VIRTUAL PC FOR MAC 6.1 CD W/ WIN XP HOME
1 Why did I even give this 1 star????
The only thing I can say with regards of virtual pc is that the feeling of using it is no different than having $1,000,000.00 the other side of a window and not being able to open the window to get to it! Yes, it's that frustrating!
2 Putting the Microsoft Wizard to Work with Virtual PC 6.1
Strength of Virtual PC
The biggest strength of Virtual PC 6.1 is that it works well. Within minutes of running the installer you can be using Windows XP on your Mac. A setup assistant guides you through adjusting the application's RAM, VRAM, and other basic settings.
Windows XP can run in full screen mode or in a small window mode. Using the Command (Apple) and 'M' keys, toggles you back and forth from full screen mode to small screen mode on your Macintosh.
Virtual PC Toolbar
Virtual PC 6 has a toolbar in the lower left-hand corner. All the Toolbar icons use contextual menus (Control-Click-hold). All the icons let you pop up the Virtual PC 6 Settings window.
Using the hard drive icon, I can launch the Disk Assistant application. The Virtual PC 6 CD icon can unmount or eject a CD. The floppy icon lets you unmount or ejects a floppy. You also can mount a floppy disk image by dragging it to the icon. The Shared Folder icon lets you navigate to a Macintosh folder for sharing on both Mac and Windows platforms.
Working with Virtual PC 6.1
I needed FileMaker Pro program running on my Mac computer. I received additional consulting work from a jewelry company that wanted me to set up a database with graphics of their jewelry products. They had several PCs running Windows XP linked to various servers.
Instead of purchasing a Windows computer, I used Virtual PC to get the job done. I transferred information from and to their Windows XP computers and my Mac G4 by using my Mac's Zip drive.
Next, I made sure that I had PC zip cartridges for backup to get the job done. Virtual PCæ 6.1 worked well for my evening work setting up and editing the FileMaker Pro database.
Solving Connection Problems
I had trouble connecting to America Online with Virtual PC. The problem was having the right ISP (Internet Service Provider) serial setup number.
The sweetest sound. The answer was using Network Setup Wizard. I had to use my America Online Windows' CD to setup the proper network connection.
In additon, I find that I can connect to the Internet using my Mac AOL OS X and Mac Internet Explorer connection. Now, I use Internet Explorer for Windows to connect to web for special Windows projects.
Pro Reaction
Most of the Window programs Mac users run on their PCs can run on Mac computers using Virtual PC. Virtual PC is an inexpensive way to use Windows programs. You can take over your virtual PC environment. You can even cut and paste between Mac and PC desktops. Virtual PC takes advantage of my dual processor Macs.
I could connect Virtual PC to my printer. I can do this by using my shared USB HP printer which connects well in Virtual PC. My additional external drives, Lacie and Acomdata drives are shared in Virtual PC.
Con Reaction
I had difficulty with my internet account. My computer problem was having the right America Online ISP (Internet Service Provider) serial number.
This should be mentioned in the help menu for America Online users. I found using the Network Setup Wizard connection with AOL CD the answer to the America Online connection problem.
Final Remarks
The major reason that I have to get online is to register my Windows software and receive authorization pass codes to continue to use the software. In addition, I can upload my graphics to my web sites on register.com that normally do not take graphics from a Mac computer.
You can register by telephone by calling Microsoft's toll-free number if you do not have an internet connection. You need to have your Virtual PC registration pass code when calling Microsoft.
3 Multiple lock-ups and fatal errors
I'm running a Mac powerbook G4 with 1 gig of ram. At work, I'm on a PC network where we only use two programs--outlook for messaging, and ACT where we keep our database. Everyday I would experience fatal errors and lockups in addition to it just being slow. Mistakenly, I assumed that if I brought the ram up to 2 gigs, i could allocate 1 gig to virtual pc. WRONG! Microsoft says Virtual PC doesn't allow you to allocate any more than 512K. What a piece of S.
4 Might as well... and I did
I considered buying Virtual PC, but after careful consideration I went for the other option: A real PC, utilizing Windows XP Professional and the Windows Remote Desktop client for Mac (free from the Microsoft website).
While this solution is more definitely more costly, it depends really dependes what your needs are. As I needed the PC to review PC software, I could not risk blaming the software for errors (or lack of performance) that might have been Virtual PCs fault. Yet, with Windows RDC I can copy and paste from and to my Mac, and have the PC handy in a little window at all times. The display does not refresh as quick as when not operated remotely, but on a 100MBit Ethernet-Connection, I can even listen to iTunes for Windows, and at least see movies at a reduced framerate.
