Virtual PC software

[newbiemacker]

Is this a viable software?
and is it a first step in being able to run windows on my Mac (OS 10.5.8)? It is not mentioned as one of the virtualizing software in the wiki article i just read.

 

[Intell]

What kind of Mac do you have?

 

[roadbloc]

Three choices in my mind.
VirtualBox which is pretty damn good and powerful if you know what you're doing. Free.

Parallels Desktop which is the best choice if you are planning on doing any virtual machine gaming (which isn't recommended, but people do it anyway). £64.99

VMWare Fusion which is the most easy to use and bugless of the lot. £34.99

 

[stridemat]

What are you planing to do within the Windows OS? You may more suited to Bootcamp.

 

[balamw]

Virtual PC 7 is the name of the VM software used within Windows 7. You can't run that under OS X. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

Virtual PC also used to be the name of the emulator (not VM software) previously sold by Microsoft for PPC Macs. This is extremely slow as it emulated Intel CPU hardware on PPC systems.

Again, Microsoft does not make a version available for Intel Macs that uses Virtualization.

Since Leopard runs on both PPC and Intel Macs, this is why Intell asked if you have an Intel or PPC Mac.

B

 

[newbiemacker]

Virtual PC

I have a Power Mac G5; Power Mac 7,2; Power PC970 (2.2); 2 Ghz; 2 CPU; 512KB; 2 gig memory; 1 Ghz bus speed; 5.1.4f0 Boot ROM version;

It seems to me I have put Virtual PC on this computer but now with windows 7, I've tried to install a windows operating system through the directions given in Virtual PC and I'm unable to capture the disk.

Thanks for replies thus far

 

[Darth.Titan]

Virtual PC for PowerPC Macs won't work with Windows 7. Windows 7 didn't exist when the product was discontinued.

The best you'll be able to run on your G5 will be XP and as others have said, it won't run well.

 

[balamw]

The best you'll be able to run on your G5 will be XP and as others have said, it won't run well.

You might be able to get W7 to run in Q/kju http://www.kju-app.org/, but you'd be far better off picking up a cheap Intel box.

B

 

[idahomeow]

adding questions of my own

I am considering (almost sure) a 27 inch iMac with the i5 processor. I need to run windows for embroidery software I already have (Viking and Bernina). So I need advice on Fusions vs Parallels vs Virtual Box.

We are hoping to get at least 10 years from this computer. Are we unrealistic? I can't see putting out this much money if it won't last. We thought that by going with this version we would be as future proof as possible.

Any comments about either issue are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

ps. I just remembered. In purchasing the Windows software I see OEM versions are cheaper. Will we be ok with these? We are not computer "geeks". And we want this whole process to be as smooth as possible.

Thanks again.

 

[balamw]

We are hoping to get at least 10 years from this computer. Are we unrealistic?

10 years may be stretching it a bit. My 2006 iMac is beginning to show signs of old age. It doesn't always wake from sleep properly and my 2008 and 2009 notebooks run circles around it.

IMHO 6 years is a reasonable life span to expect, and you can get a warranty from squaretrade or Apple to cover the first half of that bumper-to-bumper.

we want this whole process to be as smooth as possible.

OEM is cheaper for a reason. It is not licensed for use by end-users and is not transferable to another machine should you want to transfer it. Generic "OEM/System Builder" discs usually work with Boot Camp or VM solutions on Macs, but there is the occasional problem. If you want a smooth, non-geek install, buy a full retail license.

B

 

[voyagerd]

I believe that the easiest route for the original poster would be to get the Mac versions/equivalents for all the software that you need. VirtualPC would only be useful for older software in which there is no equivalent that you can run under Mac OS.