About creating virtual machines

Virtual machines running in Microsoft Virtual PC use a virtual hard disk image instead of a physical hard disk to store information. When an operating system is installed in a virtual hard disk image, that virtual hard disk image becomes a virtual machine. Otherwise, it remains an empty virtual hard disk image that can be used for extra storage for an existing virtual machine. For more information, see About creating virtual hard disk images.

Typically, you create an initial virtual machine the first time you install Virtual PC. You can then create additional virtual machines by using the Create New PC Assistant in Virtual PC.

When you use the Create New PC Assistant to create a new virtual machine, you select a method of installation, an operating system, and a virtual hard disk image format.

Notes

After you finish installing an operating system on your virtual machine, you must finish configuring the operating system before you can use your new virtual machine. For more information, see About configuring Windows.
Virtual Machine Additions must be installed after you create a virtual machine that runs Windows. For more information, see About Virtual Machine Additions.
Additional memory is required when running more than one virtual machine at a time. For a more detailed discussion of memory usage, see About RAM memory settings.

Install an operating system not included with Virtual PC 7