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Why OS Why? Windows Vista on a PS3?
10:01 AM on 08.06.2008, Dale North 38 comments

     PS3

I never understood the whole make your console a computer obsession. I mean, don't you have to use a perfectly working computer to learn how to make your console a computer? Can't you just continue to use that first computer as a perfectly working... computer?

There's no stopping these guys, though. It seems that someone took a Linux-loaded PS3 one step further for... bragging rights? I don't know. Through some untold evil invocation, they managed to shoehorn Windows Vista onto a PlayStation 3. Prepare to nod your head in continual disbelief as you watch the above video, making sure to frequently close your eyes in disgust a few times. And you have plenty of time to close your eyes, as it takes about 4 full minutes before we even get cursor move-ability.

In fact, the loading time is so painfully slow that the video actually jumps to 8x speed, and even then, the video is over 7 minutes long. And the payoff? In the end, Notepad opens after 12 minutes. Woo.

If there was a Console Abuse headline, I would definitely call this in.

STFUAJPG?

[Via Kotaku]

How To:
-Install Qemu 0.9.1

-Use vlite to shrink a Vista Image, and apply the 256mb memory patch

-Install Vista on your Computer using the vlite image with Qemu and Bochs Bios Rev 1.171 by sshwarts (It took my computer 12 hours.)

-Copy the .IMG Made from Bochs/Qemu to your PS3's HDD

-Open Terminal where the Vista IMG is located

-type qemu -hda vista.img -m 256 -L "Location to Rev 1.171 directory, Drag n Drop" -cpu pentium3

It will take about 25 min to fully boot (network connection and audio show up)

Bochs Bios Rev 1.171:
http://tinyurl.com/65v5sf

Video Download Locations:
http://tinyurl.com/5ds84w

Mirror:
http://tinyurl.com/6ykur6

Next page: More Emulators stories




Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 08/06/2008 10:00
Wow that's very impressive!
Jagzi11a's Avatar
Jagzi11a at 08/06/2008 10:04
I am impressed by the work that these dudes put into getting it to work. Also isn't it funny that the ps3 will stream video from XP or vista and the 360 can only stream from media center PC's (XP media center or vista)
linuxguy's Avatar
linuxguy at 08/06/2008 10:08
you should know that linux on the ps3 runs on a xen like hypervisor
so it's like this
PPE(power4)---hypervisor---linux distro(with X11 running and all)---qemu---vista(biggest bloatware ever)
Kryptinite's Avatar
Kryptinite at 08/06/2008 10:09
LOL....12 minutes to open NotePad?


working as intended.
TorpedoTed's Avatar
TorpedoTed at 08/06/2008 10:09
Just goes to show how powerful a pc actually is!!
DemonEyes23's Avatar
DemonEyes23 at 08/06/2008 10:13
ha its impressive though generally useless i prefer nix over vista anyway...ubuntu anyway...sweet sweet ubuntu
DemonEyes23's Avatar
DemonEyes23 at 08/06/2008 10:15
and this doesn't really prove how powerful a pc is...if your pc was running all the crap that linuxguy outlined it would likely take 12 mins too + or - a few minutes
linuxguy's Avatar
linuxguy at 08/06/2008 10:19
Also linux on ps3 has access to 192MB of RAM with every IO passing trough the hypervisor hence more lag also there must be lots of swapping going on and we all know how slow harddrives are compared to RAM
taterchimp's Avatar
taterchimp at 08/06/2008 10:24
Im sorry, I'm not that into pokemon...
linuxguy's Avatar
linuxguy at 08/06/2008 10:26
@tatership: oh XKCD reference nicely done sir!
falinter's Avatar
falinter at 08/06/2008 10:29
Why not?
RJG's Avatar
RJG at 08/06/2008 10:30
I never understood the whole make your console a computer obsession.

Because they want something good instead of something crap?

/umbrella
killias2's Avatar
killias2 at 08/06/2008 10:31
Man, I won't even put Vista on my new PC, much less an innocent, frightened little console.

