Can I test windows 7 on a virtual PC?

Question

Is there anywhere to download windows 7 to test on a virtual PC?

I have Windows XP now and I don't want to install the upgrade yet but wanted to just play around.

Answer 1

You can still download the Release Candidate free. Works fine in a virtual machine.

• download VirtualBox from virtualbox.org
• download the Windows 7 ISO from the above link.
• after installing VirtualBox, create a New VM for Windows 7, make sure it has access to the minimum requirements from your system:

*1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
*1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
*16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)
*DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

• Go to the configuration settings for your new virtual machine, and access the CD-ROM settings.
• Select the radio button to boot from existing ISO file and choose your Windows 7 ISO.
• follow installation instructions and you'll be up and running in no time.

Answer 2

I test it with virtual Box. Just download the W7 install ISO and install it to a new VM.

Answer 3

Yes, you can install Windows 7 (either the RC or the RTM version) in a virtual machine. I currently have the RC running as the primary OS on two of my systems, one of which also has Virtual Box running a Windows 7 RC VM to test Visual Studio 2010.