Should I chose a TemplateVM or a StandaloneVM for a Windows 10 VM ?

[M]

I read about a TemplateVM and a StandaloneVM in the “Glossary of Qubes Terminology”. But I’m still not sure about which kind of VM to choose for a Windows 10 VM.

Can someone please tell me more clearly when to chose these kinds of VM’s, and which you would recommend for a Windows 10 VM and why ?

[trueriver]

On Thursday, 16 January 2020 17:55:22 UTC, M wrote:

I read about a TemplateVM and a StandaloneVM in the “Glossary of Qubes Terminology”. But I’m still not sure about which kind of VM to choose for a Windows 10 VM.

Can someone please tell me more clearly when to chose these kinds of VM’s, and which you would recommend for a Windows 10 VM and why ?

Hi M,

The quick rule of thumb is that if you are installing from an iso file, you need a standalone VM. This obvs includes any version of Windows. I will explain why.

A template VM in Qubes is the base part of a Linux install, missing the parts that are specific to a particular user. So when you run "vault" and "untrusted" both using the same template, the two VMs have the same rnge of software available, but different histories: sharing the base install save space, havng different history means that if your untrusted machine has been hacked, vault is still safe.

A second thing to know about the Qubes templates is that they include the Qubes magic software that enables you to send files from one VM to another, copy and paste across different machines, and so on (most of these programs have names beginning with "q" ("qrexec", and suchlike).

Official templates exist for Fedora and Debian. The Wizardly enthusiasts in the Qubes user community have also created templates for other Linux distributions. If like me you are less endowed with Linux-hacking skills, you either start from someone else's template, or create a standalone machine using the .iso install "disk" for that operating system.

In the case of Windows that is an easy decision: the internals of Windows are so different to Linux that I am told there is no chance of even a mighty wizard creating a Windows template. So its install from .iso onto a standalone VM. I think you will also find you need to choose HVM as the VM type.

Finally, Microsoft may want a further fee from you to make that install official. Running Windows in a VM counts as a separate machine to the one that acts as host :(  Be prepared to pay, or expect to run your system as an unregistered one which may have an impact on Windows Update :(

Hope that helps

R~~

[M]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer.

May I ask: Which difference does it make to Microsoft update if I use a payed or unpayed version of Windows 10 ? - I didn’t know there were a difference although it seems fair.

[m...@militant.dk]

torsdag den 16. januar 2020 kl. 18.55.22 UTC+1 skrev M:

I read about a TemplateVM and a StandaloneVM in the “Glossary of Qubes Terminology”. But I’m still not sure about which kind of VM to choose for a Windows 10 VM.

Can someone please tell me more clearly when to chose these kinds of VM’s, and which you would recommend for a Windows 10 VM and why ?

You might try this: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/qubes-users/AdQcjg7XOFo/0bUFmyi7CgAJ

Sincerely

Max

[unman]

On Sun, Jan 19, 2020 at 04:29:26AM -0800, trueriver wrote:
>
>
> On Thursday, 16 January 2020 17:55:22 UTC, M wrote:
> >

> > I read about a TemplateVM and a StandaloneVM in the ???Glossary of Qubes
> > Terminology???. But I???m still not sure about which kind of VM to choose for a
> > Windows 10 VM.
> >
> > Can someone please tell me more clearly when to chose these kinds of VM???s,

It's simple to create a Windows template *without* any wizardry. Just
proceed as normal creating a template and install windows from iso.
Any qubes you run using that template will be disposable - that is, any
changes you make will be lost on shutdown.
If you install the QWT in to the windows qube and move user directories
on to 2nd disk, then you have a fully featured windows qube running off
the template with user home surviving between reboots.

As to the "further fee" M$ licensing is notoriously difficult to get to
grips with, but if you have a license for the Windows version you are running,
that will do even if the install is in a VM - this has been the case for
some time.
You can register the template, and qubes based on it will (in my
experience) retain license. The only questionable activity would be
running multiple windows qubes at the same time - quite probably system
resource would prohibit that in any case.

unman

[Claudia]

Something else I forgot to mention is that with Standalone VMs, you can install/upgrade software and just start using it, whereas with TemplateVMs you have to reboot the AppVM. For me, this is probably the biggest reason for using a Standalone VM. It can be a real pain to have to close all my work and reboot a VM just to install something in it. Of course, you can also install it temporarily the running AppVM and use it immediately, but then you have to install/configure it twice.