How to Install Windows 7 on Virtual PC

Windows 7, so named because it is the seventh operating system in the Microsoft Windows product line, offers a number of features to make the OS easy to use. These features are are designed to improve the overall customer experience. However, some users may not be ready to commit themselves to abandoning their current operating system in favor of Windows 7. Instead, they may wish to install a virtualized version of Windows 7 using Microsoft's Virtual PC software. Fortunately, the process of installing Windows 7 on Microsoft Virtual PC is fairly straightforward and takes about the same amount of time as a standard operating system installation.


Instructions

Things You'll Need
Windows 7 installation DVD (or beta version .iso file)
Valid Windows 7 product key
Creating the Virtual Machine to Run Windows 7

1 Install and fully update Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 if you have not already done so. Once the software has been installed, launch Virtual PC and click the "New..." button. This will allow you to create a new virtual machine on which you can install Windows 7.

2 Click the "Next" button when the New Virtual Machine Wizard opens in order to reach the "Options" page. Select the first option, "Create a New Virtual Machine," and press the "Next" button again.

3 Name your new virtual machine. You can also change the location where the virtual machine's files will be saved by hitting the "Browse..." button; if you wish to install the Windows 7 virtual machine at the default location, simply name it and hit the "Next" button.

4 Choose your operating system from the drop-down menu on the "Operating System" page. If "Windows 7" is not an option, choose "Other" at the bottom of the menu. Press "Next" once you've made your selection.

5 Select the "Adjusting the RAM" option on the wizard's "Memory" page. Move the slider until you have at least 1 gigabyte of RAM (1024 MB or higher) in order to allow that much memory to be used by your virtual Windows 7 installation. Should the recommended RAM be 1024 MB or larger, you can choose to use the recommended RAM if you wish. Click "Next."

6 Pick the "A New Virtual Hard Disk" option on the "Virtual Hard Disk" page. Click "Next", then specify a location for the virtual hard disk file using the "Browse..." button (unless you wish to use the default location.) You will also need to specify a size for the hard disk; Windows 7 requires at least 16 GB of space for installation (16384 MB), though allowing more space will give the virtual operating system more disk space to work with. It is recommended that you allow at least 20 to 40 GB for the virtual hard disk (20480 to 40960 MB). Click "Next" once you've set the virtual hard disk settings.

7 Click "Finish" to finalize your Windows 7 virtual machine. The virtual machine will be added to the Virtual PC list of available virtual machines, and is now ready for you to install Windows 7 on it.

Installing Windows 7 on Your Virtual Machine

1 Select the virtual machine that you created for Windows 7 from the list of available machines. Click the "Start" button; this will cause a new window to launch, though no virtualized operating system will start because it hasn't been installed yet.

2 Insert your Windows 7 installation DVD into your DVD drive, then open the "CD" menu on the virtual machine. Choose the "Use Physical Drive" option that corresponds to the drive in which your installation DVD has been placed. If you are using an .iso file instead, choose "Capture ISO Image..." and select the appropriate file from the file selection window that opens.

3 Reboot the virtual machine by choosing the "Reset" option from the "Action" menu if it does not automatically load the installation files from your DVD or .iso file. The virtual machine will load the disc or file, and will begin the installation process.

4 Follow the onscreen prompts to install Windows 7. You will be asked to provide basic information such as your language preference, user name that you wish to use, time zone and network type. You will also have to agree to the Microsoft Windows 7 user agreement, and will need to enter your product key when prompted.

5 Wait for Windows 7 installation to complete. Once the operating system has been installed, you can launch it from Virtual PC by selecting the virtual machine that you created for it. It will only make use of the RAM and hard disk space that you allocated for it when creating the virtual machine, leaving the rest of your RAM and drive space available for the operating system that you have running in the background.