Customer Reviews

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 [Old Version]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My first experience with Virtual PC was years ago, when I had a Macintosh but also tons of Windows-envy, so I bought VPC for Mac OS so I could run Windows-only programs.

Fast-forward to 2004. I think Virtual PC is a should-have for every computer enthusiast. No longer a Windows programmer/developer but just an end user, I myself use it for the following:

- Web surfing. By setting up a separate, virtual PC for web surfing, I can keep viruses, trojans and spyware away from my underlying PC, which I use to do real work. Should a virus or worm hit the virtual PC, I just delete that VPC file and re-create another virtual machine.

Let's face it, since Windows is so popular and runs on 95+% of all personal computers, you'll always have virus writers attacking it relentlessly, no matter how Microsoft tries to improve security. (Back in the late 80s when I was a Unix guru, I used to witness a lot of hackers trying, often successfully to some extent, to crack Unix.) Esp. if you (ahem!) visit mature websites a lot, you should set up a virtual PC to isolate your treasured host system from getting infected.

BTW, AVG is a free personal-use-only anti-virus program from grisoft dot com. It's reliable and contiuously updated, just like the other major AV programs. Be sure to install AVG on your host machine (as well as virtual machine). It's just great.

- Testing new hardware. I'm a gadget freak. Since hardware drivers can often wreak havoc on a system, I use a virtual machine to test-install drivers first. VPC 2004 fully emulates Intel/AMD hardware so when you install another copy of Windows (which you need to buy separately), everything runs smoothly and as expected. It's even plug-n-play if you virtual machine runs WinXP.

- Playing with Linux. Nowadays it's easier than ever to install various Linux distributions, but 1) installing Linux often still requires you to create a separate partition, something I just detest, and 2) if you want to try more than one Linux ditribution it can be a mess to manage. VPC 2004 makes everything as simple as 1-2-3. One, create a virtual machine. Two, install Linux on that virtual machine which pretends to be a complete PC with one hard drive. Three, set up your device drivers within Linux without worrying about messing things up in the underlying system.

VPC 2004 so far has proven totally fast and stable. The only "downside" is, you are not getting any OS with this, so you need to buy a separate Windows installation package (or get Linux). But then, for a hundred bucks, you can create as many virtual machines as you want, and even run them at the same time if you have enough RAM.

Speaking of RAM, be sure to have *at least* 512MB on your underlying system, even if you just plan to use VPC to run plain ol' MS-DOS.

Having been a User of Both VMWare from version 2 to current(Workstation and GSX Server) and Virtual PC from Versions 4, through to 5.2 and now under the Microsoft banner of 2004, I can wholeheartedly recommend this software.

Microsoft haven't really provided much in my option to tempt existing 5.2 users to Upgrade, but if you hold an old version, or you are new to Virtual PC, then this is some fabulous software.

The software itself is stable, fast (requires a decent pc with lots of ram), but enables you to set up some great labs, and test environments. It supports a wide variety of Operating Systems, including Solaris and Linux, and lab scenarios with multiple NIC Cards.

This is the client version of the soon to be released Virtual Server Product. Every single time I build a lab box or trial some piece of software, it begins its life on a Virtual PC Machine, I use this software that much. I couldn't recommend it higher than the fact that I have paid for every upgrade since version 4 and will probably continue to do so.

One thing I like in comparison with VMWare, is that Virtual PC Emulates known hardware, this makes creating *Nix based Machines a lot easier as the Video card is identified on startup, even on Solaris! With VMWare you have to start in text mode and manually load the drivers - a lot messier.

Finally, if you plan on doing RIS Installs, the RIS Boot Disk Creator supports creating a PXE Boot disc for Virtual PC, very handy and saved me spending money on 3rd party tools.

Go to microsoft and get a trial, then come back and pay for the software, its worth every penny.

You do not have to be a developer to have fun with Microsoft Virtual PC 2004. This program is the greatest sandbox I have ever played in. If you have lots of older software and operating systems, this program is for you. You no longer need several old PC's to keep in touch with old favorites.

MS Virtual PC not only does away with the need for multiple machines for legacy programs (yes, even games), but provides for cloning virtual machines in order to test new installations and settings without risking arduous rebuilding of systems if disaster strikes. Recovering from a disaster is a matter of a minute or two.

MS VPC also solves software conflicts by providing for alternate versions of the same OS that are tailored to particular tasks. Also, virtual machines are networkable with other physical computers on a LAN.

Your hardware may require some adjustment when running MS VPC. For example, my CD drive is a Sony DRU120 CDRW/DVDRW and is not automatically mounted by VPC when creating a new virtual PC, but installing a CDROM driver from diskette quickly sets up the basic configuration needed to install any OS. This was the only part of the learning curve I had to master. For the rest, MS VPC has proven to be the easiest power program I have ever learned.

I cannot say enough good things about MS VPC in the space allowed here. Buy it if you are running Windows 2000 Pro or Windows XP Pro. MS VPC is yet another reason for XP Home users to go Pro. This software is FUN because it invites so much experimentation and creativity. Have a blast!

