Windows 7: virtual machine

is it safe to install windows 7 onto a virtual machine on a windows vista

Hello Robotdude, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Yes, you can install a 32-bit Windows 7 in a VM in Vista without any problems.

Windows Virtual PC: Home Page

Shawn

Also is it easy to remove

Removing a virtual machine is very easy. You just click on it, say remove and will be prompted to choose whether to delete the virtual hard drive file or not. So, if you say Yes, the file goes. If you say no, the file remains and you can create a new VM down the road and use that hard drive file instead or a new one and then you don't have to load the OS.

dose it give me all my memorey back
Sorry im just worried

Any idea because i want to get to windows 7 as fast as i can

Yes, the virtual machine only consumes resources like memory and CPU from the host when it is in a running state. When you shut down the virtual machine, you get those resources back. At this point, the only thing consuming resources is the files that make up the VM and those are just using hard drive space.

i mean like when i uninstall windows will it give me back my harddrive space

You don't "uninstall" a virtual machine. From within the virtual machine software, you can have any number of virtual machines configured.

So, let's say you create a Windows 7 virtual machine with 1GB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive file. Depending upon the virtual machine software you use, the file may start out small and grow over time to 40GB..or it may start at 40GB right at the start. So, you install the OS and you use the VM for awhile, but then decide you no longer need/want it. So, you go into your VM software, find the virtual machine, right click on it and choose Delete. It will ask something like (do you also want to delete the associated virtual hard drive files from the hard drive). If you say yes, it's gone.

So, you can get the space back when you delete the virtual machine, or you can optionally keep the virtual machine hard drive file to use as a starting point in the future.

This tutorial below will help show you how to delete (uninstall) a virtual machine created with Windows Virtual PC to regain all of the hard drive space back that was used by it.

Windows Virtual PC - Delete a Virtual Machine

Hope this helps,
Shawn