For shame.
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 08/06/2008 10:40
I'd just stop after the install of linux :-)
Rob165x's Avatar
Rob165x at 08/06/2008 10:41
This is impressive...although I'm an xbox 360 owner I do like the PS3 and while I perfer the xbox 360 for games I have to say the PS3 does some pretty cool stuff. It's a media powerhouse that makes me want to own one. There's many things that can contribute to Vista running slow. 1).Vista is a resource hog, PS3/360 have 512 system Ram, split into 2 for videocard (256mb generally)...Vista needs 512mb. 2). Vista can be slow on a fast computer (not saying PS3 ain't fast) but PS3 is a videogame's dedicated system, not one which is meant to do multiple processes like a PC. On that note, its safe to say the way that a PC can't emulate a PS3 as good is an example of why PS3 will have problems emulating an OS. Needless to say the versatility is impressive. I wonder if the 360 Processors' being more in likeness to PCs would help fledge this better. (I do admit PS3 processor is faster, just saying 360 is easier to code)
Rob165x's Avatar
Rob165x at 08/06/2008 10:44
Oh and about the streaming video/music from PC it ain't true. You can stream thru Media Center or without it. In fact I perfer not using Media Center because it has problems playing DivX. You just have to make sure you're connected to a router and have folders shared on PC.
-PL-'s Avatar
-PL- at 08/06/2008 10:54
Behold the power of the Cell Processor!
savagesaladin's Avatar
savagesaladin at 08/06/2008 10:56
Does XP actually run on it well?
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 08/06/2008 10:57
That poor PS3
Miike's Avatar
Miike at 08/06/2008 10:58
RE: Jagzi11a
It's not true. I stream videos from winXP to 360 all the time. You don't need a media centre PC, just windows media player.

I can understand why people do it, they felt it was a challenge. You should see the stuff people try to put linux on. Hell, "does it run linux?" is a meme. Toaster? Does it run linux? coffee maker? does it .... you get the picture.

This just adds to the list of "cool stuff a ps3 can do".

I wonder how they got around the ram problem...
Crumpet Lips's Avatar
Crumpet Lips at 08/06/2008 11:16
@Jagzii11a
That's funny, I could swear my computer is a Windows XP machine and has been able to stream my movies and pictures and music over to my 360 since I got it. Hah yeah I must just be crazy..... -_-
VixenFox's Avatar
VixenFox at 08/06/2008 11:28
----- lol ----- @-PL- :D
mikeyed's Avatar
mikeyed at 08/06/2008 11:29
Adding a terrible operating system to mediocre console is really like doing nothing at all.
linuxguy's Avatar
linuxguy at 08/06/2008 11:40
@mikeyed:GTFO and STFUAJPG
parrothead's Avatar
parrothead at 08/06/2008 13:14
Vista sucks on a computer, why would I put in on my PS3?
cryocide's Avatar
cryocide at 08/06/2008 13:16
Two things:

1) It's not a CPU power problem. It's a memory problem. The system just doesn't have enough RAM to run -any- OS worth a damn. Because of this...

2) Linux doesn't run worth a damn on PS3 either. Vista is a huge memory hog, but unless you've stripped-down your Linux build, it's just as useless for everyday computing.
pedrovay2003's Avatar
pedrovay2003 at 08/06/2008 13:22
People want to make their consoles a computer so you can NOT play NOT roms on them and play them on your TV instead of your NOT computer.
Narishma's Avatar
Narishma at 08/06/2008 13:25
@savagesaladin: No version Windows runs on it since it doesn't have a x86 CPU. You can run it with an emulator like they do in this video but it's too slow to be usable.

@TorpedoTed: It doesn't. If you were to run Windows on an emulator on a PC it'll be just as slow as this. Maybe a little quicker because PCs generally have more RAM than 256MB but it would still be unusable.
Phoenix0783's Avatar
Phoenix0783 at 08/06/2008 13:58
Well of course it's slow. teh ps3 has only 256mb of ram (but it's fast) so there is constant paging. Also, it's run from inside linux virtually so, linux is already using resources and then along comes vista which wants even more. the same thing would happen if you ran another instance of linux in qemu.
RWarrior1CO's Avatar
RWarrior1CO at 08/06/2008 15:03
Not surprising. The PS3 can barely run its browser without running out of memory after a few pages.
KorJax's Avatar
KorJax at 08/06/2008 17:59
Yeah there is also the problem that PC processors are built with parallel processing which is good for processing applications and the like and a faster/more advanced solution to basic console processors.

While the PS3's processor runs at a much more basic and simplified architecture that works in linearity (which means it will take forever to do anything in it that isn't a linearly processed application like your average PS3 game). Although the PS3's processor is powerful, its just not as advanced or efficient as regular parallel processors in PC's. If it was, you would be paying an arm and a leg for a PS3 to run games at the quality that it does :)

But it's also slow mostly because of the fact that the PS3 only has 256MB of memory in it, and Vista really requires 1GB+ to run well.
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 08/07/2008 04:39
It's running an emulator. Big whoop. You can emulate Vista on any platform if you're patient enough. You don't need any hacking skills to do it.

An emulator isn't going to mimic all the vector and streaming instructions on an x86 CPU, so even on a supercomputer it would be slow as dirt.

You want to see slow? Try emulating a PS2 on a PC, let alone a PS3.
Dan CiTi's Avatar
Dan CiTi at 08/07/2008 08:30
This why Linux is meant for the PS3. I have Ubuntu on my PS3, it runs faster than pretty much every PC I've seen.
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