Microsoft Virtual PC

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This article is about the virtualization software by Microsoft. For the generic term see Virtual Machine.
Microsoft Virtual PC
Developer(s) Microsoft Corporation
Stable release 2007 SP1 (6.0.210.0) (Windows), 7.0.3 (Mac) / Feb 20, 2009 (Windows), August 14, 2007 (Mac)
Operating system Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X (deprecated), Mac OS (deprecated)
Type Emulator, Virtual machine
License Proprietary, but free to download and use
Website for Windows
for Mac

Microsoft Virtual PC (renamed Windows Virtual PC for the Windows 7 release) is a virtualization suite for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and an emulation suite for Mac OS X on PowerPC-based systems. The software was originally written by Connectix, and was subsequently acquired by Microsoft. In July 2006 Microsoft released the Windows-hosted version as a free product. In August 2006 Microsoft announced the Macintosh-hosted version would not be ported to Intel-based Macintoshes, effectively discontinuing the product as PowerPC-based Macintoshes are no longer manufactured.

Virtual PC virtualizes a standard PC and its associated hardware. Supported Windows operating systems can run inside Virtual PC. However, other operating systems like Linux may run, but are not officially supported.

Contents

[edit] Emulated environment

Virtual PC emulates the following environment:

  • Intel Pentium III (32-bit) processor (but virtualizes the host processor on Windows versions) with an Intel 440BX chipset.
  • Standard SVGA VESA graphics card (S3 Trio 32 PCI with 4 MB video RAM, adjustable in later versions up to 16 MB).
  • System BIOS from American Megatrends (AMI).
  • Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 ISA PnP. (When Vista is installed as both the host (main) and guest (virtual) operating systems, settings are synchronized with the host and audio configuration is not required.)
  • DEC 21041 (DEC 21140 in newer versions) Ethernet network card.
  • USB is not supported, although standard peripherals (e.g., keyboards and mice) connected to the host OS via USB are recognized. Programs using undocumented features of hardware, exotic timings, or unsupported opcodes may not work.

Implementation:

[edit] Virtual Machine Additions

To facilitate the exchange and sharing of files, folders and data between the host and guest operating systems, Virtual PC provides an optional set of Virtual Machine Additions. These can be installed in the guest OS to provide the following functionality across the host and guest:

  • Better performance of the guest
  • Integrated use of the mouse
  • Optimized video drivers
  • Dynamic screen resolution (resizing the virtual machine window sets the guest to any screen resolution)
  • Time synchronization with the host
  • Clipboard sharing
  • Drag-and-drop capabilities
  • Access to designated host OS folders from within the guest

[edit] Supported host and guest operating systems

[edit] Host operating systems

Virtual PC 2007 officially supports the following host operating systems:

  • Windows 7 Ultimate (32- and 64-bit)[citation needed]
  • Windows Vista Ultimate (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows Vista Enterprise (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows Vista Business (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows Vista Business N (32- and 64-bit)[citation needed]
  • Windows Server 2003
  • Windows XP Home (support added with Feb 20, 2009, hotfix rollup)
  • Windows XP Professional
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition (32-bit)
  • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
  • Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)[citation needed]
  • Windows Vista Home Basic (32- and 64-bit)[citation needed]

Virtual PC 2007 does not support, and will not install on, the following host operating systems:

Virtual PC 2007 does not officially support, but may install on, the following host operating systems, despite a possible warning message:[1]

  • Windows Server 2008
  • Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
  • Windows XP Home Edition

Virtual PC 2004 was the last version to support Windows 2000 as the host OS.

Windows Virtual PC supports the following host and guest operating systems:[2]

  • Host: Windows 7 Home Basic,[a] Windows 7 Home Premium,[a] Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Enterprise
  • Guest: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) Professional, Windows Vista Enterprise Service Pack 1 (SP1),[b] Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 1 (SP1),[b] Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Enterprise

[a] Windows XP Mode will be disabled in Windows 7 Home Basic and Home Premium. However, it is possible to configure a customized Windows XP virtual environment (requires a Windows XP license and Windows installation media or files), and to install the Integration Components update (available for download from the Microsoft website) to enable seamless mode and other Windows 7 integration features.[3]

[b] Windows Virtual PC has an x64 version, but cannot run an x64 guest OS. This was confirmed on the Microsoft TechNet Forum.[4]

[c]An update enabling seamless mode and other integration components, for Vista SP1 guests on Windows 7 hosts, is available for download from the Microsoft website.[5]

[edit] Guest operating systems

Virtual PC 2007 supports virtualizing the following operating systems:[1]

Virtual PC 2007 discontinued formal support for the following guest operating systems, although they may still run:

