Benefits of a virtual machine
You need to download Virtual PC for Windows 10 if you want to deploy a virtual machine on your computer. Virtual PC is one of the utilities that will allow you to create a virtual machine on a computer running Windows 10. On the virtual machine, you can run another OS other than Windows 10, or open a suspicious program. Many users install Virtual PC to run old OS and old applications. The latest version of the virtual machine will allow you to work with absolutely any OS that is supported by your hardware. And keep an eye on the OS bit level, on this page you can download Virtual PS for Windows 10 x64.
Virtual PC – a tool for creating a virtual machine
Virtual machines on Windows 10 are created only using additional software, such as, for example, Virtual PC. There is no functionality built into the OS for creating virtual PCs. Therefore, if you need a virtual machine, then you need to download Virtual PC and there is no other option. The maximum that you can change is to choose not Virtual PS, but a similar service from another developer, since there are many analogues. Although you are unlikely to want to change Virtual PC to another solution if you work with this utility at least once. It is far superior to its analogues for a number of reasons:- Even a beginner can deploy a virtual machine using Virtual PC;
- Large selection of available operating systems;
- You can download Virtual PC for free and in Russian;
The list of operating systems that Virtual PC allows you to deploy is so large that it covers 100% of all popular operating systems. You will be able to deploy all modern and all legacy versions of Windows, various variations of Linux and other operating systems. Even a beginner can cope with this task, since the developers of Virtual PC for Windows 10 have simplified management to the maximum. This allows you to deploy a virtual machine in 5-10 minutes, the main thing is that you have the distribution kit of the OS you need ready. Virtual PC does not include operating systems. You can also deploy a copy of Windows 10 on a virtual machine; to do this, use a clean ISO image, which can be
To have several operating systems with separate workspace and applications at hand, you don’t need to buy a second (third, fourth, etc.) computer. Because it all fits into your single PC. How? Thanks to virtual machines (VMs) - special programs that create (emulate) imaginary (virtual) computers inside the main operating system.
A virtual PC is almost like a real one. It has its own processor, memory, hard drive, network adapter and everything else. Of course, these are not physical devices, but they are made in such a way that operating systems consider them to be exactly that - real.
Several virtual computers can work simultaneously on one physical computer. Exactly how much depends on the hardware resources: the faster the processor, the larger the RAM, the more spacious the storage, the more. A typical average-performance home PC running Windows 10 can handle three to five lightweight operating systems simultaneously (for example, Windows XP, Android and Lubuntu + the main system). Or two or three relatively heavy ones (for example, the main Windows 10 + virtual Windows 7 and Mac OS X). As you already understand, virtual computer emulator applications allow you to install and run a variety of operating systems on them.
General purpose virtual machines (as opposed to specialized ones, such as the Java VM) use:
- To run applications that the main system does not support.
- To protect the system from potential harm from untested programs.
- As an additional barrier against viruses when visiting dubious web resources.
- To create an isolated environment for studying the activities of malware.
- As a testing ground for debugging your own developments.
- To master network construction technologies.
- For double authorization on some gaming portals and much more.
And of course, virtual machines are widely used to distribute server work resources.
Today we will not touch on the industrial use of VMs, but will only consider what can be useful to home users of Windows OS.
Oracle Virtualbox
Let's look at the process of creating a new virtual machine and starting to install Windows 10 on it.
- Click the “Create” button in the top panel.
- In the first window of the VM creation wizard, we will indicate the name of the OS (it will be displayed in the list of guest systems), its type (Windows, Linux, etc.) and version. In our example, this is Windows 10 32 bit (you can install 64 bit, but it will require more resources). To move to the next step, click Next.
- Next, we will indicate the size of the VM RAM. By default, Windows 10 x86 is allocated 1 GB, but you can increase this amount by moving the slider to the right. If your PC does not have a lot of RAM, do not give the VM more than 2-3 GB, otherwise the main system will slow down due to lack of memory.
- Next we create a virtual hard disk. If you are installing the system for the first time, select the “Create new” option.
- Leave the virtual disk type as default.
- A storage format is an area on your computer's physical drive that is allocated to a VM. It can have a constant or dynamically expanding volume within the limits that you define further. To save space, we will choose a dynamic format.
- Next we indicate the name of the volume (virtual disk C) and its size. The default is 32 GB.
- After clicking the “Create” button in the last window, a new virtual machine will appear in the list. Its parameters are shown in the frame on the right.
