Appearance new version operating system is stressful for most users. Therefore, one of the main tasks of developers is to make the transition as smooth as possible. This doesn’t always work out, but the creators of Windows 7 turned out to be understanding people, and therefore introduced a virtualization package into the system that was new at that time, allowing you to run XP inside the “seven”.

General information

The virtual machine emulates Hardware, creating an isolated environment inside the system into which you can install any OS. This allows you to solve many problems with software compatibility, and also makes it possible to “try” another system without deleting the current one. You will be able to work with physical drives, install games and programs for Windows XP without giving up the “seven”, save files and perform other tasks. Let's see how to install a virtual machine on Windows 7 to take advantage of all its useful features.

Checking for Virtual PC

If you installed Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise or Professional versions, then you have the Virtual PC function by default. You just need to make sure that the processor supports hardware virtualization. This can be done using the utility from Microsoft Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool.

Download the utility and run it. Depending on the results of the processor test, the following messages may appear on the screen.

Enabling/disabling virtualization is done in BIOS settings, so before installing Virtual PC manually, make sure the option is enabled.

The option may be called Intel_Virtualization Technology, AMD-V, Virtualization Extensions, etc. Find this function in the BIOS and change the value from “Disabled” to “Enabled”. If after this you cannot start the virtual machine, Windows offers to install a special patch. At this stage, it is important to choose the correct system bit size – x32 or x64.

Manual installation

Installing a virtual machine on Windows 7 includes two stages:

1. Installing windows Virtual PC;
2. Installing a Windows XP Mode virtual disk.

First, let's deal with Virtual PC:

Then you can proceed to installing the windows XP Mode virtual disk:

First start

After installing XP Mode, the "seven" must further configure it to create a virtual disk. Therefore, after clicking the “Finish” button, the following window will appear on the screen, in which there will be another license agreement, the terms of which you must accept. Specify the folder where the virtual disk will be located and create the first user. Enable security features of the system you are creating. This is not necessary. Click "Start Installation". The installation process will start; you just have to wait for it to end.

New virtual machine

The system is prepared, the virtual disk is installed. All that remains is to create a new environment and run Windows XP in it.

The newly created sandbox will appear in the XP Mode main window. Right-click on it and select “Open”. Select the “DVD drive” option and specify the path to the physical drive (if you have a disk with the Windows XP distribution) or a pre-downloaded ISO image. The system installation wizard will launch.

All you have to do is install Windows XP in normal mode to start using this system in an isolated environment created using the hardware virtualization function.

After the installation is complete, you can use all the features of the Microsoft OS: install gadgets for Windows XP, install games that do not run on the “seven”, launch outdated programs etc. – to do this, just run XP mode through the emulator.

Alternative virtual machines

In addition to the built-in hardware virtualization function, Windows 7 supports third-party programs that help create an isolated environment and install any operating system into it.

First of all, it is necessary to note such virtualization systems as VMWare Workstation and Oracle VM VirtualBox. Let's look at the example of Virtualbox to see how such programs work.

Oracle VM Virtualbox

Download and install Virtualbox. It is installed in the same way as any other program, so you should not have any problems.

The isolated environment is ready. To start working with it, mark it with the left mouse button and click the “Run” button in the top menu. A new window will appear on the screen, through which you will first install and then interact with Windows 7 or another installed operating system. Specify the path to physical disk or an ISO image with a Windows distribution and click “Continue”. We will not consider the Windows 7 installation process in detail here, since it is no different from a regular installation on a physical HDD. You just need to wait until the system installation is completed.

The virtual machine is launched through the Oracle VM VirtualBox program. You will need to open this utility and select the desired virtual system image from the main menu on the left.

As for other utilities, in VMWare Workstation the process of creating a virtual machine almost completely repeats the procedure described above. In some other programs you may need additional customization, so for beginners they may seem a little difficult.

Conclusion

Creating a virtual machine and installing a system on it is quite simple, but you need to be careful - since April 2014, Windows XP is not supported by Microsoft, therefore, even by emulating the mode of this OS, you make your system vulnerable.

In addition, XP mode is not supported on machines with Windows 8 installed, and there is nothing you can do to fix this. The Virtual PC feature was originally created for a smooth transition between systems, so skipping versions will not work.