And if that is not fast enough, I still have the option of connecting a monitor to the PC, and see it run a full throttle. The Mac client uses very little performance on the Mac, which is nice.
Yet, a word of caution: I found setting up my system painless, but I say the same thing about installing FreeBSD or Linux. You may want to have a PC-savvy person around. The setup also requires Windows XP Professional, Home does not support Remote Desktop clients.
5 IT?S SO SLOW IT HURTZ
When I first started up Virtual PC with Windows XP/Professional [aka VPC+XP/P] on a 1.2 GHz Apple iBook G4 with 320 Mb RAM dedicated to VPC I thought that it had locked up --- but Windows XP was just very very very very slow coming up. The box says 20% faster but I can't even imagine what it must have been like on the minimum recommended processor. Pull-down menus sometimes take a couple of minutes to respond. VPC+XP/P may work OK on a Mac 2.5 GHz desktop with a 333 MHz bus, but it sure is NOT appropriate on an Apple iBook with only 133 MHz. Updating XP with REQUIRED security updates from Microsoft took well over 2 hours to install. After the software was updated with the required updates, the capability to view VPC as a drive on the OS X side stopped working completely and has never returned. The iBook's CD/DVD Superdrive only provides read-only capability to Windows XP. Also, I couldn't get my Visor Platinum to sync with the Palm desktop for XP software through either of the iBook's USB ports. Quite frankly, VPC+XP/P is just NOT worth the frustration one experiences running it on an Apple iBook. Perhaps when Microsoft finishes the new version for the G5 processor and dual processors are used on a 3 GHz desktop, then and only then, will there be a possibility that this software might be reasonably responsive. In the meantime I would recommend instead buying an inexpensive non-Mac laptop or desktop PC if one absolutely must run Windows-only software. It'll be less painful that way.
6 Product is Total Crap
VPC installed just fine, but it was absolutely impossible to install either Windows 98 or 2000 even though system met all requirements.
7 TOO SLOW !!!
I bought this product so I can run Microsoft Visual Studio .Net from my Mac (A Dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4/2 MB L3 Cache / 1.25 GB SDRAM). I spent $249.00 dollars for VPC. This is thing is too darn slow! I ended buying an eMachine with Windows XP Professional ($600). Now I use the Remote Desktop Connection program from the Mac. Know it feels that I have a PC on my Mac (Yuck!).
8 Make it it works on your system
This is a great program when it works. A friend bought a Dual G5 Tower -- the fastest mac available. -- turns out it Virtual PC does not work with it. Make sure you check out the specs you need.
9 Useless with Windows XP; Dogged with Windows 2000
As a PC-to-Mac OS X switcher, I bought Virtual PC with XP Home so that I could continue to run some of my favorite Windows software: mostly small games and streaming media apps. XP Home under Virtual PC is so slow that it is practically unusuable. XP should not be an OS used under Virtual PC; for some reason, it runs incredibly slowly. I thought that maybe Windows 95 under Virtual PC would give me the speed I'd like. Although Windows 95 is more responsive, it taxes the CPU and running actual applications is quite slow (though better than XP). The best bet is Windows 2000 under Virtual PC, which will give you access to Windows applications, if you need. However, anything with motion like games or video is jerky, even on a G4. Don't count on Virtual PC to provide you with an alternative Windows experience on your Mac, as it is advertised. Buy it only if you must run a specific Windows application on your Mac, and then, use Windows 2000 and not XP.
As an alternative, consider Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac OS X, or just buy a desktop pc.
10 Extreemly Slow. Do not waste your money
First let me tell you my operating system:
iMac G4 800 Mhz with 512 Mb Ram
In Short:
Pros:
1- It is cool to have a windows operating system on your mac, and run windows applications on it.
2- multi operating systems
3- more stable than an actual PC
CONS:
1- EXTREEEEEEMLY Slow.
2- LIMITATIONS: most application will run tooo slow to even consider using them.
Description:
1- EXTREEEEEEMLY Slow. and I do not mean it is tolarable. nope, it is taking me 3 hours and still going, just to install my HP all in one 6100.