Virtual PC 2007 Virtual Machine Additions are not available for early operating systems such as Windows 95 or MS-DOS 6.22;[1] however, the older Virtual PC 2004 additions can be used with Windows 95 and MS-DOS.[6]

For Windows Vista guests in Virtual PC 2007, the Windows Aero graphical user interface theme is disabled due to limitations of the emulated S3 graphics card. However, Aero effects can still be rendered by connecting to the guest machine via a Remote Desktop Connection, initiated from an Aero-enabled Vista host.[7]

Linux guests are not officially supported by Virtual PC 2004 and 2007, although Virtual Machine Additions support for Linux was available in Connectix's version of Virtual PC before acquisition by Microsoft. Although Microsoft formally supports VM Additions for Linux only in its Virtual Server product, the additions should also work with Virtual PC.[8]

[edit] Emulating Linux-based environments

Although installing a Linux-based guest environment is possible, it is not seamless. Some Linux distributions must be installed in text mode, as Microsoft Virtual PC only emulates graphics at 16-bit or 32-bit color depth, not 24-bit; thus, in order to run an X Window user interface, a 16-bit color depth must be specified in the guest operating system's xorg.conf configuration file.[9] Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) must be installed in SafeMode, but does not require other changes.

Some websites specialize in listing operating systems that run successfully as Virtual PC guests, to help users avoid issues when installing Linux distributions or other operating systems lacking official Microsoft support.[10]

[edit] Version history

Connectix Virtual PC version 3 in Mac OS 9, running a Brazilian Portuguese edition of Windows 95
Virtual PC 6.1 for Macintosh

Virtual PC was originally developed for the Macintosh and released by Connectix in June 1997. The first version of Virtual PC designed for Windows-based systems, version 4.0, was released in June 2001. Connectix sold versions of Virtual PC bundled with a variety of guest operating systems, including Windows, OS/2, and Red Hat Linux. As virtualization's importance to enterprise users became clear, Microsoft took interest in the sector and acquired Virtual PC and Virtual Server (unreleased at the time) from Connectix in February 2003.

Under agreement with Connectix, Innotek GmbH (makers of VirtualBox and now part of Sun Microsystems) ported version 5.0 to run on an OS/2 host.[11] This version also included guest extensions for OS/2 guests, which could run on Windows, OS/2 or Mac OS X hosts using Virtual PC versions 5, 6 or 7. A new version of the guest extensions was later included with Microsoft's Virtual PC 2004.

On July 12, 2006, Microsoft released Virtual PC 2004 for Windows as a free product, but the Mac version was not made free. The Windows version may be downloaded here. The equivalent version for Mac, version 7, was the final version of Virtual PC for Mac.

Virtual PC 2007 was released only for the Windows platform, with public beta testing beginning October 11, 2006, and production release on February 19, 2007. It added support for hardware virtualization, viewing virtual machines on multiple monitors and support for Windows Vista as both host and guest. (The Windows Aero interface is disabled on Windows Vista guests due to limitations of the emulated video hardware; however, Aero effects can be rendered by connecting to the guest via Remote Desktop Connection from an Aero-enabled Vista host.)[7] On May 15, 2008, Microsoft released Virtual PC 2007 Service Pack 1, which added support for both Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1 as guest and host OSes, as well as Windows Server 2008 Standard as a guest OS.[12][13]

A hotfix rollup for Virtual PC 2007 SP1, released February 20, 2009, solved networking issues and enhanced the maximum screen resolution to 2048×1920 (32-bit),[14] enabling 16:9 resolutions such as 1920×1080.

Virtual Machine Additions for Linux are available at the Microsoft Download Center, but are officially supported only in Virtual Server.[15]

[edit] Windows Virtual PC

The successor to Virtual PC 2007, Windows Virtual PC, entered public beta testing on April 30, 2009,[16] and is intended for release alongside Windows 7.[17] Unlike its predecessors, this version supports only Windows 7 host operating systems and requires hardware virtualization support (see Requirements).

Windows Virtual PC includes the following new features:[18]

  • USB support and redirection – connect peripherals such as flash drives and digital cameras, and print from the guest to host OS printers
  • Seamless application publishing and launching – run Windows XP Mode applications directly from the Windows 7 desktop
  • Support for multithreading – run multiple virtual machines concurrently, each in its own thread for improved stability and performance
  • Smart card redirection – use smart cards connected to the host
  • Integration with Windows Explorer – manage all VMs from a single Explorer folder (%USER%\Virtual Machines)

[edit] Requirements

PC requirements for Windows Virtual PC:[19][20]

  • 1+ GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
  • 1.25 GB memory required (2 GB recommended)
  • Additional 15 GB of hard disk space per virtual Windows environment recommended

