Hi Shawn, welcome to the Seven Forums.
As we all know Microsoft doesn't have the brain to create a virtual pc for
ALL WINDOWS 7 USERS! . I have the Home version of Windows 7 like any other ordinary person.
As we all know, Microsoft Virtual PC is available to every edition of Windows 7 except Starter
(extract from
Windows Virtual PC: Requirements)
There's nothing that prevents you from using Microsoft Virtual PC on your Home Premium. Only the Windows XP Mode is restricted to Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise editions, being one of those extras you get when you pay a bit more.
You can download and install Virtual PC, and then install an XP virtual machine on it like this:
- Go to Virtual PC download site
- Click the link Don’t need XP Mode and want VPC only? Download Windows Virtual PC without Windows XP Mode
.
. - Because of a known bug on the download site, now you need to "lie" a bit: select Professional or better from the drop down menu, select your preferred language and click Download button
.
. - Install Microsoft Virtual PC
- Install XP to Virtual PC using your own XP install media
That's it. Notice that according to Microsoft, an XP virtual machine should have SP3 to guarantee total functionality.
Kari
P.S. This method, telling the download site you have Pro or better even you only have Home Premium or less does not help you to get XP Mode. XP Mode checks the edition of your Windows 7, refusing to work if it's not Pro or better whereas Virtual PC does not check anything because it is meant to work in any edition.