ISO Files

What is it that you are wanting to accomplish with the VM?

Typically, VMs are used to run other OSes (referred to as a Guest OS) in a virtual environment instead of requiring a physical machine. The physical machine/OS that you are using Virtual PC on is referred to as the Host.

Virtual PC supports the following Host OSes:

Windows 7 Home Basic
Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Ultimate

and the following Guest OSes:

Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7

So it looks like Windows Server (which version do you have, 2008?) isn't a supported Host. That doesn't mean it won't work, it just means MS doesn't support it so if it doesn't work, you're on your own.

You may want to consider using VirtualBox or VMWare Player instead of Virtual PC since they support a wider list of both Host and Guest OSes.

Regardless, the first thing you need to determine before creating a VM is which Guest OS you want to install. You need to know this because you have to specify things like how much RAM and disk space to allot for the VM since different Guest OSes require different amounts of RAM/Disk space.

An ISO can be created very easily from the install CD/DVD of whatever guest OS you want to install. You could also use the physical disk in the drive to install from which means you don't need to create the ISO.

If you do have an ISO, you can use it directly, no need to mount it, you can tell VPC to use the ISO to install from directly.

Julius F said:

I understand what you are saying but is there any site I can get windows installer which is bootable for free?

Typically, you aren't able to download Windows 7 from Microsoft directly for free. (They have a free trial of Windows 7 Enterprise, but that's not what you are looking for).

However, there is a link from Digital River where they provide download links for Windows 7 versions. You just need to download the version for the KEY that you already have.
Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life. Remember, you already need to have a key to use the software, this isn't a pirated copy of Windows that is just free to download and use.


Once you get this ISO, you use any CD Burning application to burn the ISO file to a CD/DVD. With a virtual machine, you don't actually need to create the disc. Instead, you go into the properties of the VM, and set the CD drive to use an ISO file rather than a physical disc drive. From there, you simply bootup the VM and it should boot from the CD/DVD and you should begin the installation process.

Virtual machines are an ideal way to "play" with different OSes. Have you been able to create a VM and install an OS yet? If not, what additional help do you need to get started?

Have you installed VPC yet? Do you have a DVD (and license) for the OS you want to install? You started this thread by asking how to create an ISO, which isn't necessary to do to set up a VM. It's a way of doing the install if you have an ISO but isn't a required step.

Julius,

As strollin has stated, we need to know whether you have the ISO already downloaded or a DVD burned that you can install Windows 7 from as well as a valid license. The answer to that question dictates exactly what the next step will be.