Virtual PC 5.0 for Mac with Windows XP Home

Other products by Connectix

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005TZTX
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 1, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,401 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

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  Software > Utilities > Cross Platform

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Even the most die-hard Mac user needs to use a Windows-based PC once in a while; there's just no getting around it. Short of buying a second computer, Connectix Virtual PC 5.0 is the ideal solution. This powerful emulation engine turns any Mac into a Windows PC, if only for the time that it's running, without the need for additional hardware. It also takes advantage of existing hardware, like tablets, mice, printers, and hard drives, and uses your existing network connections for connecting to the Internet. Most remarkable of all, it runs as if it were a Mac application, alongside other Mac apps, supporting full copy-and-paste and file-sharing functionality.

Virtual PC 5.0 offers full Mac OS X compatibility, supporting multiprocessor Macs, Windows XP Home and XP Professional, the ability to share removable media drives, an improved user interface, and other enhancements. Virtual PC also supports the installation of multiple guest operating systems, such as Windows 98, Windows 2000, and even Linux.

Because this is a software-only emulation package, its performance is directly tied to the speed of your machine. In our testing, we installed Virtual PC 5.0 on both a 400 MHz G3 PowerBook (Pizmo) with 640 MB RAM, and a 500 MHz dual-processor G4 with 1.5 GB RAM. Both machines were running OS X 10.1.4. As one would expect, Virtual PC 5.0 on the PowerBook was substantially slower, while the dual-processor G4 was fairly snappy. Virtual PC 5.0 itself performed as advertised, though, making this an ideal solution for someone who occasionally needs Windows compatibility.

Would we want to work full-time on this kind of Windows machine? No. But if we need to translate a document or test a Web site on the Windows version of Netscape, or perform some other Windows-specific task, this approach sure beats buying and maintaining additional hardware (assuming the hardware you've got has the necessary horsepower). --Mike Caputo

Amazon.com Product Description
Virtual PC for Mac offers PC compatibility by enabling you to run multiple Windows operating systems directly on your Mac. Virtual PC provides you with the function and compatibility of a Pentium PC through software emulation of the standard Intel chipset and other hardware components. Using Virtual PC is as easy as installing any Macintosh application. You can run your Windows, DOS, or Linux software including business, education, Internet, and home applications. Virtual PC is a true Macintosh application that uses standard Mac controls and commands familiar to Mac users.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Virtual PC 5.0 Windows XP, September 25, 2002

By	G. Nottingham - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have an "old" Power Mac G4 dual 1 GHZ processor with 1.5G of RAM installed. I am running the software under OSX. I do not believe that the OS 9 version supports dual processors.
The installation was a bit rough. I had to install and uninstall two times. The upgrade, v 5.04 is supposed to make this easier. I don't think you can install the update until you install the original version so any fixes seem useless if you first have to jump the install hurdle before updating.
Once things booted up, performance has been great. I would hesitate to wonder how well it would work with a slower processor. This version recognizes both processors.
I echo the comments about documentation. Connectix assumes too much. The second CD is used if you are prompted to insert your Windows CD. I guess it has a bunch of drivers.
I am waiting for a response from technical support regarding neccessity of using a firewall and antivirus. I run NIS on both the Mac and the virtual XP PC. I think it is needed, but NIS definitely bogs down the app. Still acceptable, but not as jawbreaking fast as the original install.
Another sore point I have with Connectix is technical support. You get one free incident response and then you are charged[...]after that. So my inability to initially install burned my response up and that response also applied to my email request.
They do have a forum, but I would have hoped for a little more support, maybe 30 days.
I would definitely respect the minimum system requirements listed. I am near the top as far as Mac performance and would wonder how well it would work with a G3 or a 500 MHZ G4.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time and money, August 14, 2002

By A Customer

I bought this program to run one Windows program for a Garmin GPS receiver. I have a newer model Imac with 1 gig of memory, so it's not short of resources. I was completely frustrated and finally gave up. To begin with, Connectix' documentation is very bad. You get to the installation instructions about 3/4ths of the way through the manual. They are incomplete and unclear. The onscreen instructions are just as bad: they don't even tell you to insert the second of the discs at the appropriate time. It was only after hours of trying things that I finally got Windows XP to run at all. And that's when I discovered how slowly it runs. I mean crawling, not walking, slow. It took forever to draw a map, print it, etc. I gave up; just loaded the map program on the wife's pc. You do the same and you'll save the money and effort. What a waste of both.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lousy piece of software!!!! BEWARE!!!, August 29, 2002

By	Jason Hessom (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

I am a recent Mac convert. I have used Windows machines for many, many years. When I bought my IMac, I had heard about this program and was very excited...just think the best of both worlds, OS X and Windows XP Home. I plunked down my hard-earned ... and boy am I disappointed. THIS SOFTWARE IS BEYOND SLOW!!!! The documentation is lacking, the installation took several hours, and I now remember why I switched to a Mac in the first place. Believe me when I say, PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE!!!! YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOU DO. IT IS MUCH, MUCH TOO SLOW TO BE OF ANY USE.