How do I use a VMware to let 2 different users use one computer at the same time?

[Christopher715]

How do I make it possible to use ONE computer for 2 different users at the same time? Can I use a VGA for one and HDMI for another output?

I've seen some posts on here that were older, and I'm running Windows 8 and just upgraded my RAM to 8 GB.

Suggestions? Thank you in advance

 

[Nikolay Savov]

Hi
The only whay i can figure out is to install Windows Multipoint Server 2011 or 2012 on the PC !
Then you connect 2 x KB ; 2 x Mouse and 2 x Monitors
The WMPS (Windows Multipoint Server) will run up to 14 or 20 remote connections you can log in under 2 different users ( up to 14 - 20 users per server )

I have done more than 10-15 projects using WMPS 2011 and 2012 with ThinClients under USB or LAN you can make small classroom with few servers ....

You can find more details on MS web site !

Using VMware you need more than just KB and Mouse and Monitor you need thinclient in order to connect to VM Desktop on the server - it`s more complicated and not so easy to setup at home

 

[FreshJR]

Its is possible with virtual box, but its not exactly well intergrated since it was never a feature that it was meant to do, so you have to tinker with it to get it to work. I have done it before so it is possible and it works nice when you have it all setup.

What you have to is connect 2x keyboard and 2x mouse to the main computer. At this point, both items will control the pointer on the main computer. What we need is for the main computer to ignore input from the second set.

So what you have to go into device manager and find the 2 new input devices in the and disable them.
Note: You are disable the devices themselves but not the USB controller they run off of.

In virtual box, you have to capture (pass-through) from the USB controller. When the USB controller is passed through, virtual box will recognize the 2nd set of inputs while they are disabled in the main computer.

Virtualbox will always autocapture the usb hub, while the components will always be disabled on the main computer.

This setup works will if you never disconnect any of the components. If you have to move the interfaces around, you have to redo the process. Also the 2nd computer will not have GPU accelerated features so forget 1080p video, animations, etc unless you want to rape the cpu. I hope they figure out how to pass a gpu hardware level.

Yes you can use an additional free output from any open port, and run virtual box full screen, but GPU features will always be CPU rendered.

 

[Christopher715]

Thank you all for your input. Since I'm pretty much a "noob", I'll just fork out the $$ and get a low-end desktop computer. That way I won't screw anything up. As a physician, it's rather difficult to interpret each post as correct, it's rather like me trying to tell you how to do an appendectomy on someone via email. Off to Costco as I type this.