Windows 7 applications from other VPCs and creating virtual PC machines

Running Applications from Other VPCs

Developers are notorious for crashing their systems. They develop applications and, during the test-and-debugging process, things sometimes go wrong. For example, an operating system that once worked now no longer works. Not only is the developer unable to continue the development of the application, but they can't even access email or do other day-to-day work. While you can't prevent a developer from crashing a development environment, you can isolate the problem by creating a virtual environment for development work.

You start with a regular Windows 7 desktop. You can then install another instance of Windows 7 in a virtual machine and install applications within the virtual machine. As long as the Auto Publish settings are set to Enabled, the applications will automatically appear on the host machine's Start menu for that computer once the shortcuts are copied to the Start menu on the virtual machine. Hibernate the VPC, and you can then launch the programs in the same manner as you did with Windows XP Mode.

The only pieces that are missing from this puzzle are the steps you need to take to create a Virtual computer image.

Creating Other Virtual PC Machines

1. Launch the Virtual PC console by clicking Start > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Windows Virtual PC.

2. Click Create Virtual Machine in the title bar.

3. Enter a name for your VPC in the Name text box. You can either accept the default location for the VPC or select another location. Click Next.

4. Adjust the size of memory for the computer. For Windows XP, you can get away with 512 MB, but if you're running more applications, add more RAM. Similarly, you can start with 1 GB of RAM for Windows 7 and add more depending on the applications you're running. You can always adjust the RAM later when the virtual machine is turned off. Leave the networking check box enabled to Use Computer Network Connections unless you specifically don't want the VPC to have access to the network. Click Next.

5. The Add A Virtual Hard Disk page appears. Since this is a new VPC, accept the default of Create A Dynamically Expanding Virtual Hard Disk. Leave Enable Undo Disks unchecked and click Create. You'll be returned to the Virtual PC console. At this point, you have a Virtual PC image, although it's empty. The next step is to load an operating system into it.

6. Load the Windows installation DVD into the host system DVD drive.

7. Double-click the VPC image you just created to start it. It will boot from the DVD. At this point, follow the procedure to install the operating system. If it's another operating system, use the steps for that operating system.

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