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Windows 7 for a virtual machine. The best virtual machines for Windows: install if you really want to look at other operating systems

More and more Windows 7 users want to try the capabilities of the eighth version of this operating system. For these purposes, the use of virtual machines is perfect, on which you can completely install the system without harming the native system.

At the moment, there are several popular virtualization programs for Windows 7: WMWare, Virtual Box and Virtual PC. In this article we will consider the latter program, since, compared to other virtual machines, it provides rich virtualization capabilities and is quite easy to configure and operate.

General algorithm of actions

  1. Download the application installation package. Virtual PC is a free program developed by Microsoft specialists, so it is fully compatible with Windows 7 and earlier versions. You can download the installer from the official website of the corporation.
  2. Run the file and follow the instructions. Before installing the application, make sure that your current user has administrator rights. To avoid this situation, right-click and select the “Run as administrator” context menu item. If this is not done, errors may occur during the installation stage (described below).
  3. After installation, a VirtualPC shortcut will appear on your desktop. Launch it and select “Create”. After this, Windows 7 may slow down and feel like the program has frozen. At this time, data is collected about the parameters of your system and the optimal characteristics for the virtual machine are calculated.
  4. Next are the settings for the VirtualPC virtual machine. When starting for the first time, leave the settings unchanged. If you act carelessly, it is possible to use more capabilities than can be allocated. This will cause general disruptions to the local and virtual operating systems. We only change the version of the operating system being installed and at the very end of the setup, select the source from which we will install (CD, disk image from the hard drive, bootable flash drive).
  5. Attention should be paid to the installation stage, at which you are required to specify shared network folders. These resources allow the system that we will install to use the resources of the local computer.
  6. After all the setup steps in Virtual PC, the “Run” button will become active. When you click it, the first time you start it, the Windows 7, Windows 8 or other OS you have chosen will begin to be installed into the virtual machine system, and when you launch it again, it will load the operating system that was previously installed. The installation steps are fully consistent with standard installation on a local computer and do not require any additional actions from the user.
  7. Once the process is complete, the system you installed will start and be fully available for testing. If there is a need to change the parameters of the virtual machine, in the upper part of the Virtual PC interface window, look for the “Machine” - “Configure” menu item. In the window that appears, you can increase the available amount of RAM, free space, etc.

Common mistakes

When installing using the above algorithm for Virtual PC at step 6, you may receive a Windows 7 error message related to the disabled virtualization function.

To eliminate it, you need to enable system virtualization in the settings panel and make BIOS settings for some versions of motherboards.


In addition, this problem occurs when running antivirus software in Windows 7 with its own firewall and firewall. Therefore, before installing a virtual machine, it is recommended to disable or pause all antivirus programs.

A virtual machine is a special program that can act as an emulator of a real computer with all its existing components (BIOS, complete system hardware, including motherboard, graphics, network, hard drive, etc.).

Naturally, on such a “computer” you can easily install a variety of operating systems, and for them - any programs designed to work on the installed system. Thus, you can install several operating systems (even very different ones) on one computer, with which you can easily work, and between which you can exchange data over the “network” (if it is configured correctly).

Not every user needs a virtual machine. Most often, it is used by advanced users to be able to work with other operating systems (say, Ubuntu), or gradually master them without stopping effective work, say, on Windows. This is also necessary for testing various software and safely launching programs downloaded from suspicious sites that may be infected with particularly dangerous viruses. You can also emulate an entire computer network this way.

Why do you need a virtual machine under Windows 7?

1. You have this particular OS installed, but you want to use programs for Windows XP, the more modern Windows 8, or even for Linux, which works on a completely different principle and the usual “compatibility” can no longer help here.

2. In order to select a suitable program, for example, for video processing. They are quite large and, if you immediately install them on a work computer, you can easily litter the registry. This is especially true if you remove programs incorrectly - you can carelessly leave “tails” of files that can turn into a real problem in the future.

3. For a simple test of the program. For example, to explain to readers how to use it or to see how it behaves on different systems, what errors may appear and how to deal with them.

4. For experimental installation of programs. Let's say, see how data is encrypted, how the program behaves under critical loads, and, ultimately, what will happen if it is infected with a virus.

