Microsoft Virtual PC
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Windows Virtual PC running Windows XP on a Windows 7 host
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| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | September 19, 2009 |
| Stable release |
6.1.7600.16393 / February 14, 2011
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| Operating system | Windows 7 (all editions except Starter) |
| Size |
32-bit: 9.1 MB 64-bit: 16.3 MB |
| Type | Virtual machine |
| License | Freeware |
| Website | www |
Windows Virtual PC (successor to Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, and Connectix Virtual PC) is a virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006 Microsoft released the Windows version as a free product. In August 2006, Microsoft announced the Macintosh version would not be ported to Intel-based Macintosh computers, effectively discontinuing the product as PowerPC-based Macintosh computers are no longer manufactured. The newest release, Windows Virtual PC, does not run on versions of Windows earlier than Windows 7, and does not officially support MS-DOS or operating systems earlier than Windows XP Professional SP3 as guests. The older versions, which support a wider range of host and guest operating systems, remain available. Starting with Windows 8, Hyper-V supersedes Windows Virtual PC.
Virtual PC virtualizes a standard IBM PC compatible device and its associated hardware. Supported Windows operating systems can run inside Virtual PC. Other operating systems such as Linux may run, but are not officially supported, and Microsoft does not provide the necessary "Virtual Machine Additions" (which include essential drivers) for Linux.
Connectix Virtual PC, Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, and Windows Virtual PC are successive versions of the same software. Windows Virtual PC runs only on Windows 7 and only supports running Windows XP Professional and later. The earlier Microsoft versions which run on older versions of Windows are still available and support operating systems older than Windows XP. Microsoft then replaced this with Hyper-V.
Virtual PC was originally developed as a Macintosh application for System 7.5 and released by Connectix in June 1997. The first version of Virtual PC designed for Windows-based systems, version 4.0, was released in June 2001. Connectix sold versions of Virtual PC bundled with a variety of guest operating systems, including Windows, OS/2, and Red Hat Linux. As virtualization's importance to enterprise users became clear, Microsoft took interest in the sector and acquired Virtual PC and Virtual Server (unreleased at the time) from Connectix in February 2003.
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Wikipedia