Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 FREE

[gerwen]

Originally posted by: SimMike2
So this is mainly for running software and not hardware. I would really like an XP virtual machine, but one of the primary reasons would be to use my USB Scanner, which Vista doesn't support. So it looks like this scenario won't work.

Does all the hardware have to be working in Vista for the Virtual PC to be able to access the same hardware?

You could try VMware. I'm pretty sure it has USB support.

 

[handydave]

Turns out MS won't let you run Vista Home under this:
Link

"And to get that copy, buyers have to agree to Vista's licensing rules ? a legally binding document. Lurking in that 14-page agreement is a ban on using the least expensive versions of Vista ? the $199 Home Basic edition and the $239 Home Premium edition ? in virtualization engines.

Instead, people wanting to put Vista in a virtualized program have to buy the $299 Business version or the $399 Ultimate package."

 

[Jaxidian]

Hmm, while Free = good, after reading this thread, I think it's further convinced me to invest in VMWare Workstation. VPC definitely has its uses but I think it definitely is second-rate to VMWare.

Thanks for all the info in this thread!

 

[Cleaner]

So I have a question about this. I have a 64 bit AMD so I can run either the 32 or 64 bit version depending on my OS application right? So if I want to install the 64bit version of XP I need to install the 64 bit version of Virtual PC? Does this make any sense?

 

[dclive]

VMWare Server 1.01 is free as well, and offers much the same functionality. Even more conveniently, it offers VMWare Console, so you can get console access to your VMWare machines from any Windows or Linux workstation on your network. So...have one high-RAM PC host all your VMWare sessions - very convenient.