[edit] Availability

  • Windows Virtual PC will be available free of charge to users of Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions, either pre-installed by OEMs or via download from the Microsoft website.
  • Windows XP Mode, which enables guest applications to be integrated into the host Windows 7 desktop, will be available free of charge to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions, either pre-installed by OEMs or via download from the Microsoft website.[20]
  • Beta versions of both Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode are available for download from the Microsoft website.[21]

[edit] Intel-based Mac support

Microsoft announced on August 7, 2006, that Virtual PC for Mac would not be ported to the Intel Mac platform. Microsoft stated, "Alternative solutions offered by Apple and other vendors, combined with a fully packaged retail copy of Windows, will satisfy this need."[22] Similar products available at the time were Parallels Desktop and Apple's Boot Camp.[22]

[edit] Windows XP Mode

An application running in Windows XP Mode, displayed on the Windows 7 desktop.

Windows XP Mode (XPM)[23] is a virtual machine package for Windows Virtual PC containing a pre-installed, licensed copy of Windows XP SP3 as its guest OS. Pre-installed integration components allow applications running within the virtualized environment to appear as if running directly on the host,[17][24] sharing the native desktop and Start Menu of Windows 7 as well as participating in file type associations. XP Mode applications run in a Terminal Services session in the virtualized Windows XP, and are accessed via Remote Desktop Protocol by a client running on the Windows 7 host.[25][21]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Virtual PC 2007 Release Notes
  2. ^ "Windows Virtual PC Beta Download". Microsoft.com. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=65E1C5EB-DF9B-415F-B2D6-27F6EF5DCEB9&displaylang=en. 
  3. ^ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=943b6ac7-87f2-45df-a516-21321d559ac3&displaylang=en
  4. ^ http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itprovirt/thread/8fa1b83d-90ca-449e-92aa-5b20fd82cf1b
  5. ^ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=db29eb2b-f095-4172-8e83-9c5623045d4e&displaylang=en
  6. ^ http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2007/10/30/installing-dos-additions-under-vpc-2007.aspx
  7. ^ a b Savill, John (June 2007). "Running the Aero UI When Using Virtual PC 2007" (Fee required). Windows IT Pro (Penton Media). http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/95814/running-the-aero-ui-when-using-virtual-pc-2007.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  8. ^ Armstrong, Ben (2007-10-23). "Updated Virtual Machine Additions for Linux available". Virtual PC Guy's WebLog. MSDN Blogs. http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2007/10/23/updated-virtual-machine-additions-for-linux-available.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  9. ^ Geek For Life (2006). "Installing Fedora Core on Microsoft Virtual PC 2004". Geek For Life. http://davidbrunelle.com/2006/09/23/installing-fedora-core-on-microsoft-virtual-pc-2004/. Retrieved on 2007-05-01. 
  10. ^ What Works and What Doesn't in Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
  11. ^ Innotek/Connectix Virtual PC
  12. ^ Microsoft releases Virtual PC 2007 SP1
  13. ^ "Virtual PC 2007 SP1 Release Notes". Microsoft. 2008-05-15. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9f3d3eb5-5e03-4712-999c-e96f91bdf128&displaylang=en. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  14. ^ KB958162
  15. ^ VM Additions for Linux
  16. ^ Hachman, Mark (2009-04-30). "Microsoft Posts Windows Virtual PC Beta". PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346296,00.asp. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  17. ^ a b "Windows Virtual PC". Microsoft.com. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/default.aspx. 
  18. ^ "Compare some of the many features of Virtual PC 2007 to Windows Virtual PC". Microsoft.com. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/features/compare.aspx. 
  19. ^ http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/requirements.aspx
  20. ^ a b "Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 brochure". Microsoft.com. 2009. http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/5/A/75A2C993-BFCC-47D0-8B6C-7C8CE2BA9833/Windows%20XP%20Mode%20for%20Windows%207_brochure.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  21. ^ a b "Download Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode Beta". http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx. 
  22. ^ a b Cohen, Peter (2006-08-07). "WWDC: Microsoft kills Virtual PC for Mac". MacWorld. http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/08/07/vpc/index.php. Retrieved on 2007-10-08. 
  23. ^ "Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 and Virtual PC - Part 1: Maintaining Application Compatibility". Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 and Virtual PC - Part 1: Maintaining Application Compatibility. 1900-1-0. http://capitalhead.com/articles/windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7-and-virtual-pc---part-1-maintaining-application-compatibility.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-6-16. 
  24. ^ http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2009/04/24/secret-no-more-revealing-virtual-windows-xp-for-windows-7.aspx
  25. ^ Rafael Rivera. "Windows XP Mode Internals – Part 2 (Application Publishing Magic)". WithinWindows.com. http://www.withinwindows.com/2009/04/28/windows-xp-mode-internals-part-2-application-publishing-magic/. Retrieved on 2009-04-30. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Virtual_PC"
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