2- LIMITATIONS: you realy cannot run many applications, and I do not mean at the same time. Yes it is probably true that you can run almost any application that runs on a PC on the virtual PC, but not in a way that is usefull. I was able to install ALMOST every application that I can thin k of (sometimes they take ALOT of time to install), but when it is time to run them, they are sooooo slow, that I just give up.
let me give you a sense of how slow: to start explorer, it might take 1- 2 MINUTES, same for Word, anything that is not microsoft takes much longer it seems. Trying to run a trading software such as Harris Direct Marketspeed or Fidelity's active trader is not possible. These two applications would take around 15 minutes (versus < 1 minute in a pc with the same operating system and with a Pentium II ~ 400 MHz processor) that is if they even work at all. Opening "my computer" takes 10- 60 seconds depending if there is any other application working.
IN SUMMERY:
this is a great concept, but I DO NOT recommend this application AT ALL ......... UNLESS you have a 1.25 G3 mac with > 1GB RAM, THEN you COULD TRY IT AND TELL US, I think then it might be tolarable. Possibly with the next version supporting the G5 it will run at an exceptable level (this one does not run on a G5).
and PLEASE REMEMBER, if you DO NOT have WINDOWS 98, or above DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SOFTWARE, but purchase the one with operating system you want, since that will be much cheaper unless you want that OS for your PC.
11 No wonder there is no money-back guarantee
Installing VPC on a 1.25 ghz Mac took me back to the days of the original Mac. No, not because of its easy-to-use elegance, but because VPC with XP Pro is slower than a Mac One with only a floppy drive. I allocated 352 mb ram and 16 mb vram, and to say that it "ran" would be to insult the concept. It crawled, it oozed, it petrified... I used the Windows version of Explorer on my broadband, and it took minutes to load a page that OS X loads in 3 seconds. In fact, no page fully loaded as no graphic ever appeared no matter how long I waited. Microsoft is supposed to deliver an update in 2004. As always, the magazines will give it reasonably good reviews, but unless you get it "free" with the Office "update" you should wait to read the Amazon reviews.
12 This one does work
I have used Virutal PC with Windows 95 and that worked fine. But Not the one for windows XP (Virutal PC 6.0 at the time) But when I ordered Verson 6.1 with windows 2000 it worked well so far and it seems still to be working fine With OS X 10.3
13 Info About use Virutal PC
The Virtual PC Program is a good Program but not with Windows XP please note that I tried it with Virtual PC 6.0 at the time. I had to order an other verson Virtual PC 6.1 but this time I tried it with windows 2000 works alot better then the Windows Xp did. Runs fine with with MAC OS X .
14 Virtual PC does not work on the G5
Virtual PC is not supported by the G5's. If you want to run dual operating systems, do not buy this product or the G5!
15 Virtual PC does not work on the G5's
Virtual PC in not supported by the G5. If you want to run dual operating systems, do not buy this product or the G5!
16 Minimum requirement: SuperComputer to make this product run.
Advertised 25% faster.. OMG! If it was any slower it would be stopped. I made a mistake with my G4 1 gig Powerbook of installing just 128 megs of ram on my first install due to I only had 512 megs of physical ram. Not even worth running.. even Solitaire runs like a dog. So I upped my laptop to a full gig & made 512 ram available to my next XP install thinking "problem solved". No difference, No exaggeration.. slow slow slow.
To be honest, if it ran at a good or even acceptable level.. it would be really nice. It is very easy to configure, the support is great: sound, nic, video configuration all works very well.
Very Very pricey tho, prolly need a dual G5 to bring it up to an acceptable level.
17 bad experience
Ran the Windows XP nicely but was unable to connect to the internet from the Windows environment which was the whole reason that I bought this program.
Tried everything on the support site on the internet.
Spent over 3 hrs on hold and talking to people at Microsoft. As far as I can tell there is no one at Microsoft who provides virtual PC support. Whenever I was told that I was being connected to that "group" I was on hold until a nice person came on to tell me that everyone had gone home.
so for me this was total waste of money.
18 WHAT MICROSOFT "FORGOT" TO TELL YOU--DOESN'T WORK WITH G5!
ZERO STARS. MICROSOFT ONCE AGAIN PROVES THEY ARE INEPT AND LAME. After a fair amount of research and thinking finally I wouldn't need to worry about compatibility issues (after all, I was going PC) I open the box (read: restocking fee) and install the software only to get this friendly Bill Gates message "Virtual PC doesn't work with your machine." That's right. It sure doesn't. In System Requirements admittedly it says for any G3 or G4 Mac and I wasn't thinking "Oh that means not a G5" but it should CLEARLY STATE NOT FOR G5. After all it goes into a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo about adaptability with Jaguar OSX. So what does work with the G5? After being guided to Mactopia and after a bit of digging around it says "Virtual PC for Mac G5 --stay tuned we're working on it." Yeah, I keep my eyes glued. Just another reason I'm glad I own a Mac.
