Hacking QEMU/DOSBox thread and info gathering (not release)

[LarBob]

QEMU was installed on the original Wii and was made to run Windows XP. Since 1GB of the Wii U RAM is dedicated to the system, we should have around 1GB free for this. It could definitely run XP.
I also estimate that the 32-bit version of Windows Vista or 7 could possibly be run as well, albeit fairly slowly. That would be interesting to see for sure. Here is a video of Windows Vista running through QEMU on a PlayStation 3.

According to IGN, the Wii U's PPC processor is about 50% more powerful than the PS3's cell processor. Whether or not that is completely factual, QEMU should eventually be able to run just fine.
Of course, it would be way easier to run QEMU on the Wii U if there was a Linux implementation, which we seem to currently be pretty far from.
You can read more about the specs of the Wii U here.

DOSBox would be nice as well. On the 3DS, we had the RetroArch implementation for Windows 95, which you can see in my video here:

The Wii U could definitely run DOS/Windows 95/98/etc. using DOSBox.

 

[rw-r-r_0644]

WiiU has 1GB on ram and maybe you could get complete access to it but there's one small detail: WiiU is PowerPC. To run normal Operating Systems, like Windows, you would need an interpreter that's quite ram hungry and slow, depending wethever you use setpixel or gx2/other ways. It may still work but forgot that full 1GB of RAM

 

[QuarkTheAwesome]

I'm not sure if how QEMU is put together, but the simple fact that the PPC is a big endian PowerPC makes porting a pain. PowerPC hasn't been used in mainstream computers for ~10 years now so it all hinges on whether QEMU is portable enough to cross-compile. Linux would definitely be useful for something like this.
I could see DOSBox or even Mac OSX (<10.6) running, but not for a long while yet.

 

[LarBob]

WiiU has 1GB on ram and maybe you could get complete access to it but there's one small detail: WiiU is PowerPC. To run normal Operating Systems, like Windows, you would need an interpreter that's quite ram hungry and slow, depending wethever you use setpixel or gx2/other ways. It may still work but forgot that full 1GB of RAM

I meant we would have 1GB available for QEMU to use for interpretation and such. QEMU worked on the original Wii even to run XP, so the U could do it as well.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I'm not sure if how QEMU is put together, but the simple fact that the PPC is a big endian PowerPC makes porting a pain. PowerPC hasn't been used in mainstream computers for ~10 years now so it all hinges on whether QEMU is portable enough to cross-compile. Linux would definitely be useful for something like this.
I could see DOSBox or even Mac OSX (<10.6) running, but not for a long while yet.

QEMU could definitely work. Here's QEMU running XP on the original Wii's PPC processor.

We'd just need some Linux distro running on the Wii U, which would take a lot of the RAM as well. Though there would be little for QEMU, it would be enough for at least XP. You can actually install Windows 7 on 256 MB, it's just super slow.

 

[Deleted member 370671]

Well, we can probably also run Mac OS X Leopard, since there is a PPC version...
(It would be so cool )

 

[rw-r-r_0644]

I meant we would have 1GB available for QEMU to use for interpretation and such. QEMU worked on the original Wii even to run XP, so the U could do it as well.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


QEMU could definitely work. Here's QEMU running XP on the original Wii's PPC processor.

We'd just need some Linux distro running on the Wii U, which would take a lot of the RAM as well. Though there would be little for QEMU, it would be enough for at least XP. You can actually install Windows 7 on 256 MB, it's just super slow.

This is not qemu on Wii. This is qemu on Linux for Wii booted from bootmii. But as WiiU doesn't have a publeic boot time exploit... We can't port it for now

 

[LarBob]

This is not qemu on Wii. This is qemu on Linux for Wii booted from bootmii. But as WiiU doesn't have a publeic boot time exploit... We can't port it for now

That's why I said it looks like we are a ways from it. I know how it's working, I just haven't worded it very clearly as I'm mainly typing this on a phone as I'm not home.

 

[LarBob]

This is not qemu on Wii. This is qemu on Linux for Wii booted from bootmii. But as WiiU doesn't have a publeic boot time exploit... We can't port it for now

What I was trying to illustrate was that the Wii U has enough horsepower to at least run XP, I wasn't saying we could do so at this stage in the game.

 

[ShadowOne333]

Just give me Doom or DosBox, I don't care about running OS on the Wii U.

 

[LarBob]

Just give me Doom or DosBox, I don't care about running OS on the Wii U.

It would be a pretty cool proof of concept though.

 

[Skorpion96]

I meant we would have 1GB available for QEMU to use for interpretation and such. QEMU worked on the original Wii even to run XP, so the U could do it as well.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


QEMU could definitely work. Here's QEMU running XP on the original Wii's PPC processor.

We'd just need some Linux distro running on the Wii U, which would take a lot of the RAM as well. Though there would be little for QEMU, it would be enough for at least XP. You can actually install Windows 7 on 256 MB, it's just super slow.

that is linux themed to look like windows xp

 

[BaamAlex]

that is linux themed to look like windows xp

Nice necrobump.