Currently at home I am running the Windows 7 Beta as my operating system. I wanted to run Windows XP Pro in order to run some legacy stuff I have. I decided to setup a Virtual Machine. Virtual Machine software is special software which Lets you run an operating system within an operating system.
I looked at 2 free products to setup my virtual macine:
1. Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 SP1 – This product installed without any dificulty and was very easy to setup. Installing Windows XP Pro under MS Virtual PC 2007 was effortless and no more difficult then installing Windows XP Pro on a standalone pc.MS Virtual PC 2007 does not support USB devices.
2. VirtualBox – This product was as easy to install and works really well. It has all the support Microsoft Virtal PC 2007 has and more. This product supports USB devices which was really important to me.
In my opinion I would use Virtual Box. It is supported by the open source community and has ungoing development. The big reason I prefer this product is that it supports USB devices. Virtual Box can be downloaded here.