Virtual PC 2004 is a lifesaver for the practitioner who prefers or requires older applications. I prefer the simplicity of DOS wordprocessing and spreadsheet applications [Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS and Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS]. These applications require no mouse. My speed with keyboard commands is essential to my work efficiency. I also must preserve income, fiduciary, and estate tax applications for prior years in both DOS and Windows 95 environments. Virtual PC 2004 has allowed me to create a guest MS DOS 6.22 Virtual Machine and a guest Windows 95 Virtual Machine on my host Windows XP Professional system, thus relieving me of the necessity of keeping older host machines alive. The software loads easily. The embedded Help is clear and extensive. Microsoft's online chat group for this product is also helpful. The downloadable 45 day trial version, available on Microsoft's website, is a fully working version with some older glitches. Download the trial version and convince yourself, and then buy the real thing. The real thing has removed some of the glitches still inherent in the trial version. For example, the trial version does not allow some guest systems to access LPT1 at the same time as the host system. The printer must be toggled on and off. The real thing has eliminated this problem. In summary, this software provides incredible versatility and control for minimal dollars. Test drive the trial version, then buy this software. You will be thrilled.

I've been using computers for 25 years, so I'm a bit jaded and not easily wowed. However, using Virtual PC 2004 has wowed me. I've stayed away from this kind of software in the past because I worried that it would run very slowly. I was wrong. I have now created two virtual machines, one Windows XP Pro and one Linux distro (PCLinuxOS) and I couldn't be happier. Not only can I run other operating systems without rebooting, but they run nearly as fast as normal. Even better, I can close them into a kind of hibernate mode so that the next time I start them up they are right where I was before. I have also set up the undo disk feature. With that, if I screw something up I can just decide to not save any changes to the virtual machine. So, if I get a virus it doesn't do any damage. If a software install trashes the system it doesn't do any real damage. Finally, I can access my host PC from the virtual PC to exchange files just as I would on a normal network. I highly recommend this software. Get the 45-day trial version first, and then I'll bet you buy a copy just like I did.

I compared VMWare 4.0.5 and Virtual PC 2004 (VPC) side-by-side for a couple of weeks and ultimately decided on VPC for it's affordability, larger memory support, and standard S3 Trio video card emulation which greatly improved the guest OS graphics experience (especially for non-Microsoft OSes). I installed multiple instances of Linux (Redhat and Trustix) and they ran surprisingly well though obviously slower than on a dedicated machine. But, for setting-up a multi-network virtual lab where "how" it works was more important to me than "how fast" it was perfect. Using VPC I was easily able to setup a multi-network virtual lab with several routers, DHCP servers, and DNS servers to iron out some complex interaction scenarios.

MS virtual hardware support is not as robust as VMWare however as it seems that you are limited to emulating (4) IDE drives. This wasn't a serious hindrance to me but should be considered.

As of 3/5/2004 MS was offering a 45 day evaluation download from the VPC product page. I heartily recommend this product.

This software is great. I have successfully tested Dos 6.22, Windows 3.0, several versions of Linux (Red Hat and Suse), Windows 95 and Windows NT.
I agree with other reviewers that it can be used for recreational purpouses. My case is about retro-ware and retro-gaming. I have to admit that sound emulation is a little tricky for some old games, but overall the product is excellent.

microsoft is giving it away free. look it up on google. It is appaling that amazon is trying to charge $100+ bucks for something that is available for free. The other alternative is VMware which is also free (the GSX edition).

This is one of the best emulation software out there in the market. It is so much EASYER to use than VMWare Workstation 4x. You dont have to set up the cd drives or the floppy drives. I think that this is a much better software for beginners.

Microsoft, in July, 2006, made both Virtual PC 2004 and Virtual Server free for download, and also that the next version, Virtual PC 2007, will also be free. It supports all Windows OSs (less 64 bit XP and beta vista, but these will be supported in the next release). The only problem that i can see is that Windows 95 runs like a bat out of hell, sound skips and everything runs way to fast, hopefully this will be fixed in 2007 too. The emulated specs are pretty low, but considering this thing wasnt built for gaming or heavy media, it works well, and it runs the old legacy games (80s-late 90s) great albiet a tad fast sometimes. I run Win2K myself, and i run a pretty exact duplicate virtually so that i can see pretty much what a new questionable probram will do to it, and its a great way to make sure something is virus and spyware free since it cant escape the virtual disk. Also be sure you install the VMS Extensions (Action -> install or update). Since you can let it access your COM, LPT, and Network ports you can print, go onine (via external modem), and print from within it as well. Bottom line: excellent program to use if you want to run legacy programs and have some fun, as well as be able to test how new stuff will run under different versions of an ap on different OSs. READ THESE NOTES FIRST:
1) When you install Windows 95 BE SURE you DO NOT enable large disk support as this will format the disk as Fat32 which win95 dont support
2) This isnt built for gaming, that means that most anything more advanced than..Doom95 probobly wont run right, but then again anything more advanced than that 99% of the time will run on the host machine anyway
3) DO NOT buy this program, its free, and will soon be dated by the 2007 version
4) When it says anything about formatting or will erase everything on the disk, DONT PANIC, its just talking about the virtual disk, its normal
5) This thing will eat ram, so check microsoft's website on VPC 2004 for the ammount of RAM necessary.
6) have fun!