Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2007 for free download. Virtual PC 2007, an upgrade from Virtual PC 2004, is a competing product with VMWare virtualization software for Windows platform, allowing users to create separate virtual machines on Windows desktop, each of which virtualizes the hardware of a complete physical computer, and then use virtual machines to run multiple operating systems such as MS-DOS, Windows, and OS/2 at the same time on the same physical computer. Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 adds support for Windows Vista operating system both as guest operating system and as host operating system.

The main features of Virtual PC 2007 include:

Configurability: After installing Virtual PC, you can configure it to suit your requirements. Virtual PC has a number of settings that control how the product interacts with the physical computer, allocates resources, and so on.

Easy installation: Virtual PC is simple to install. Any administrator can run the Virtual PC guided setup program, and installation doesn’t require a reboot. The first time Virtual PC starts, it guides you through the process of creating the first virtual machine.

Standardization: Configure and test upgrades and installations on virtual machines, and then you can deploy throughout your company a standard configuration that avoids problems caused by minor differences between hardware platforms.

Convenience: Users switch between operating systems as easily as they switch between applications. They simply click the window containing the virtual machine. They can pause individual virtual machines so they stop using CPU cycles on the physical computer. They can also save virtual machines to disk and restore them at a later time. The restoration process normally takes a few seconds—much faster than restarting the guest operating system.

Host integration: Users can copy, paste, drag, and drop between guest and host. Virtual PC provides additions that you install in a guest operating system to enable this functionality.

Virtual PC 2007 (VPC 2007) runs on Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Standard x64 Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Your system hardware must also has at least an x64-based or an x86-based computer with a 400 MHz or faster (1 GHz recommended) processor with L2 cache.

Download 32-bit Virtual PC 2007
Download 64-bit Virtual PC 2007

Supported guest operating system for Virtual PC with system requirements for physical memory and hard-disk space:

Guest Operating SystemMinimum MemoryMinimum Hard-Disk Space
Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition64 MB500 MB
Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me)96 MB2 GB
Windows 2000 Professional96 MB2 GB
Windows XP Home Edition128 MB2 GB
Windows XP Professional128 MB2 GB
Windows Vista Enterprise512 MB15 GB
Windows Vista Business512 MB15 GB
Windows Vista Ultimate512 MB15 GB
OS/2 Warp Version 4 Fix Pack 15, OS/2 Warp
Convenience Pack 1, OS/2 Warp Convenience Pack 2
64 MB500 MB

Update: Virtual PC 2007 SP1