But you can try installing a system other than Microsoft windows - for example, Linux. It’s quite difficult to switch to it right away; besides, you have to give up most of your usual habits. Windows programs. In emulation mode, you will gradually get used to the features of interacting with new system and decide whether you need to switch to it completely.

mysettings.ru

Instructions for installing a virtual machine for the Windows 7 operating system

More windows users 7 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. On this moment There are several popular virtualization programs for Windows 7: WMWare, Virtual Box and Virtual PC. In this article we will consider exactly latest program, since she is compared to others virtual machines provides rich virtualization capabilities and is quite easy to configure and operate.

General algorithm of actions

Common mistakes

When installing according to the above algorithm for Virtual PC at step 6, a message about windows error 7 associated with the disabled virtualization feature. To eliminate it, you need to enable system virtualization in the settings panel and make BIOSa settings for some versions of motherboards.

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

windowsTune.ru

Virtual machine for windows 7

A virtual machine is special program capable of acting 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 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 efficient work, say, on windows. This is also necessary for testing various software, safe launching of programs downloaded from suspicious sites that may be particularly infected dangerous viruses. You can also emulate a whole computer network.

Why do you need a virtual machine for 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.

Minimum requirements for installation - Windows 7 OS not lower than “maximum” or “professional”, 1 Ghz processor, 1 GB random access memory, 15 GB of free hard disk space.

You can start this virtual machine in a simple way to everyone who is present official version 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 an 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 Mac systems OS, windows, Solaris, Linux. You can install on it: GNU/Linux, windows, Solaris, BSD.

Advantages: completely free distribution, fairly high performance, small size, the 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 most latest version programs 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 have not followed the wise advice to install with closed programs and are now actively downloading something from file hosting services, you must 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 the most different 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. Virtual car windows 7 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, accordingly, will 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 powerful computer, which has 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 one 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 short description settings by sections:

1) General. Here is the name of the virtual machine, the OS it uses, removable media and 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. Setting up existing virtual hard drives;

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 error was made during the settings, the smart program will immediately report this. And at the bottom of the settings window a warning message “Detected incorrect settings" If you hover your mouse over " Exclamation point", then they will tell you what exactly was done wrong.

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.

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In Windows 7, creating a virtual machine is very simple if you have a detailed guide describing the sequence of steps. Below is step-by-step instruction on how to create and install another version virtual Windows on a Windows 7 computer.

Brief definition of a virtual machine

Specialists from Microsoft, in order to facilitate the process of user adaptation when switching to new modification Windows and to eliminate difficulties with some non-functioning applications in the seventh version of the OS, we have developed a special update “KB958599” for the “Seven” versions of Enterprise Professional and Ultimate and is used to download, for example, Windows XP in the Windows 7 environment.

This package is called “Virtual PC” - a program that emulates PC hardware, which installs a separate environment in Windows 7, in which a different version of the operating system is installed. It should be noted that in addition to the OS from Microsoft, you can install a system from another developer, for example, Linux.

Analysis of the possibility of creating a virtual machine

If your computer is running OS editions: Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate, then automatic update The operating system on the Virtual PC has already been downloaded.

You just need to analyze the possibility of its use. To this end, Microsoft has developed an application called the Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool. You need to install this program from official resource

developer and after opening it will display a message about the possibility of running the virtual machine on specific hardware.

For example, when the alert shown in the figure below is displayed:

In case of a negative answer:

We can conclude that hardware virtualization is not supported and the user will have to make adjustments to the system. You need to enable it in the BIOS.

The function has different names, for example, “Intel_Virtualization Technology”, “Virtualization Extensions” and others.

If “Disabled” is displayed, it means it is turned off and you need to set “Enabled” on the contrary to enable it.

Procedure for manually creating a Virtual PC

To do this, you need to complete two main steps:

1. Install Windows Virtual PC;
2. Install virtual Windows disk XP Mode.

The first stage consists of the following sequential actions:

The second stage consists of the following steps:

How to install a new virtual machine in Windows 7?

The sequence of actions consists of the following steps:

Use of visualization systems from third-party developers

In "Seven" you can use and alternative methods creating virtual machines. For example, VMWare Workstation and Oracle VM VirtualBox.

To create a new virtual machine through “VirtualBox” from Oracle, you must perform the following steps:

The algorithm for working in the VMWare Workstation program is similar to the action scenario described above and is intuitive clear interface.

