Quick Guide to Getting Up & Running with Microsoft Virtual PC

No matter how much Microsoft continues to disappoint its end users with their imposing "Let it be" policy to the end users (I'm talking about ending support of XP, VB6) with the not-so-good alternative (Vista/.NET), there are times when they offer products that are great way to solve problems (I'm not talking about Forefront (yet to try it)).

Microsoft Virtual PC let's you create and run two or more O/S on your single system, and let you move in and out of the host and virtual PC. Why do you need it?

Scenario 1: You happen to be a software developer or QA engineer and have to test your software on multiple O/S.

Scenario 2: You were one of those enthusiast who installed Vista as their primary O/S, and after few months of the incompatibility problems (playing Quake v1) on Vista, you want to go back to XP without formatting your hard drives from the ground up.

Here is the quick guide the title of the blog entry talks about:-

1. Download and install Microsoft Virtual PC from here. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=04d26402-3199-48a3-afa2-2dc0b40a73b6
2. Create a New Virtual Machine, the wizard is explanatory enough, Give 512MB RAM (and 10GB disk space at least) for XP.
3. Click on Start button.
4. Insert the XP CD and click on CD->Use Physical Drive D:, let the O/S boot from CD.
5. Install XP as if you would have on a new computer.
6. Login to your XP, and chose Action->Install Virtual Machine Add-ins, you want it (for like drag and drop files from host PC, moving mouse from one O/S to another).
7. Go to Actions->Settings, Network, chose NAT from the combo-boxes. Yo, the Internet starts working (believing it works on your Host PC).
8. If you cannot get it to come on the same Network, I recomment LogMeIn freeware, Hamachi, to create a VPN between the host/virtual operating systems.
   

The real fun comes if you have two monitors connected to your Desktop, like mine, below, you can go full screen on other machine.


For installing Linux distro visit this URL.

P.S. I still have to try Quake v1 on the Virtual PC, the Virtual PC have its own graphic drivers.