Question

If I have a .vhd file, can it be used by Virtual PC 2007, VirtualBox (open source), and Windows 7's Virtual PC (the newest Virtual PC)?

Can you even run Virtual PC 2007 on a .vhd file, and then shut down the virtual PC, and then run VirtualBox on that same .vhd file? (just for curiosity)

The .vhd file might be one downloaded from

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=21EABB90-958F-4B64-B5F1-73D0A413C8EF&displaylang=en

which will expire Jan 1, 2010, or 120 days after its first use.

Answer 1

Acorrding to here,virtulbox support vhd file.And the wikipedia shows that virtualbox support vhd file.So the answer to the first question is yes.

I think question 2 is derived from question 1,if virtualbox support vhd,then it should read/write exactly like virtual pc,so it will be ok.

Answer 2

I tried it a little and looks like they are all ok... and even VMWare free VM program "Player" can do that.

But one catch is that, it is like snapping this "hard drive" (the .vhd) onto a new PC with all different hardware. So Win XP is going to complain that the hardware has been changed significantly and require re-activation.

So it looks like it is best to use one .vhd image with one Virtual PC program.