Microsoft has released for its windows users Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, a free download. Before you run off to get it lets review the desktop virtualization capabilities of this tool, you decide if its for you. First off ask yourself these questions and see if you agree with any or all.
Microsoft has released for its windows users Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, a free download. Before you run off to get it lets review the desktop virtualization capabilities of this tool, you decide if its for you. First off ask yourself these questions and see if you agree with any or all.
1. You going to run multiple operating systems at the same time on the same physical computer.
2. You are going to use virtual machines to run legacy applications
3. You want to emulate other environments for testing purposes
4. Your Host PC will be either Windows XP Pro or Vista (Excluding Home editions)
If you answered yes to these questions then you probably want to know the pros and cons I found.
What you need to know...
My first thought was running Linux within Windows XP. I was really hoping there would be support for having a guest operating system other than previous versions of Windows. Yes there is support for virtualization of OS2 Warp , but who uses that anymore? So I was stuck without the option to setup a Linux guest environment (I will use my dual boot setup instead for Linux), and install Virtual PC 2007 on Windows Vista Ultimate as the host.
If you have a 64bit hardware platform like I do (Dual Core PC) take a note of the following:
· 16-bit applications and 32-bit drivers are not supported on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista.
· Automatic registry and system file redirection is not supported in the 64-bit environment.
These changes require that 64-bit applications must adhere to a stronger set of Windows Vista application standards.
Having said that, I was able to run Virtual PC 2007 on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. This means you can run 16-bit operating systems (as far back as Windows 98 SE) which are not supported natively on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista.
Once installed and you launch the Virtual Manager you will notice the small options window with only a few menus with options.
Setting up a virtual machine is simple enough just follow the setup wizard, choose your options and how much power you want to allocate.
Keep in mind how much memory you want to allocate to the virtual machine. I have 2Gigs of Ram installed so I used 512Megs of it for the Virtual PC for Windows XP for example
My conclusion is, you cant really complain, I mean you get what you pay for, and since Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 is free and supports Windows Vista, its not a bad choice at the moment if you looking to run a Windows OS within a Windows OS, but if your looking for Linux support its not really there your on your own.
Windows Servers should come with a built in Virtual Machine that will be compatible with Linux if you can hang in till then...
Other Tips Users have watched
- Top 10 Free Downloads to improve and tweak your Windows Vista
- Get Ubuntu (Linux) to look like OS X Leopard!
- Speed up your Windows Search
- Free Up windows resources which are slowing you down
- Customize Windows Send To (right click menu items)
- How to Change to Owner Name in Windows
- Customize your Windows Explorer View
- Disable User Account Control Popups
- Boot Up Windows Faster
- Enabling Remote Desktop from XP to Vista