Virtual PC is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems simultaneously on one workstation, providing a safety net to maintain compatibility with legacy applications while you migrate to a new operating system. It also saves reconfiguration time, so your support, development, and training staff can work more efficiently. This is a 45-day time-out, full version of the Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 product. No serial number is required.
Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 SP1 Free 45-Day Trial Edition
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Eugenia Loli
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I don’t remember seeing a news item on that one.
I’ve heard that eventhough its not offically supported you can run Linux on Vitual PC
i’ve heard it’s no faster than vmware but works better with non-supported oses like os/2 and solaris, it’s also a bit cheaper.
ms doing a time-trial without serial demo – that’s just asking for a crack!
Yes, it does.
Yes it does run both Linux and FreeBSD. In fact it runs the install of Lindows better than the last version of vmware I used. However what I want to know is where can I download just the sp1 so I can patch my current install? Microsoft’s website offers to sell it to me but that is it.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/downloads/sp1.mspx
Perhaps to nail another competitor …. VMware
Here’s an exhaustive list of OS’s that can be run on VPC: http://vpc.visualwin.com/
hmmmmm.. sp1 update file(25166KB) is larger than sp1 trial file(16882KB), which it says it’s full version.. it sounds weird to me. 😮
actually the article said that within 20 minutes a freshly installed computer thats connected to the internet would be infected. and that you should get all the latest updates before connecting it to the internet.
I want Colin Barnhorst’s free-time and/or job. He tested so many different operating systems, I got dizzy reading that list. =)
Being *nix only here, VMware & MOL are the only VMs I use, but I wouldn’t mind given that free-trial a looksee.
And in my case, it would have to be: VMware for Linux, running Windows guest, running VPC…whew!
VPC has a built in NAT (Shared networking). If you enable networking on a virtual Machine, you should enable shared networking and patch your virtual machine first.
Once you have your Virtual machine OS installed, you can even enable undo disk on OS virtual hard disk and merge changes occasionally to that. This way if something goes wrong you can revert back easily.
I love VPC..best tool to test software on multiple OS, too good for device driver testing. It just enables so many cool features almost impossible to have on a real hardware…..
Installed it on 2 machines and loaded up Suse Pro 9.1 which took just over 10 hours on both machines, An old copy of W2K took less than an hour and Suse Pro 9.1 on a normal installation was about the same.
Yes funny how the initial trial was 180 days, now 45 days…
“Installed it on 2 machines and loaded up Suse Pro 9.1 which took just over 10 hours on both machines”
What do you think you did wrong?
I tried to install Slackware 10 on Virtual PC, after it’s completed, when I reboot it wouldn’t recognise any bootable device.
In Slackware, I’ve fdisk’ed /dev/hda1 as swap and /dev/hda2 as root (bootable). During install config, I selected to automatically configure lilo, and have the boot record in partition superblock (not MBR).
Any ideas why it’s not working? It can boot with the CD fine…just not with the HD after successful installation.
We had been using the Connectix version for quite awhile at work to run Win98 on some XP machines for a legacy app.
After Msoft bought out Connectix and came out with their version we “upgraded”. Performance was horrible compared to connectix so we went back to the “old” version and are still using it today.
Hmmm, I was hoping for a Mac demo. This one appears to be Windows only. I want to see how well it runs on my G5 before purchasing it!
In Slackware, I’ve fdisk’ed /dev/hda1 as swap and /dev/hda2 as root (bootable). During install config, I selected to automatically configure lilo, and have the boot record in partition superblock (not MBR).
It probably can’t boot off any IDE device except the first one. Try using hda for /.
I lost the ability to access paralel ports after applying this SP to VPC and it became considerably slower running debian sarge. (my host os is WIN2000). Moreover the SP cannot be uninstalled. The option “Uninstall SP” in fact means uninstalling the whole application. Yet another bad Microsoft joke !
It probably can’t boot off any IDE device except the first one. Try using hda for /.
I did installed it in hda, I only set Virtual PC to have one hard drive.
I did installed it in hda, I only set Virtual PC to have one hard drive.
Sorry I misread your first post.
Is /dev/hda2 set to be the active partition ?
And in my case, it would have to be: VMware for Linux, running Windows guest, running VPC…whew!
i’m sure you’re joking around, but virtualizers can’t be stacked like that. you can run Bochs on a VMware guest though. Bochs can also be run under Bochs. emulators can be generally be cascaded since they are emululating hardware.
neverthessless, I’ll try it sometime.
as I recall VPC is $129, and VMware is $189. bochs is free but too slow for my tastes. i’ve never used qemu.
i think my next computer will be a stripped down XP plus VPC running some form of Unix. should make a nice toy, since i’ll have access to ALL of my favorite tools.
Sorry I misread your first post.
Is /dev/hda2 set to be the active partition ?
I already mentioned I’ve set it as “bootable” in cfdisk if that’s what you mean.
So I’ve got the virtual HD setup as follow:
hda1 Primary Linux Swap
hda2 Primary Linux ReiserFS (boot)
Along with bunch of free space…
Pri/Log Free Space
[quote]We had been using the Connectix version for quite awhile at work to run Win98 on some XP machines for a legacy app.
After Msoft bought out Connectix and came out with their version we “upgraded”. Performance was horrible compared to connectix so we went back to the “old” version and are still using it today.[/quote]
I’ve tested the 2004 non-SP1 version and my observations are the same. It eats too much CPU on the host machine with XP running as a guest. The 5.2 Connectix version has no such problems and I’m running that, too.
I’ve tested the above on two completely different machines and the results are the same. Also, the Microsoft people took out Extended memory support in DOS because of “security considerations”. I want to know what the real reason was — that’s a definite step back in compatibility.
Nice service pack release
My Win2003 virtual pc feels much more responsive after applying the service pack.