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Hey guys, I running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and I need some virtual pc software. The Microsoft Virtual PC website says I have to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional to download it :-(

So what are the free VM options and which is best for Windows 7 ... or should I just fork out for the Win 7 Professional upgrade?

Thanks XXxxx

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this should be Community Wik. – Molly7244 Dec 20 '09 at 17:25
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From the money you would have to spend on gaining Virtual PC 2007 you could just as well buy a license to another VM like VMware... – Ivo Flipse♦ Dec 20 '09 at 17:47
It might be nice to know "WHY" you need virtual pc software. There are different reasons some might excel over others. I've tried a bunch, and each of them had strengths and weaknesses. – zimmer62 Dec 21 '09 at 21:01
Virtual PC 2007 has always been free, but it sounds like MS is trying to upsell you on Win7 Pro. Try downloading from here, if you haven't already: microsoft.com/downloads/… – rob Dec 21 '09 at 22:24
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5 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

VirtualBox, free and open source, does the job for me, Windows Guests can be run in seamless mode, integrating into the host OS (requires the Guest Additions).

I'm also using Sandboxie and DOSBox for various scenarios.

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+ 1 for VirtualBox, it runs like a charm for me, both with Windows Guests as well as Linux. – Steffen Dec 21 '09 at 10:20
I think VirtualBox is the only free virtualization package that includes seamless mode, multi-monitor support, and OpenGL/DirectX. – rob Dec 21 '09 at 22:22
Another nice thing about VBox is that it is being very actively developed. There is a new release about every 4-6 weeks, with both bug fixes & new features. – Joe Internet Dec 21 '09 at 23:29
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up vote 3 down vote

Definitely go with VMware Player, which supports Aero, nicer XP-mode, dual monitors, etc.

See here and here.

Cheers.

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up vote 1 down vote

Just use this s/w "Sun xVM VirtualBox". Am using this in windows 7 and it working finely.

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up vote 1 down vote

One thing to keep in mind though is that if you use VirtualBox or VMWare, you will need a separate license of Windows XP, i.e. you have to buy a proper license from Microsoft (unless you want to break the law). Now with the XP mode in Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you don't have to purchase a license of Windows XP. The virtual machine provided has it's own license.

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Good point; most people probably don't think of the licensing details when shopping around for a free virtualization package. – rob Dec 21 '09 at 22:25
+1 but this doesn't really apply to Sandboxie which is nice to have for many reasons. – Molly7244 Dec 23 '09 at 1:45
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up vote 0 down vote

VMWare server can be had for free...

It's working for me for what I need.

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