- To proceed to installing Windows, click the “Run” button in the top panel.
- In the window that opens after this, the “Select boot disk” window will appear. Click on the folder icon and specify the path to the system distribution. This can be an image in .iso format or physical media (DVD, flash drive). After selecting your distribution, click Continue.
- The further course of installing the OS into a virtual machine is no different from installing it on a physical computer.
Some VM and guest system settings
Clicking on the virtual machine window will capture the mouse cursor (i.e. it will only move within the virtual screen). To return the cursor to the main OS, press the Ctrl+Alt combination.
To access the full range of features of the guest OS, you need to install special add-ons. Go to the "Devices" menu, click "Mount Guest Additions Disk Image" and follow the further instructions.
To connect a folder to the guest system for exchanging files with the main one, click the “Shared Folders” item in the “Devices” menu. Click on the “folder+” icon in the window that opens and use the “path to folder” field to specify it in Explorer (it shows the directories of the main system).
If you want the setting to work permanently, check “Auto-connect” and “Create permanent folder”. The shared folder will be accessible from the virtual machine explorer as a network folder.
To change the order in which boot devices are polled (for example, to boot a virtual machine from a DVD), shut down the guest OS, open its settings (in the main Virtualbox window) and go to the first tab of the “System” section. In the "Load Order" list, select the desired media and press the arrow buttons to move it to the top.
VMware Workstation Pro
Some Hyper-V virtual machine options
To take a snapshot of a running guest OS, open the top menu of its Action window and click Checkpoint. Or press the combination Ctrl+N.
Access to the settings of an individual virtual machine is opened from its context menu in the list of the main manager window and hidden behind the “Settings” button.
Other features of the program are also very simple and can be mastered without much difficulty.
Virtual machines allow users to run different versions of operating systems. This is useful if you need to test applications that are in development and don't want to install a separate system for each platform you want to test. For those who prefer extra security, a virtual machine is often cited as a good way to maintain your online anonymity if a VPN isn't suitable for your needs.
Working with a virtual machine is simple. Free applications such as Oracle's VirtualBox and commercial applications such as VMware make it fairly easy to run a virtual machine. The only hard part is getting the virtual machine image. If you need to image a Windows 10 virtual machine, you always have one of two options.
Windows 10 VM image from Microsoft.
Getting an image of a Windows 10 virtual machine is actually not that difficult. Microsoft has VM images available for developers who want to test applications or extensions in Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge.
You can download virtual machine images. VM images are available for Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10. You cannot choose whether you want to get a virtual machine image for Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro. Instead, you must choose which version of Microsoft Edge you want to test and download the virtual machine image accordingly.
Next, you need to select the VM platform you are going to use. Microsoft supports VirtualBox, Vagrant, VMware and Parallels.
The VM image is downloaded as a password-protected zip file. The password is provided on the download page. The VM will be valid for 90 days as it is intended for testing purposes and not for long term use.
If the above option doesn't work for you and you want a virtual machine image running Windows 10 for long-term use, you'll need access to the Windows 10 computer you want to create the VM image for. After this, use the product Disk2vhd from Microsoft to create an image of a Windows 10 virtual machine.
Launch the tool, select the drive where Windows 10 is installed (usually drive C), and choose where you want to save it. If you are creating a Windows 10 virtual machine image from the system you are using, you will need more space to create the virtual machine image.
The file created by Disk2vhd has the file extension VHD and can be loaded directly into VirtualBox and VMware.
14996Using virtualization systems is a great way to test a new operating system build, program, or setting with questionable results. Most users download ISO
- a system image from an official or unofficial resource, and then install Windows on a virtual machine created in the appropriate program. The procedure takes some time, but for those who always lack it, we can recommend a slightly faster method.
On the official Microsoft website you can download a ready-made virtual machine image, so all you have to do is connect it to your virtualization system. Currently available for download Windows 7 32 -bit with IE 8-11 , Windows 8.1 32 -bit with IE 11 And Windows 10 64 -bit with the current version MS Edge, stable and insider build for a wide range of people.
Select OS version from the menu "Virtual machine", V.M.-platform - in the menu "Select platform" and get a download link in the archive ZIP. Available from virtual machines , Vagrant, VMware And Parallels. Archives can be password protected "Passw0rd!", it is listed right there on the download page. On Macs, to unpack the archive, use utilities that support ZIP64, For example, The Unarchiver.
