Windows Phone 8 Emulator on non-SLAT Machines

Question

Though this topic present over different forums with different confusing discussion but I couldn’t find any instance of it present over here at StackOverflow and it could be an important issue for many so I’ll just start it here as I am also currently struggling with this problem by not having a SLAT supported hardware at my workplace.

It is being said that:

"The new emulator is built on the latest version of Microsoft Hyper-V, which requires a 64-bit CPU that includes Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), a memory virtualization technology included in most modern CPUs from Intel and AMD. SLAT (Second Level Address Translation) is required only to run the Windows Phone emulator. You can still build Windows Phone 8 apps on a non-SLAT computer; you will simply need to deploy and test them on a physical device." - [Windows Phone 8 Development Internals]

Now the problem is I do have 64-bit CPU (Intel Core2Quad) but it doesn't have SLAT support and many other out there must be having fine but non SLAT PCs (for Intel mostly processor before i3 don’t have this support)

• Now my question is it really like this a dead end? and if someone wants to develop for windows phone 8 he would have to either buy a new system or a latest WP (even with WP it would cumbersome in the development process)

• There isn’t really a way out of it using any other thing like VMware, Virtual box etc.?

• Are there any other third party emulator or options available to achieve this?

• If not than why, what has changed so significantly in the new SDK release that has made it impossible to backward compatible?

I repeat my main question in the end again: Is it really impossible to develop for windows phone 8 with its emulator functioning if you have one of non-SLAT supported PCs?

Thankyou!

Solution 1

Yes, it's absolutely completely impossible, done, finito, acabado.

Why is it so hard for everybody to understand that? It's documented everywhere, and you'll be told so when installing, and attempting to run the emulator.

Well, while I'm sure you're right and it's documented somewhere, it was only after installing and running Windows Phone 8 SDK on an iMac (with i5 processor) under Bootcamp gave me the confidence to overwrite the Windows 7 partition on my MacBook Pro (CoreDuo), Buy Windows 8, install it all, go through the (rather lengthy) Windows Phone 8 SDK installation again and, only at the very end, be told "this computer isn't compatible with Windows Phone 8" etc message.

Ok, I could have looked harder at the documentation, but I figured a trail run on an iMac was a good test. It's a pretty non standard requirement too - "Must have a SLAT processor".

I get the benefits etc, but I think it's pretty poor user experience to only be told this at the very end of the installation process.

Solution 2

I must admit, I am kinda amazed.

It works, but not on Windows 8. Windows 2012 server uses hyper-V version without requirement of SLAT.

So:

1. Windows Server 2012 trial (i use Developer version). Installed on physical device - not on VM.
2. Install slat-less feature Hyper-V.
3. Standard WP8SDK.

And voila. It worked like a charm. And it's kinda fast. First emulator on list in VS loads about 30 sec. More advanced take longer but not much. Deploying is instant. Give it a try if youre not to buy phone or new computer :)

Solution 3

You cannot use Windows Phone 8 emulator on such machine, that's a fact, but you still can develop and test your WP7 apps using the Windows Phone 7 emulator or you can debug on actual devices.

So if you really want to develop Windows Phone apps, try developing for WP7 first and after you get some money, buy real WP8 device like HTC 8S and start testing on in, you don't need new $1000+ development machine for creating great apps!

Solution 4

I've waited several weeks before answering here because I didn't want to be wrong but the answer is YES and NO. You cannot run it on non-slat machines. But you can make your machine a SLAT-enabled machine.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but SLAT capability can exist as a physical or a virtual feature. If your machine isn't a iX (i3, i5, i7) or is an AMD, then you probably don't have SLAT as a physical feature.

However, if you have Windows Server 2012, either at work or in your BizSpark account download list, then chances are that you can run Windows Phone 8 SDK on your machine.

I confirm I've been running WP8 SDK during the last months on an AMD in Windows 8 after installing it inside a Windows Server 2012 VM. I can run the emulator with the three form factors to debug. They can take up to 2-3 minutes to open but once open, everything run smoothly.

Obviously, that's a plaster until you get a good PC since you don't get optimal performances. But you can work "almost" normally. At least enough to code stuff and submit it to the market store. I've updated both VMWare and WS2012 and disabled useless devices and ACPI.

Solution 5

Is it really impossible to develop for windows phone 8 with its emulator functioning if you have one of non-SLAT supported PCs?

Yes, it's absolutely completely impossible, done, finoto, acabado.

Why is it so hard for everybody to understand that? It's documentated everywhere, and you'll be told so when installing, and attempting to run the emulator.

View more solutions

Comments

[SajjadHashmi]

But during developing deploying it and checking it on phone moment by moment would be cumbersome or say not what I used to i.e. hitting F5 and see how quick changes worked.

[SajjadHashmi]

But Windows Phone 7 emulator can’t be used for WP8 development? I am talking about WP8 development, anyways thanks for the answer.

[SajjadHashmi]

I am already developing WP7 apps and I am going to get Lumia 920 when it’s going to launch here an investment in a new machine at this time may disturb my plans, lol

[SajjadHashmi]

you never know Solution like this can exists even for PC may be in a matter of time anyways I have found out a workaround for myself curretnly.

[dotMorten]

??? I find it less cumbersome (no need to launch an emulator). You still simply hit F5. There's absolutely no difference when it comes to deploy and debug between emulator and device.

[James A Mohler]

While your frustration is well founded, this is not place to vent fustration

[James]

I take your point, but this wasn't really about venting frustration, more to warn people to check their specs before just "trying out" a Windows Phone 8 installation.

[Hades32]

It is so hard to understand because it is simply ridiculous! It should simply run slower and that's it. The VHD DOES run fine in VirtualBox...

[Greg Woods]

so just to confirm, which OS is running on the hardware? Your description sounds like Win8 is installed first. Then the other OS is run in hyper-V?

[Léon Pelletier]

Windows 8 (Real) -> Windows Server 2012 (VMWare) -> VS2012 and WP SDK. Btw, performances are not so bad. It's not like a slow-motion picture. The emulators is slow to start and that's about all. I have 6GB of RAM and I'm giving 4GB to the machine. I need to run nothing on the hoster, though.

[Léon Pelletier]

I'm debugging on a real device since some days, and that's damn faster than on the config I mentioned in my answer above.

[Vance-Turner]

This solution also works. On the first try of launching the emulator, it failed; but on a relaunch it worked. Deploying apps is quite fast. Someone else mentioned getting Server 2012 from BizSpark. If you're a student, DreamSpark has Server 2012 as well.

[hyde]

Hmph, I just got bitten by this. Upgraded an old(ish) laptop to Win 8.1 just to be able to dabble with WP 8.1 app development. And now discovered, SLAT required but missing, which brought me to this Q. Oh well, I suppose I'll look into doing what I wanted to do with Qt then, or something.

[James]

Well good luck - Windows Phone development is awesome, so it's worth getting a compatible machine for...