The most popular virtual machines for Windows 7

WindowsVirtualPC– is already fundamentally built into the OS and is a completely free module for working with applications that are incompatible with the “seven”. Applications running in Windows XP mode can easily run directly on the computer desktop, which is extremely convenient. Programs can also be installed in any convenient way - downloaded via the Internet, from a flash drive, using DVDs. In general, in any convenient way.

The minimum requirements for installation are Windows 7 operating system at least “maximum” or “professional”, a 1 Ghz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 15 GB of free hard disk space.

You can launch this virtual machine in a simple way for anyone who has the official version of Windows 7. To do this, you need to open “All Programs” in the “Start” menu and click on “Windows Virtual PC” there. If this item is missing, then you just need to install the update called “Windows6.1-KB958559-x86” (designed for 32-bit systems) or Windows6.1-KB958559-x64 (for 64-bit). After this, you can safely get to work.

VMWare Workstation from VMWare, Microsoft's main competitor in the virtual machine market. Mostly useful for developers who often need to test and verify their own applications for different operating systems.

This virtual machine for Windows 7 has already won about 50 different awards from IT specialists thanks to a thoroughly thought-out environment for use, a built-in set of functionality and, last but not least, high performance and optimization. Perfect for those who need to do everything quickly. It also has the ability to “free up” system resources by simply stopping already running processes, which relieves the processor and significantly speeds up data processing. Necessary for working with demanding applications.

VirtualBox. A computer virtualization system similar to those described above. It can work in dynamic translation mode (processing of the main part of the data is transferred to real, not emulated, equipment). It is universal because it can be installed on any of the listed systems Mac OS, Windows, Solaris, Linux. You can install on it: GNU/Linux, Windows, Solaris, BSD.

Advantages - completely free distribution, fairly high performance, small size, ability to work with VMware virtual images. The most significant disadvantage is that it is impossible to drag files into the application window using the mouse.

Windows 7 virtual machine installation

Since Windows Virtual PC is already included, we will install VirtualBox - it is free, unlike more serious products. After installation, of course, we’ll start setting it up.

So, go to the official VirtualBox website and download the latest version of the program from the site. We launch the installer and see this welcome window

We confirm that we wish to continue with the installation and move on to the next step.

Here we are shown which program components are present and where they will be installed. Of course, you can freely change the directory and install the machine on any disk, but it’s better to leave all the components, especially if you are new to using virtual machines. I agree that you may not need all the components in the near future, but if you need them, you will have to reinstall this program again. And also everything that you install on your virtual computer.

Next stage of installation

Here you just need to indicate where the program shortcuts will be located.

The next stage may frighten inexperienced users, although the program warns that the computer will now be disconnected from the network for a short time. So, if you did not follow the wise advice to install with closed programs and are now actively downloading something from file hosting services, then you need to either wait for the download to finish or interrupt the download yourself.

After that, we agree with everything – “Yes”, and move on. The program will inform you that everything is ready for installation, which means click “Install”.

Now you will have to wait a while until the virtual machine is installed on your computer. At this time, pop-up windows may appear on the screen offering to install different software for our device. We agree with all of them and establish absolutely everything.

After installation is complete, click “Finish”. If everything was done as it should, and you did not uncheck the corresponding box (as shown in the image), then the virtual machine will start automatically immediately after installation is complete.

Machine creation and customization

To do this, you need to create a new machine in the “VirtualBox” working window. To do this, you just need to click the appropriate button (“Create”, upper left corner).

Afterwards the program will ask you to choose what type of machine will be created. Here you just need to enter its name and select the type of operating system. Please remember that some care must be taken to be accurate.

I need a virtual machine to test a variety of programs before installing them in the main directory of the computer. This means that I will create a computer running Windows 7.

Now we’ll tell the program how much RAM will be allocated for our new virtual computer.

Everything must be done carefully, since this option depends on the OS you are going to use and will consume the RAM that is available on the computer. The Windows 7 virtual machine requires no less than a normal operating system, which means we need at least 1 GB. But I set it to 1.5 because I can afford it and am going to test programs that will also consume RAM.

Windows XP will therefore require less RAM. But all the same, it is advisable to always give it “with reserve”. And here lies another danger - you cannot give the virtual machine more than half of the computer’s “live” memory, otherwise the computer will start to glitch and may even freeze altogether. However, if you have a powerful computer with more than 8 GB of memory, then the virtual machine can easily be allocated about 5-6 GB.