Here is an example of connecting a virtual OS to , because everything is not so usual here. After unpacking the archive you will receive an image file OVA. It cannot be connected directly to VirtualBox; it must be exported. Select from menu "Import configurations".
And specify the path to the unpacked file OVA .
The virtual machine file will be unpacked into the default storage in a compatible format VMDK .
After which the virtual Windows, ready to launch, will appear in the main program window.
Unfortunately, for some reason the developers excluded from the list 32 -bit Windows 10, you won’t find the latest insider builds for a narrow circle in it either.
Please also note that the operating life of such virtual machines is 90 days, as they are provided exclusively for testing.
Alternative- Either become a member of the Windows Insider Program or look for images on third-party resources. It would also be nice if Microsoft added speed; for example, we have an archive with an image 4.2 GB it took almost 40 minutes to download, whereas it took almost 40 minutes to download the same image from torrent it took half as much time.
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A program for creating a virtual machine on a PC is software that allows you to emulate the interface of a particular operating system. Ideal for testing any software, or running applications that function only on certain operating systems. The article will talk about the three best programs for simulating a VM on a PC, the nuances of installing such applications, and brief instructions for setting up the software the first time you launch it.
Top 3 virtual machines for Windows 10
The three most popular programs for creating a virtual machine on Windows 10 are as follows:
- VirtualBox
- HYPER-V
Each of these programs has its own characteristics and advantages.
So VirtualBox can boast that it is distributed completely free of charge.
- The software is open source, which makes it possible to create and run virtual machines with special properties and functionality.
- Also the most important quality of the application is its support for many operating systems. So, thanks to this virtual machine, you can run Windows, Linux and MacOS.
Key features of the program are: - Snapshots are an analogue of recovery points on the main OS. Allows you to roll back changes to the user-saved state. This option is useful when testing various settings and applications.
- Supports full screen mode.
- The ability to “drag” objects from window to window (Drap and Drop).
- You can make several clones of virtual machines, and each copy can be used for different purposes.
- An intuitive interface allows even a user who has never encountered virtual machines to understand the basic functions.
The software product interface looks like this:
Concerning Hyper-V, then the program was originally created as a server tool designed to create a virtual Windows Server 2008.
Later, the software was added to Windows 8 and 10. It is noteworthy that when loading the OS, it is not activated; it must be enabled using the admin panel. Compared with VirtualBox, has much greater functionality. Can be used on local servers.
The advantages include
- intuitive interface
- no need to download and install
- snapshots
- the ability to clone running virtual machines.
The disadvantages include the fact that when working with the program, the user must have certain skills, and the software is available in the Pro business package for Windows 8 and 10. In the “home” version of these OSes, the presence of the utility is not provided.
- is a free simplified version of the program VMware Workstation.
Compared to VirtualBox, The software is “deprived” of a number of options and functions. For example, here you cannot use snapshots, make clones, or create remote connections.
However, being free and having basic options allows the user to run various applications.
If you need to test various resource-intensive software, or use “stripped-down” options, you can purchase a paid version of the program.
By the way, it is much more functional than the freely distributed VirtualBox machine.
How to install oracle vm virtualbox
Attention! The installation process of the program in all other cases, except Hyper-V, is carried out in a similar way.
Download VirtualBox from the official website
During installation, you need to click on the NEXT button, and to install a full-featured version of the software, you need to select all the components offered in the list.
Pressing a button Browse, makes it possible to select the folder where the software product will be installed. Next, a window will appear in which you can create shortcuts.
Then the warning “Warning Network Interface” will appear. It means establishing new network connections for the program. This action must be confirmed.
The final step will be to confirm the installation of the application.
After installation is complete, you can proceed directly to installing the virtual machine on Windows 10.
First launch of virtualbox
First of all, you need to download the operating system image. For example, let's choose Ubuntu 32-bit version.
Next, in the running program, to create a virtual machine, you need to click on the “create” button. In the window that opens, indicate the name of the VM; in the system type section, select Linux, Ubuntu version.
Next, you need to select “create a new virtual disk” and confirm the action.
Disk type - "VDI".
A dynamic disk fills up as data is written to it.
Next, select the disk size
That's it, the creation of the VM can be considered complete. Now all that remains is to install the previously downloaded operating system on it.
To begin, you need to click on the green “run” button, then select the downloaded image, and click “continue”. After which the normal installation of the operating system on the VM will begin.
Installing a virtual machine on Windows 10. Detailed video instructions
