RSSGet Windows XP Free Virtually, With a Catch
By Ed Oswald | Published December 1, 2006, 4:03 PM
Microsoft is providing a free virtualized copy of Windows XP SP2 to assist developers in migrating IE6 applications to IE7. However, it will only work until April 1, 2007.
The time-limited Virtual PC image would come with a pre-activated copy of Windows XP SP2, Internet Explorer 6, and the Internet Explorer 7 Readiness Toolkit. Microsoft says that the solution is the only supported method for running both versions of the browser side-by-side.
Workarounds to permit the two versions to work on the same machine are available, however are difficult to implement and sometimes cause either copy to operate differently had they been installed on separate machines. Microsoft says it will not provide support for those installations.
Microsoft made Virtual PC 2004 a free download in July of this year with the release of Service Pack 1. The company also said it would make Virtual PC 2007 freeware along with providing support for Windows Vista.
Users interested in taking advantage of the program would need Virtual PC to open the image. The IE team said it was also investigating the feasibility of shipping VPC images with previous versions of IE back to version 5, as well as in foreign languages.
"Now you can install IE7 on your main machine for development, and get all the advantages of IE7, like the RSS platform, native XMLHTTP stack, and improved security, while still running IE6 simultaneously in the VPC on the same computer," IE product manager Pete LePage wrote in the IE Blog on Thursday. "Most importantly, you don't even have to buy an additional Windows license."
The free copy of Windows XP may also allow Mac OS users running the current beta version of the Parallels virtualization software to use the included "Transporter" utility to convert the image into one usable by the application. VMware also supports importing Virtual PC images.
While such a use for the image would work in theory, it is not known if anyone has attempted such an implementation.
Although this particular image will expire on April 1, 2007, LePage said Microsoft hopes to provide future VPC images in the future as a service to developers.
How do you get it to use less memory? How do you get it to respond as fast as I.E. 6? (or 5, or 4 or better yet 3!) How do you move the icons to where they are suppose to be? How do you add the menus back to where they are suppose to be?
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Actually you can install both!
You can even install IE 3 (!) – 4 - 5 - 6 and 7 together
Just install IE7 as your main browser
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/
Then install
http://tredosoft.com/fil...e/multiple-ie-setup.exe
and choose which version of IE you want
I tested it with success on a Windows 2003 server, and on XP
You can find more info about the tool at:
http://tredosoft.com/Multiple_IE
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From the posted site (and I find this hilarious):
"Important Notes:
* Sometimes IE5, IE5.5 and IE6 crash unexpectedly.
* The address bar in Internet Explorer 4.01 does not work. This is due to a missing file "browseui.dll". If you have that file with version number "4.72.3612.1706" let me know. As a workaround, press CONTROL+O and enter the address you want to visit there.
* Microsoft supplemental EULA says : IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A VALID EULA FOR ANY "OS PRODUCT", YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO INSTALL, COPY, OR OTHERWISE USE THE OS COMPONENTS AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS UNDER THIS SUPPLEMENTAL EULA."
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Great!
I hacked it!
http://realman.googlepages.com/crack.JPG
have a look!
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Good for you! :) *goes away*
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Ehemmm, according to my IE7 update license you may only use them on XP SP2 and 2003 SP1.
Does it include virtual machines? Do I need a free license for that.
For me it looks like Microsoft will say Vista will break XP compatibility, but we have a virtual machine with XP for you. Customers will enjoy that very much...
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Where's the problem with that?
If a program didn't work on Windows 95 that worked on 3.1, they were just out of luck until the manufacturer released a new version or the customer reverted to 3.1. Now, they have the ability to run both... simultaneously.
Backwards compatibility has always been a crutch, and it is what causes the most instabilities besides bad drivers, spyware/viruses, and stupid users.
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April 1st? What a joke.
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oops
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think he was referring to april fools day, guy
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Kind of, three months is a joke was my point. The fact that it ends on April 1st was where the pun comes in.
Should develop for a free OS, that way you can use it for as long as you like. Could even develop it under WINE.
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I just checked this out. They put some limitations on the system and the user account, apparently to try to keep you from using it as a full-fledged VM, but they are easy to reverse with the Group Policy Editor...
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Actually, it would be pretty cool to offer 90-day images of more than just English. I'd imagine that offering all versions and all languages as a virtual machine would be very helpful for the development of software and its i18n.
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