Virtual PC
Saturday 10th July, 2010 20:46
After enjoying Hyper-V R2 on Windows Server 2008 R2 (and getting excited about the new service pack, which lets you over-allocate RAM), I was disappointed to discover that Windows 7 doesn't contain Hyper-V. I've had issues getting VMWare Server 1.x to launch a VM without freezing the host (VMWare Server 2.x moved to a web based GUI that I don't like); I seem to recall that Virtual Server 2005 SP1 was blocked from installing (sure, I could force it on, but I'd rather not); I think Virtual PC 2007 might work, but I decided to give Virtual PC a try.
Annoying, the website encourages you to install XP Mode, suggesting that I need to download "Windows XP Mode" first, then install Windows Virtual PC, followed by Windows XP Mode update. But I only want Windows Virtual PC (10MB download). I don't want the massive XP Mode virtual machine (500MB). Thankfully I read a few forum posts that suggested I only needed to do the second step.
A few clicks later, Virtual PC is installed and I'm creating a new virtual machine (using my perfectly legal TechNet product keys, before anyone asks). I'm also quite impressed. It'll even resize the desktop as you resize the window, so going fullscreen will present you with a Remote Desktop-like full screen interface. Windows XP doesn't appear to have any trouble with drivers either. I think I'll be sticking with Virtual PC and Hyper-V R2 for now.
Annoying, the website encourages you to install XP Mode, suggesting that I need to download "Windows XP Mode" first, then install Windows Virtual PC, followed by Windows XP Mode update. But I only want Windows Virtual PC (10MB download). I don't want the massive XP Mode virtual machine (500MB). Thankfully I read a few forum posts that suggested I only needed to do the second step.
A few clicks later, Virtual PC is installed and I'm creating a new virtual machine (using my perfectly legal TechNet product keys, before anyone asks). I'm also quite impressed. It'll even resize the desktop as you resize the window, so going fullscreen will present you with a Remote Desktop-like full screen interface. Windows XP doesn't appear to have any trouble with drivers either. I think I'll be sticking with Virtual PC and Hyper-V R2 for now.
