Virtual PC for PowerBook

[GoCubsGo]

I'm debating on buying a cheap laptop or putting Virtual PC on my PowerBook. I didn't think of the Virtual PC option until someone else brought it up, but while looking into it I realized that each time I go to any version (available online) it continually states that it is compatible with my computer but then excludes computers running Tiger. Can anyone direct me to the correct version of Virtual PC?

Second to that, and the dumbest question of them all, but does Virtual PC come with windows or will I need to buy an OEM copy of windows?

I'm not asking for "free". If VPC is free then so be it. I'm looking for someone to tell me what runs on my PowerBook 1.67ghz running the latest build of Tiger. I have to install some exam software on my computer and I'd like to use my laptop as I don't intend to sit inside and study constantly.

 

[swiftaw]

I ran VPC 7 on my powerbook with Tiger. If I recall, you can buy VPC 7 with or without Windows included.

Please note however, that Windows under VPC is deathly slow.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I ran VPC 7 on my powerbook with Tiger. If I recall, you can buy VPC 7 with or without Windows included.

Please note however, that Windows under VPC is deathly slow.

Was it slow under all versions of VPC or just VPC 7?
I'm weighing the pros and cons of it all and wondering if it is worth my time/trouble. I'd love to do a trail run, but clearly that's not in MS's plan for anyone. Given the type of exam I'd be taking using anything other than legit software seems slightly wrong.

 

[swiftaw]

Was it slow under all versions of VPC or just VPC 7?
I'm weighing the pros and cons of it all and wondering if it is worth my time/trouble. I'd love to do a trail run, but clearly that's not in MS's plan for anyone. Given the type of exam I'd be taking using anything other than legit software seems slightly wrong.

Slow under all version as it has to do hardware emulation (a PC running on a PPC architecture)

 

[TheReef]

We had Virtual PC 6 running on Leopard on a 1.5 Ghz PowerBook, quite slow to use Windows, but works well for the simple application once you have it up and running.

At the moment, I'm running virtual PC on Leopard on a G5, not fast, but gets the job done.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I believe given the requirements for the application I need to run that despite the slowness of VPC I can get away with it. Alternatively, it may just be cheaper/easier to buy a little (older) laptop. We'll see.
The system requirements are:
Windows 2k or later
100 MB disk space
32mb ram.

My guess, based on that and the fact that i just installed it at work, is that it is not intended to be a processor-intensive application.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[atszyman]

Just to give you an idea. I had VPC installed on a 1.5 GHz G4 PowerBook and it detected in XP as a 300 MHz Pentium. Win2K has, I believe, lower system requirements and might handle the situation slightly better, but don't expect much more.

 

[yellow]

WindowsXP under VPC behaves quite strangely and abysmally slowly.
Windows2K is bearable, but as others have said, it's hardware emulation and old-ass Pentium II emulation at that (IIRC).

IMO, I would always encourage someone to buy a cheap PC, as it will function in a much higher capacity than VPC ever could.

 

[chicagdan]

WindowsXP under VPC behaves quite strangely and abysmally slowly.
Windows2K is bearable, but as others have said, it's hardware emulation and old-ass Pentium II emulation at that (IIRC).

IMO, I would always encourage someone to buy a cheap PC, as it will function in a much higher capacity than VPC ever could.

I agree, buy a cheap PC, put it in a closet and use the free Remote Desktop Connection software from your Mac. It's a much faster solution.

 

[JNB]

I think MS bought VPC just to kill it. It's abysmally slow; I bought VPC7/XP with my G5 iMac and it lasted about a month before I uninstalled permanently. Complete and utter rubbish. It makes Norton products look snappy.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I agree, buy a cheap PC, put it in a closet and use the free Remote Desktop Connection software from your Mac. It's a much faster solution.

LOL I don't have to put it in a closet. I'm not too proud about owning a couple of Macs to think I can't have a windows machine lying around. Plus, the point would be portablity. I have an intel mac and I could easily run windows on it, but I wanted something I could lug around with me. Considering the size of the books buying a small little ASUS Eee PC or try to find a used 12"+/- to lug around.

I think MS bought VPC just to kill it. It's abysmally slow; I bought VPC7/XP with my G5 iMac and it lasted about a month before I uninstalled permanently. Complete and utter rubbish. It makes Norton products look snappy.

Considering you've now equated it to Norton say no more. I'm sold on not buying VPC.
Thanks again all

 

[TheReef]

For what you are doing I still think Virtual PC could do the job. I guess you get put off by the sluggish start menu and longer application load times…but the applications aren't that bad to run. Eg I can run paint with little lag.

Installing Windows 98SE is probably the best option (what I use), steer right away from XP, you are almost always at a standstill waiting for the next click to register.

 

[iShater]

my 2c.

I have the powerbook in my sig, and I use VPC7 with W2k. For what I need, which is running IE for certain website, even some old games (REALLY OLD), and running non-cpu intensive apps, it works fine.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I agree, buy a cheap PC, put it in a closet and use the free Remote Desktop Connection software from your Mac. It's a much faster solution.

And you can also install Virtual PC 2007 on that closet PC as a free download from Microsoft to run flavors of Windows and Linux. This free version is unlike the Mac version in that it runs Operating Systems at near full speed.

 

[Trip.Tucker]

And you can also install Virtual PC 2007 on that closet PC as a free download from Microsoft to run flavors of Windows and Linux. This free version is unlike the Mac version in that it runs Operating Systems at near full speed.

I think you're missing the point. The goal is to run Windows on a Mac, and more specifically, to run Windows on a PPC Mac. Not to run other OS's under Windows, so I don't understand why you mentioned Virtual PC 2007 for Windows.

 

[Amdahl]

I think MS bought VPC just to kill it. It's abysmally slow; I bought VPC7/XP with my G5 iMac and it lasted about a month before I uninstalled permanently. Complete and utter rubbish. It makes Norton products look snappy.

I think they bought it to put on Xbox 2 so it could run Xbox 1 (Intel-based) games. I don't think it worked out too well, since they ended up having to produce handmade/handcoded translations for each game anyway. They gave up once they felt enough customers weren't paying attention.

They also bought it to give them some virtualization know-how.

I use VPC 7 w/W2K, and it works out okay. XP, I think, is just a little bit larger in the kernel working set and completely blows out the caches on G5 (except the Quads, which have double the L2 cache per core). W2K seems to just fit. XP might work a little faster if you disable software DEP in the BOOT.INI (change OptIn to AlwaysOff)