Install Microsoft Virtual PC on Windows 8 / / 10 -
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Virtual pc for windows 8 free. To enable Windows Hyper-V |
Virtual pc for windows 8 free
To start, click on the giant New button in the upper-left corner of the app. Give your virtual machine a clever name and select Windows 7 as the operating system. Make sure that your choice of OS bit or bit matches whichever version of Windows 8 you downloaded. The bit version of Windows 8 requires 1 gigabyte at minimum, and the bit version requires 2GB, but the more RAM you can give the virtual OS, the better it will run. Richard Devine. More about software apps. Windows Central Newsletter.
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Poll: Are you interested in Xbox Game Pass for families? Click Next and then Finish. Click the option to Edit virtual machine settings. Click OK. Then select the option to Play virtual machine. The Windows 8 installation will begin, and you can set it up as you normally would.
After the OS is installed, select the option at the bottom to Install Tools. This will install the free VMWare Tools software, which can boost the performance of your virtual machine's guest. Windows 8 should run smoothly in a virtual machine as long as you devote enough disk space and memory to it.
You may need to tweak some of the settings to coax the best performance. Another alternative is to install Windows 8 in a dual-boot scenario where the new OS and your existing version of Windows each reside in a separate bootable partition.
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Oracle VM VirtualBox
Give your virtual machine a clever name and select Windows 7 as the operating system. Make sure that your choice of OS bit or bit matches whichever version of Windows 8 you downloaded. The bit version of Windows 8 requires 1 gigabyte at minimum, and the bit version requires 2GB, but the more RAM you can give the virtual OS, the better it will run.
On the next screen, make sure that your virtual disk has at least 16GB allocated to it for the bit version of Windows 8. The bit version needs a minimum of 20GB.
Highlight it and click the big Settings button. If your system supports hardware virtualization, you can give your virtual machine access to additional CPU cores via the System submenu. Scroll for the Windows 8. You may run into some compatibility issues on some hardware if you're trying to virtualize Windows nested virtualization , but it's still absolutely possible, alongside any Linux distribution you can think of.
At its heart, VMware Workstation Player is really easy to use, with some more advanced features if you want to dive a bit deeper.
Performance is also really good, though one of the limitations of the free version is that you can only have one VM running at a time. Oracle's VirtualBox is open-source and it works on even old versions of Windows should you be clinging to some ancient hardware.
Performance-wise in our use, it's not quite on par with VMware, which is why it takes a runner-up spot, but for many, it will definitely be a better choice. Nothing is hidden behind a paywall and Oracle still supports VirtualBox even to this day. Oracle also supplies a range of pre-built virtual machines targeted at developers and there's an official plugin pack that adds some useful extras like USB pass-through, RDP, and disk encryption.
It's a shame it looks a little dated, and sometimes it feels like setting up a VM takes a few steps too many. But you can't argue with the quality, especially when it will always be completely free. If you're in need of a simple solution and you'd rather not tinker with additional software, there is of course Hyper-V, which is built into Windows 10 and Windows Or it is if you're using the Pro version or Windows Server.
That's probably the biggest negative, in that it's hidden sort of behind a paywall. But while Hyper-V is fairly basic, it's user-friendly, and assuming you're not looking for advanced features like GPU acceleration, it's a perfectly good tool to use. Guest OS support extends to Windows, Windows Server, and Linux, and while you might run into some compatibility issues with some Linux distros, on the whole you can expect to have a good experience.
Even though there are some limitations in the free version, none of the core functionality is hidden behind a paywall, and ultimately, if you end up needing more you have the upgrade option available.
VirtualBox isn't quite as good on the whole, but for most people will be just right, and Oracle's continued support, as well as the open-source nature of the product, is admirable. It could certainly use a lick of paint, though. Hyper-V is arguably the weakest of the bunch, but it's integrated in some versions of Windows and for quick, basic VM use, it's perfectly fine. Whichever you go with, you can run alternative operating systems with ease, and without cost.
Richard Devine is an Editor at Windows Central. Currently you'll find him covering all manner of PC hardware and gaming, and you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Windows Central Windows Central. VMware Workstation Player. Reasons to avoid - Cannot run multiple VMs in the free version.
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