The release of a new version of the operating system is stressful for most users. Therefore, one of the main tasks of developers is to make the transition as smooth as possible. This doesn’t always work out, but the creators of Windows 7 turned out to be understanding people, and therefore introduced a virtualization package into the system that was new at that time, allowing you to run XP inside the “seven”.

General information

A virtual machine emulates hardware, creating an isolated environment within the system in which any OS can be installed. This allows you to solve many problems with software compatibility, and also makes it possible to “try” another system without deleting the current one. You will be able to work with physical drives, install games and programs for Windows XP without giving up the “seven”, save files and perform other tasks. Let's see how to install a virtual machine on Windows 7 to take advantage of all its useful features.

Checking for Virtual PC

If you installed Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise or Professional versions, then you have the Virtual PC feature by default. You just need to make sure that the processor supports hardware virtualization. This can be done using the utility from Microsoft Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool.

Download the utility and run it. Depending on the results of the processor test, the following messages may appear on the screen.

Enabling/disabling virtualization is done in the BIOS settings, so before installing Virtual PC manually, make sure that the option is activated.

The option may be called Intel_Virtualization Technology, AMD-V, Virtualization Extensions, etc. Find this feature in the BIOS and change the value from “Disabled” to “Enabled”.
If after this you cannot start the virtual machine, Windows offers to install a special patch. At this stage, it is important to choose the correct system bit size – x32 or x64.

Manual installation

Installing a virtual machine on Windows 7 includes two steps:

1. Windows installation Virtual PC;
2. Installing a virtual Windows disk XP Mode.

First, let's deal with Virtual PC:

Then you can proceed to installing the Windows XP Mode virtual disk:

First start

After installing XP Mode, the "seven" must further configure it to create a virtual disk. Therefore, after clicking the “Finish” button, the following window will appear on the screen, in which there will be another license agreement, the terms of which you must accept.
Specify the folder where the virtual disk will be located and create the first user.
Enable security features of the system you are creating. This is not necessary. Click "Start Installation".
The installation process will start; you just have to wait for it to end.

New virtual machine

The system is prepared, the virtual disk is installed. All that remains is to create a new environment and run Windows XP in it.

The newly created sandbox will appear in the XP Mode main window. Right-click on it and select “Open”. Select the “DVD drive” option and specify the path to the physical drive (if you have a disk with the Windows XP distribution) or a pre-downloaded ISO image. The system installation wizard will launch.

All you have to do is install Windows XP as usual to start using this system in an isolated environment created using the hardware virtualization feature.

After the installation is complete, you can use all the features of the Microsoft OS: install gadgets for Windows XP, install games that do not run on the “seven”, run outdated programs, etc. – to do this, just run XP mode through the emulator.

Alternative virtual machines

In addition to the built-in hardware virtualization feature, Windows 7 supports third-party programs that help you create an isolated environment and install any operating system into it.

First of all, it is necessary to note such virtualization systems as VMWare Workstation and Oracle VM VirtualBox. Let's look at the example of Virtualbox to see how such programs work.

Oracle VM Virtualbox

Download and install Virtualbox. It is installed in the same way as any other program, so you should not have any problems.

1. Launch Oracle VM VirtualBox and click Create. The Create Sandboxed Environment Wizard opens.
   
2. Specify the name of the new machine, system type and bitness, and then click Next.
   
3. Set the amount of RAM that will be automatically allocated when the virtual machine starts for its operation.
   
4. Create new hard drive and click Next.
   
5. Specify the disk type. If you don't know which is better, leave the first item on the list checked.
   
6. Select the storage format - it is recommended to select “Dynamic image”.
   
7. Specify the name and volume of the new virtual hard drive, and then complete the wizard by clicking the "Create" button.
   

The isolated environment is ready. To start working with it, mark it with the left mouse button and click the “Run” button in the top menu.
A new window will appear on the screen through which you will first install and then interact with Windows 7 or another installed operating system. Specify the path to the physical disk or ISO image with the Windows distribution and click “Continue.”
We will not consider the Windows 7 installation process in detail here, since it is no different from a regular installation on a physical hard drive. You just need to wait until the system installation is completed.

The virtual machine is launched through the Oracle VM VirtualBox program. You will need to open this utility and select the desired virtual system image from the main menu on the left.

As for other utilities, in VMWare Workstation the process of creating a virtual machine almost completely repeats the procedure described above.
Some other programs may require additional configuration, so for beginners they may seem somewhat complicated.

