I'd like to know more about Virtual PC...

L

Lord Maelstrom

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I'd like to learn more about Virtual PC.
I'd like to install it but I don't know much about it. I know that it allows me to do some PC operations, but besides that, I don't know much about it.

In order to run it, what do I need?
Exactly, how does it work?

Those are the only questions off the top of my head, so if you have any information that I'd need to know, please tell me. I'd like to know as much as I can.

Thanks a bunch.
 
Virtual PC emulates Intel/AMD instructions to allow you to run Windows on your Mac. It actually allows you to do almost anything you can do on a Wintel box. All you need to run it is VPC and a copy of Windows.
 
Windows 2000 and Windows XP Pro running on Virtual PC is slow on my machine, other than that it is a decent PC emulation software.
 
I've VPC6 running Win98 and an old page layout application similar to Pagemaker on a G4 933 Mhz Powermac. It's useful enough for us to open up files and convert them to PDF using Distiller or Illustrator format. It is slow but not unworkable for that kind of use.

On the other hand, if you try to do Windows based CAD applications or other graphic intensive things, you should save your efforts by just using a PC for those things.

(btw, I just bought a Powerbook G4 1.25 Ghz, wohoo!! sorry ...)
 
You need the Virtual PC software and a copy of Windows on CD to install.

I'm runnng VPC 6 and WinXP Home on a 500MHz iMac with 320MB RAM. It's SLOW.

But, if you just need it for little things, it's nice to have.
 
Yes, you need a copy of Windows, but you order different versions of VPC depending on which version it comes bundled with.
 
Remember the little problem with WinXP (home or professional). If you have it installed on one of your other machines (pc maybe), you won't be able to get a register-key again without paying for another one.
 
I borrowed my parents copy of WinXP that installed on their PC. I was able to install it on my Mac no problem. I just needed a number printed on the side of the PC.
 
I use VirtualPC all the time when i develop for embedded systems where the tools and compilers only exists for WinTel.

I edit the code on the Mac-side with BBEdit, the files resides on a "shared" folder with VirtualPC so I just go over to the "PC" and compile. Works great.
 
I'm using VirtualPC for Java development with JBuilder 9 running under Windows XP Corporate Ed., so no tech calls are needed! Hehe... costs a little more at the outset, but the time it saves not having to phone Microsoft each time I want to reinstall or activate is a lifesaver.

Windows XP under VirtualPC on my machine (500MHz G4) is, to say, a little slow... however, once Windows XP is booted up and running, it's not so bad. Launching programs takes a minute or two, but once they're running, it's decent -- comparable to a 400MHz PC or so.

Hint: turn off all the eye-candy that XP has to offer. Get rid of the fading menus and solid-window dragging and such, and the UI won't be so sluggish. Give your PC in VirtualPC some RAM if you can -- I've got mine sitting at 384 and it runs ok. Keep your Windows installation as bare-bones as possible to eliminate needless startup items. Sure, i could load Office XP on there, but why when I've got Office X? So far, my installation consists of a vanilla XP installation, all the required updates, and JBuilder 9. Works just fine.
 
And it bears mentioning: current versions of VPC cannot be run on a G5.

The G3 and G4 processors (and PPC predecessors) allowed 'little endian' memory access, the addressing form used by Intel processors.

The G5 does not.
 
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