Ok, since I was asked....
You want your own Windows 7 Virtual PC? Not a problem....
You will need Virtual PC 2007 with the latest update (Google Virtual PC 2007)
You will need The Windows 7 RC (the last one I downloaded from TechNet Win 7 RC Ultimate was about 2.3 GB) make sure you get a Activation Key! This is an ISO file.
You will need about at lease 5-10GB of free space on a hard drive connected to your PC (This might work on a Flash drive if you have just the VM Hard drive on the Flash drive)
First step is to install Virtual PC 2007 (VPC 2007) and any updates (I think there's a SP1 you should get).
Next, you will need to run VPC 2007 and create a new VM.....
Some explain about creating a new VM:
A VM (Virtual Machine) comes in two parts...mostly. Part 1 is the VM config file vmc files- this file just tells VPC how your VM is configured (what a surprise). Part 2 is the actual VM hard drive file (vhd files). This is the large file that holds the actual hard drive image.
When you create a new VM, VPC will step you through setting the VM up. A couple things to do and know!
-When creating the vmc and vhd files I would recogmend that you put these files in a known directory on your hard drive. The vhd files can get big, really fast and if you're hard drive has a less than a tetra-byte of space, it will be nice to know where big chunks of space are. I suggest using a folder off the root of a drive like C:\My_VM. VPC will let you place the VM files anywhere, I keep both files, vmc & vhd in the same place with the same name. The first dialog when creating the VM asks the name and location of the VM.
-Make your VM hard drive at least 40gb! VPC will not comsume the space all at once, the VHD file will expand up to the max size. Yes you can add additional hard drives to your VM if you need to. The default size is 16GB.
-Give your VM at least 1GB of memory (1024)... yes you can adjust this later up or down. Keep in mind that the more memory your VM has the better performing it will be. The default is 128MB (give me a break... unless you're running Windows 98, you need at least 256MB)... make it at least 1024!
So, that's the first step.... no you don't have a VM yet. The next step is to actually install Windows onto the VM you just created. Remember the Windows 7 iso I talked about in "what you need"... you need it now.
At this point you should have in your VPC window (called the VPC console)... the entry of the VM you just made. Now you need to start the VM. This is like turning on the VM. But wait, you don't have an Operating System installed yet....that's right. The next step is to install Windows onto your VM.
When your new VM starts... you will see something about loading from a network boot device...well you don't have a network boot device (unless you're a bigger geek than I am)... so hint the ESC key (just once) and this will stop the VM trying to fine a boot device on your network. Next you will need to do one of a couple of things depending on where and how your Windows ISO is located.
If your Windows ISO is just a file on you computer then you can from the CD menu item on your VM Window, select 'Capture ISO image'... you will need to know where you put the ISO...btw.
If you burned the Windows ISO to a actual DVD, then you will need to mount the DVD in a drive on your pc and select 'Use Physical Drive' ?? where ?? is the drive letter of you dvd.
Once you have selected either CD option above, click inside the VM window and press 'Enter' - you should at this point get some activity in the VM window showing that Windows is installing....
Now, one last note.... it is about the Mouse and something about installing Virtual Maching Additions.
After, and ONLY after windows is installed in the VM you will notice that once you click in the VM window that the mouse is captured by the VM window (i.e. your mouse pointer seems to be stuck in the VM window only). No you did not break your pc, yes there is a way to fix it. Here are the rules about the mouse in or out of the VM....
If your mouse is stuck in the VM window, hold the Right-Alt key and press Shift - this will release the mouse from the VM window (it will also shift the typing focus to your real PC...meaning any typing done after you do a Right-Alt Shift will not be sent to the VM but to your computer).
Ok, I have my mouse back but how do I type or mouse in my VM? Simple, just click inside the VM window... and mouse goes back to the VM....
Now, if your like me (big wiz-bang geek type)... the whole crap about who has the mouse... is like annoying! So, yes there is a fix. At the top of the VM window there is a Action on the Menu... and under Action there is a Install or Update Virtual Machine Additions....
This is the last step you need to do.... Now before you start pressing things and losing your mouse in the VM window, keep in mind where you are in the VM install and where your mouse is....
First - your VM must be started
Second - you must have Windows fully installed before you can install the VPC Additions.
Third - you must have logged into the Windows in the VM
Ok, got it... So are you at your VM window?
Good press the Right Alt and Shift Key to get your mouse.... now select the Action and Install or Upgrade.... Additions... then select Continue... you should get an autoplay or something inside your VM... select the run or install and follow the instructions... everything should install ok...
Next you will need to set a value in the settings for your VM. Get back to the Menu for your VM and under 'Edit' select 'Settings'.....
Goto the mouse on the list and make sure that 'Use pointer integration' has a check mark. And click OK.
Now, at this point you may have to shutdown your VM (use the Start Button in the VM window to shut down the VM). Then restart the VM. If everything went ok, the mouse will now work like a mouse should work with any application in a window.....
Now some gotchas....
What ever you do, don't make your VM a full screen VM... it is a pain to get in and out of Full Screen VM and for some reason when you go into Full Screen mode on you vm, VPC writes that to your config file and it seems to screw up any attempts by you to turn full screen off.... if it happens.... just google for a solution.
Now for Windows 7, I've tried a couple of times to install the VPC Additions.... so far they have not installed... but I may have tinkered too much with some other settings so I've not called this impossible to install the addtions for vpc using Win 7 (I mean it works for Vista it should work for Win 7).... I still messsing with that....
OK..... enjoy the world of VM's or 'how to use all of your big disc drive up....really really fast'
~cse
cse
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