Conclusion

Creating a virtual machine and installing a system on it is quite simple, but you need to be careful - since April 2014, Windows XP is not supported by Microsoft, therefore, even by emulating the mode of this OS, you make your system vulnerable.

Additionally, XP mode is not supported on machines with installed Windows 8, and there is no way you can fix it. The Virtual PC feature was originally created for a smooth transition between systems, so skipping versions will not work.

But you can try installing a system other than Microsoft Windows– for example, Linux.
It’s quite difficult to switch to it right away; besides, you have to give up most of the Windows programs you’re used to. In emulation mode, you will gradually get used to the peculiarities of interaction with the new system and decide whether you need to completely switch to it.

Description of how to install and run the full version Windows XP from under Windows Vista or Windows 7 using the program Oracle VirtualBox . In this case, Windows XP is installed on a virtual machine and launched as separate application in Windows Vista, Windows 7 or any other operating system, including various Linux distributions. In this way, you can solve problems with the compatibility of various programs and drivers with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or another operating system.

A short introduction

Probably, many of you, my dear readers, have already installed and tried Windows Vista and Windows 7. Everyone seems to have a good system, but some programs and old games do not run on the new operating system, and the drivers for some devices do not work. What to do in this case? Give up the delights of the new version of Windows?

There are actually several ways to solve this problem. The most obvious is to install Windows XP as a second system with the ability to choose which one to include at boot. This method is described in this article: . But this is where inconvenience arises. For the sake of some program, you need to restart the laptop, turn on Windows XP, work with the program, restart the laptop and turn on Windows 7, For example. It's inconvenient, isn't it? What should you do if your favorite USB modem only works fine in Windows XP? Reboot the system and turn on Windows XP in order to surf the Internet?

Fortunately, there is a solution. Windows XP can be installed on a virtual machine and run from any operating system as a separate program. It works on this principle Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode. Good technology, but for it to work, the laptop needs to support virtualization, and it only works in Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise. What to do if Windows laptop Is Vista worth it?

And here it comes to the rescue great program VirtualBox from Sun. It is completely free, allows you to create virtual machines on a laptop, on which you can install many operating systems. The advantage of this utility compared to Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode is support for 3D graphics for virtual machines, it is not required for its operation hardware virtualization, and also the fact that it can be run on any Windows versions, Linux, etc.. The downside is that formally you need licensed Windows XP, although taking into account our realities... :)

This article will discuss the process of installing Windows XP on a virtual machine. The whole process can be divided into the following stages:

If you have any problems or questions about working with the Virtual Box virtual machine, then you should contact this topic forum: .

1. Create a virtual machine

First of all, you need to install the utility VirtualBox( / ). During installation, it is important to note the following options:

Will also be installed system devices. Appropriate installation requests must be allowed.

When the installation is complete, launch the utility and click on the button Create:

Should start:

Let's move on to the next window. Since we don’t have a virtual hard disk, we need to create a new one:

Select the type of virtual hard disk. I recommend :

That's all. The virtual machine has been created. Now you can proceed to setting it up.

2. Setting up a virtual machine

Before setting up, prepare a disk with Windows XP or iso image with it, and then select the created virtual machine in the VirtualBox window and click on the button Properties:

Let's start with the tab Basic. If desired, you can place the virtual machine menu at the top. This is more convenient:

Go to the tab System:

Here you can change the amount of RAM that is allocated to the virtual machine, change the boot order of virtual devices, enable or disable the IO-APIC option (needed if you plan to use several processor cores for the virtual machine), and also enable or disable EFI (needed for some OSes, for example MacOS). Go to the tab CPU:

Here you can specify how many processor cores the virtual machine can use, and also enable or disable PAE/NX (some operating systems support PAE. This mode allows a 32-bit virtual system to use up to 64 GB of RAM). Go to the tab Acceleration:

On this tab you can enable or disable hardware virtualization. If you are going to install a 64-bit operating system, you need to enable it, and you also need support for virtualization on the laptop. If your laptop does not support this function, then it does not matter. To run 32-bit operating systems on a virtual machine hardware virtualization is not needed.