19 Works well in Panther.
If you've been using previous versions of Virtual PC and upgraded to Panther to find that they weren't working, you will, unfortunately, need to upgrade to Virtual PC 6.
This is not an entirely bad thing. VPC6 has generally been more stable in my experience, and has added some great features. First and foremost, dock integration. VPC6 allows you to use a Start Menu in your dock, which can speed up the process of using the software -- just click, go to the program you want like you would in Windows, and then VPC will launch and start the program.
Also, it allows you to have currently running programs in your VPC session show up in the dock. You can retain these icons in the dock, or use them to force quit an app (although this doesn't work 100% of the time in my experience). Finally, running apps are now shown in the window that pops up when you do a command-option-escape. You can force quit them there if they hang, but again, I've had spotty results.
If you work in an environment such as web design, where you must see your site on all kinds of OS + browser combos, this is absolutely great. It beats having a PC around. However, for extremely processor-intensive tasks, you will need a PC. This is just an emulation, and when you get beyond casual use, you will find that it's underpowered for huge tasks. But for opening strange PC-specific files, tweaking the odd access database, or checking websites (especially if your bank refuses to work with Mac browsers), Virtual PC is great.
It will also easily grab your old VPC5 discs and import them into 6.
20 Works very well
I had the opportunity to try out Virtual PC with XP pro and this product, VPC+Win 2000 pro. The XP worked, but had a sort of stuttering mouse movement and a sluggishness to it. Win 2000 works much much better. I am able to run a windows only CAD program without any problems, at a very usable speed. The folder sharing and drag & drop files feature works flawlessly. Selected Mac OS folders show up as a separate hard drive in Windows environment, which makes it easy to keep multiple project files well organised across environments. My old 3 button USB mouse worked by simply plugging it in. I use a Powerbook G4, 1.25GHz, 512Mb RAM (160Mb for Win2000).
21 Great compatibility, but not for the G5
I use VirtualPC 6.1 on my iBook, which has a G3 processor. It works well, though it's a little pokey. That's not unexpected, though. Watch out if you have one of Apple's new G5 computers -- the G5 processor eliminated the "little-endian mode" that VirtualPC relies on. Thus, this product won't work at all for G5 users. Microsoft claims to be working on a new version of the software to address this, but has no published schedule for this right now.
22 Great product!!!
I researched the multiple versions of virtual PC before deciding on the windows 2000 version. I am sure I made the right choice. It is an extremely well written program. I can run all the windows software I need. It is fast enough to use the windows version of internet explorer without any problem at all (although I prefer Safari). I am running it on a 17" 1ghz flat panel iMac with 512 MB of ram, and 160 MB of ram dedicated to virtual PC. Once again, despite the bad things you might hear about the XP version of virtual PC, this one is a winner.
23 Solid, but you might as well get a real PC
In case you haven't heard, Connectix, the originator of Virtual PC, sold the entire line of products to Microsoft in Spring of 2003, so Microsoft is now the master of these virtual machines. The Mac version of Virtual PC is much cheaper than the Windows version, because in the price it includes both the emulator and the guest OS. You really need the latest Mac to run this at a respectable speed. Pentium instruction set, PC memory architecture, plug-n-play device management, networking components, all are emulated flawlessly. You can even burn DVDs after installing DVD burner driver! But seriously, for a little bit more money you can actually buy a real PC...
24 Pure stress....
This is absolutely the most aggravating program I've ever used in my life. I have to use it for only one program that I have, an online postage program, which doesn't exist in the Mac world.
I run a 1ghz flat panel Imac, a fairly speedy Mac. But running a Windows program in Virtual PC, it runs like a 100Mhz pc....it's pitiful. But, the only option for some Mac users that need to run Windows applications.
Virtual Pc is a necessary evil, and I'm glad it exists....but geez, some work needs to be done on it.
25 Decent Product
Virtual PC runs at about one-tenth of the speed as a real PC, but for many applications this is fine. I use Virtual PC to run FreeBSD 4.8 and it runs very nicely on a Dual 1 GHz machine, and still okay on an 800 MHz PowerBook G4. The latest versions of Windows are still sluggish. This 6.1 update seems fine, but now litters the Users directory with empty Virtual PC Scripts folders and such. Get rid of them!