The next stage is the hard drive.

Every computer must have a hard drive. Virtual ones are no exception, and therefore it must be created. Therefore, we create a new virtual hard disk.

Then we indicate its type.

And if the names of all these formats mean absolutely nothing to you, then we simply leave everything “by default” and move on. Click “Next”.

Next window

It invites us to indicate to the machine the format for storing data on the virtual machine. What is important is that the dynamic hard drive is “rubber,” so to speak, and can be more or less easily expanded. Fixed has a fixed size and will never take more. It all depends on your needs and preferences. But I will need a hard drive that can be enlarged if necessary, which is why I choose “dynamics”.

Now all that remains is to name it and indicate the original size.

Let's create it and move on to the next stage.

Setting up a virtual machine

In the upper right corner there is a “Customize” button. Click it and get here - “Settings”

Here you can change a variety of parameters. Adjust the amount of RAM, if you made a mistake before, the boot order of various devices, the use of acceleration, etc.

There are several sections in total. The version I use has 9 sections, but it would take too long to go into detail about each one. And it’s better to do this yourself, consciously, watching how the behavior of the virtual computer changes. In addition, there is a convenient help system - just hover your mouse over the item you are interested in and a tooltip will appear.

But here is a brief description of the settings by section:

1) General. Here is the name of the virtual machine, the OS it uses, removable media and the clipboard;

2) System. Everything related to the hardware of our virtual machine (RAM, processor, chipset, device boot order, acceleration);

3) Display. Video memory and its settings, number of monitors used, ability to connect to a remote monitor, acceleration, video capture.

4) Media. Configuring existing virtual hard disks;

5) Audio. Everything is clear here - the sound and everything connected with it;

6) Network. Ability to configure virtual network adapters;

7) Com ports. Their inclusion and configuration;

8) USB. This controller and filter settings;

9) Shared folders. Their configuration and management.

If a serious mistake was made during the settings, the smart program will immediately report this. And at the bottom of the settings window a warning message “Incorrect settings detected” will appear. If you hover your mouse over the “exclamation mark”, they will tell you what exactly was done incorrectly.

However, most likely you will only need the first 3 types of settings: “General”, “System”, “Display”. If the virtual machine starts to work slowly and slows down, you can try increasing the amount of RAM it uses or increasing the processor power.

After completing the settings, confirm everything (“OK”). To start the selected virtual machine, just select it and click the “Launch” button. Now all that remains is to install the previously selected OS on our virtual computer, configure it and we are ready to work.

The Windows operating system allows you to create a virtual machine (VM), which is another computer with a separate virtual disk, OS, system data, and software. Simply put, you connect another system that can be opened in a separate window. We will tell you how to install a virtual machine in this article. Follow the instructions carefully, and after 20-30 minutes the VM will appear on your computer

Creating a virtual machine on Windows 10

The Top Ten has a standard service for creating virtual machines – Hyper-V. By default, the components of this service are disabled - we need to start them. To do this you need to go to Control Panel, then go to section Programs – Enable or disable features. In the menu that appears, activate the item Hyper-V and confirm your action with the key OK.

After installation, the computer must be restarted. Now go to the search service Windows and drive it there Hyper-V Manager. It is located in Administration tools. Now let's move on to creating the VM:


Ready. Opening Hyper-V, you will see the VM.


The launch occurs by double clicking on the name of the VM in Hyper-V. In the connection window you need to click on the button Turn on. All you have to do is go through the standard system installation procedure.

Important! It may happen that you have configured and installed everything correctly, but the operating system on the virtual machine does not start. This can be explained by the fact that the technical characteristics are not suitable for reproducing a virtual system. Carefully read the system requirements for installing a particular OS version. For example, you cannot install Windows 10 on a weak PC with a dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM.


Creating a virtual machine on Windows 7

The "seven" has a built-in service for creating VMs, but it allows you to create a virtual machine only for Windows XP. We believe that the lack of choice is bad, so we have made instructions on using third-party software to create a VM. The program is called Virtual Box, and you can also use it to install VMs on Windows 10, 8, and even XP. You need to download Virtual Box from this link.


