment?tabs=Windows-10-Client though it's not something I've tried to do.

You can also use Hyper-V to build virtual machines. Hyper-V is like VMware workstation and as Ubuysa correctly points out you do need to license each copy of Windows separately.

Also - both Hyper-V and Docker require Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise (and whilst the Hyper-V can be made to go onto Windows 10 Home, I have no idea about Docker).

I don't think any of these really solve the issue of what to keep in a year - if anything now all you've done is spread it amongst multiple machines/VM's/containers?