VirtualBox supports 2D and 3D acceleration (OpenGL / DirectX8 / DirectX9). It's worth turning it on. Go to the tab Net:

At installing VirtualBox Another network card has appeared in the system, which is virtually connected to network card our virtual machine. Setting up a virtual network adapter as shown in the picture above and go to the tab USB:

At the beginning of the article it was said that using virtualization you can get around the problem of incompatibility of drivers for USB devices with new operating systems. So here it is VirtualBox allows redirection to make any USB device that connects to your computer or laptop connect not to the main operating system, but to the system that runs in the virtual machine. Then on Windows XP the drivers for the new one are installed on the virtual machine USB device and it works fully under Windows control XP. The main system is the device will not be seen. Since there are many USB devices in the system, so that when the virtual machine is turned on, they do not all disconnect from the main one and do not connect to the virtual one, a filter system was invented. Filters indicate which USB devices should be disconnected from the main operating system and connected to Windows XP on the virtual one when it is turned on.

To add a new filter, click on the plus sign icon and select the desired USB device from the list. After that it appears in the list. Let's go to the tab:

Since there is no point in using Windows XP on a virtual machine without the ability to work with files on the main one, you need to organize shared access to certain folders on the hard drive. To do this, click on the plus sign and select the folder on the hard drive of your computer or laptop with which Windows XP will work in a virtual machine:

Enter its name and click OK. Here she is on the list:

Now there is still one last very small touch left. We need to somehow install Windows XP :) Go to the tab Carriers:

We have two options: install Windows XP from an .iso image or from a regular disk. In the first case, click on the arrow icon and click on the button Add:

We indicate where the Windows XP image is located and add it to the list:

Click on the image with Windows XP and press the button Choose.

If you just have a disk with Windows XP, then put it in the drive and select your drive from the list:

Click OK. Now you can proceed to installation Windows XP.

3. Installing and configuring Windows

A normal Windows XP installation should start:

I won’t describe it in detail. The installation is described in detail in this material: . In this case, drivers are not needed. Everything you need is already contained in part of Windows XP.

After installation, we will get a working Windows XP in a virtual machine. Now you need to install Guest OS Additions. To do this, select the appropriate menu item Devices:

Important Note: Since there is often only one keyboard and mouse in a laptop or computer, the main operating system and the operating system running in the virtual machine are forced to share it somehow. A gripping mechanism is used for this. In other words, if there is a virtual machine in the foreground, then everything entered from the keyboard will be addressed to it. You can also switch manually. For this purpose, by default it is used right Ctrl. When the virtual machine works with the keyboard and mouse, the green arrow in the lower right corner of the window with the virtual machine lights up.

The installation of additions for the guest OS should begin:

Possible questions: if the installation has not started for you, then manually add the image VBoxGuestAdditions.iso in the folder with VirtualBox in virtual drive as was done when installing Windows XP, and then run the disk in a virtual machine.

Put a tick next to Direct3D Support:

During installation, the following warnings will appear several times:

Click Continue anyway. After installation, it is advisable to reboot the virtual machine:

To maximize the virtual machine window, in the menu Car select the item:

Now the frame has been removed and it has become much more convenient to work:

Now all that remains is to deal with shared folders. IN Windows XP launch Command line:

Connect the previously created shared folder as network drive. To do this, enter the command net use x:\\vboxsvr\Documents(Documents name here shared folder):

IN My computer disk appeared x:\, which we just connected:

The contents of this disk correspond to the contents of the shared folder that we created earlier.

That's all.

If you have any questions about working with the VirtualBox utility, we present them in this forum topic: . Please post all questions related to installing Windows XP in this forum thread:

Detailed Guide on installation Windows XP from a flash drive or memory card to any laptop, netbook or computer.

Network and server administrators are often faced with the need to test hardware, software, and certain parameters and settings on real servers. But testing anything on a running server is extremely dangerous, as it can lead to data loss and operational failures.

Specialized software comes to the rescue in this situation. Capable of emulating a real computer and performing all the necessary actions with it. The most popular program in this case, VirtualBox from Oracle.

How to use virtualbox?

When installing an operating system on a virtual machine, you should pay attention to the fact that it must be configured properly and comply with minimum requirements. In this case, the operating system installed on the virtual computer is called a guest operating system.

Thanks to the use of virtual machines, testing of hardware, software and necessary settings. With all this, the virtual and physical machines communicate with each other via network connection. In addition, a virtual machine can seize control of any equipment installed on a physical computer.

The program is also available for operating systems such as MacOS and Linux (popular for Ubuntu and Mint).