Install the program according to the standard scheme and run it:
  • In the main menu, click on the button Create.
  • After this, the New VM Creation Wizard will open.
  • We select the type of operating system and its version: if you want to install Windows 8, then select it from the list.
  • In the next window, we set the required amount of RAM for the new OS - for Windows XP, 512 MB is enough, and the tenth version will not work correctly if you do not provide at least 4 GB for it.

Helpful advice! When specifying memory, set it to at least 515 MB and no more than 50% of the total RAM that is in your computer.


We create a new hard drive for the VM by clicking on the appropriate item and move on. We recommend choosing the fixed option so that the hard drive for the VM does not take up all the space from the main Windows. Having set the size of the virtual HDD, you need to specify the path where it will be located.

Now we return to the VM creation menu and press the button Ready. Now we need to configure the virtual machine and install the system itself on it - go to the section Properties. In chapter Display must be enabled 2D accelerator And 3D accelerator.

The next step is to select the media from which the new OS will be installed on the virtual machine:

  • If you want to use the installation image, then go to the section Attributes and click on the folder icon - the media manager will open - you need to add your image here.
  • If the installation will be performed from a DVD or USB drive, you should insert it into the computer and go to the section Attributes. After downloading, the disk or flash drive you need will appear in the list of media.


Now press the button Install and go to the standard operating system installation wizard. We recommend that you study the Virtual Box program to customize the virtual machine completely for yourself.

Helpful advice! To create a Linux VM, it is better to use the Virtual Box program. You can use the standard Windows 10 wizard, but user reviews indicate that Linux will be unstable.

Installing a virtual machine with Windows XP

We have already looked at an example using Virtual Box, now we will study the VMaware Workstation program, with which we will install Windows XP on a virtual machine. You can download the VMaware Workstation application from here.

After downloading, run the installation file and install the program according to the standard procedure. Now go to VMaware Workstation and proceed according to the following scheme:

  1. In the application dialog menu, select the partition to install the VM. In the English version it is called New Virtual Machine.
  2. First of all, the program will ask us to specify a DVD disc, Flash drive or ISO image. For example, we took a regular DVD with XP. Click on the button Further and go to system activation mode - specify the path to the XP activation file.
  3. Now you need to set up a separate hard drive on which files with Windows XP will be located, and software will also be installed there. We indicate the size: usually 40 GB is enough, but for trial use of the VM, 8 GB will be enough for you.
  4. After this, VMaware Workstation will run the check and final configuration. Here we can change the amount of RAM for the WindowsF version, login methods and other parameters. The Russian version is now available on the VMaware Workstation website; we recommend reading the description of each setting in the help. If you skip this section, the program will automatically set the RAM.
  5. Once setup is complete, VMaware Workstation will proceed to install the XP system on the virtual machine.
Once the installation is complete, a separate shortcut will appear to launch Windows XP. We chose VMaware Workstation because this program performs two actions simultaneously: creating a VM and installing Windows XP. Despite its limited functionality, it is the easiest to use, especially for installing this version of the operating system. If you wish, you can use standard services or Virtual Box.

Video installation of VM

The video is about installing Windows XP on a VM and then configuring it. Even a novice user can install a VM using these instructions. The video also explains in detail how to use an already installed XP as a virtual operating system.


Now you have a virtual machine to experiment with. If you have long wanted to use “unwanted” software, then it is best to install it on a VM. It’s easier to use standard services to install a VM, but third-party software gives you more options. It all depends on your requirements - the instructions for Windows 7 are also suitable for other operating systems, and there is also a link to download a convenient program.

The concept of a virtual machine (from the English Virtual Machine) is understood as a software or hardware system that emulates the hardware of a certain platform (guest platform), executing programs for the guest platform using the host platform.

Also, a virtual machine can virtualize a certain platform, creating independent, isolated environments for operating operating systems and programs on it.

To put it simply, a virtual machine provides the opportunity on one real, physical computer to create several virtual computers and install various operating systems, programs, etc. on them.

This technology came to the general public from the world of server infrastructure, where virtual machines are used to create maximum server load and reduce equipment downtime.

Virtual machines are used to solve a range of tasks such as:

    Optimizing the use of server resources.

    Information protection, as well as limiting the capabilities of some programs, the so-called sandbox idea.

    Research into new computer architecture or software.

    Emulation of various computer architectures (for example, to emulate the PlayStation game console from Sony).

    Software testing and debugging.

