About virtual machine components

Each virtual machine that you create has the following components.

Virtual machine window The virtual machine appears in this window on the Macintosh desktop. The name of the virtual machine appears in the title bar and the Microsoft Virtual PC toolbar appears at the bottom.

A configuration document Each virtual machine that you create is represented in Mac OS X by a configuration document. A configuration document contains all of the configuration information for a virtual machine, including the virtual machine settings and the virtual hard disk image. It has the same name as the virtual machine.

Virtual hard disk image A virtual hard disk image is the hard disk of the virtual machine. Because a virtual machine does not have physical components, it cannot store information on a physical hard disk. Instead, a virtual machine stores information in a virtual hard disk image. By default, the virtual hard disk image is a dynamically expanding file that grows in size as you install applications or store data in it.

An operating system installed in the virtual hard disk image An operating system must be installed in the virtual hard disk image. If the operating system that you want to install is not included with Virtual PC 7, you must purchase and install an operating system.

The supported operating systems are Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, and Windows 2000. Refer to Read Me for specific details about the supported operating systems. The Read Me is included on the Virtual PC 7 installation CD, and in Virtual PC on the Help menu.

Emulated hardware The virtual machine emulates a standard x86-based computer, including all of the basic hardware components.