We bring to your attention a brief overview of the most popular virtualization programs.

Virtual machine for Windows 7: Virtual Box

Virtualization program from Oracle, for operating systems Linux, Mac OS X, MS Windows, etc.

The program is quite popular and below we will consider not everything, but only its key advantages:

Free.

Cross-platform.

Support for 64-bit guests on 32-bit host platforms. To do this, the host platform must support virtualization technology at the processor level.

Supports audio devices and various types of network communication.

The ability to create a chain of backup states that you can return to in case of problems with the guest system.

Russian-language interface.

Important! The program's shortcomings are not significant, but for the sake of objectivity in the assessment, they should also be mentioned - VirtualBox is poorly compatible with Win 95/98 (slow system operation) and Mac OS X (sound problems).

As you can see, the program's shortcomings are not significant and are rather nominal.

Virtual machine for Windows 7: Xen

Virtual machine monitor (hypervisor), developed at the University of Cambridge and distributed under open source (GPL license).

Using paravirtualization technology (PV mode), Xen allows you to achieve very high performance by emulating real hardware platforms.

A feature of the PV mode is that there is no initial moment when the computer boots (imitation of BIOS code, boot loader) and the guest OS kernel starts immediately in the desired mode, like regular programs.

It is worth noting that Xen can be compared to enterprise-grade software due to its rich functionality.

Advantages:

Free.

Cross-platform.

High performance of running virtual machines, which is very close to the performance of real systems.

Ability to migrate running virtual machines between physical hosts.

High degree of support for emulated hardware.

There is perhaps only one drawback of the program - its relative complexity, compared to similar software from other companies.

Virtual machine for Windows 7: Virtual PC

This program was originally developed by Connetix for Mac OS back in 1997. 4 years later, a version for Windows OS was released.

Later, in 2003, the rights to the program were acquired by Microsoft Corporation, and in 2006 the program became free.

Subsequently, Virtual PC was not developed and currently contains the functionality of 2007.

Advantages:

Free.

Simple, user-friendly interface.

Flaws:

The program only works in Windows OS, but is not compatible with Windows 8 and higher.

The program, unlike

The topic of virtualization is very popular. There are discussions on this issue on the Internet, articles are written and books are published. This problem has been included in computer courses at universities, and is increasingly being developed in practical applications. What is a virtual machine (VM), and which virtual machine for Windows 7 is better to prefer than others to solve specific user tasks.

A virtual machine is a program that simulates the behavior of some other machine on that machine and allows one system to run software written for another system. The depth of simulation can be different, so there is a whole classification of virtual machines that takes into account the level of detail of the simulation.

  • The VM can be programmed in such a way that it repeats in detail the behavior of the processor and bus of the emulated system. This is the deepest level of software emulation.
  • You can only emulate the operating system API of the simulated computer.
  • Or you can simply rewrite the entire package of the source software system for the target system. With this approach, the architectural features of the simulated object are not taken into account at all.

Another question that is important in the context of discussing VMs for Windows 7: do we want to run the “seven” on another OS or, conversely, is our task to recreate the operation of another OS on the “seven”? We will consider all these nuances in our short note.

What virtual machines are there?

If you look at Wikipedia, you can find pages there with a fairly detailed explanation of the operating principle of VMs and their programming technologies. These pages are: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulation, https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtualization, https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual machine/. On these same pages you can get a first idea of ​​the diverse applications of such programs in practice. The average home computer user may benefit from such VM qualities that will simplify his daily work or provide a non-standard gaming environment. The educational aspect of VM is also important, as it increases the general cultural level of the computer owner. Here is a list of interesting features:

  • Creating an environment for running retro games and retro programs. Sometimes a comparison of ultra-modern three-dimensional toys and games of the 80s and 90s of the last century allows us to take a fresh look at the results of progress in this direction. Another example: when teaching schoolchildren programming, packages like “LogoMira” and the like are often used. You can do it differently - run the emulator of the Soviet "Agat" and get the same Logo in a simple and controlled environment of an 8-bit household computer.
  • The need to regularly switch from Windows to Linux is not uncommon today. Instead of installing both systems on your PC, you can use virtualization.
  • Try installing a simulator of the first personal machine, the Xerox Alto, on your computer, and your ideas about how far computer interfaces have come will change. Or run the chip-08 simulator.