Maximum PC

Is there any other apps (preferrably free) that will run Virtual machines that DON'T require virtualization support. So far, VMWare player, Parallels, MS Virtual PC all require virtualization. VirtualBox doesn't, but is it as reliable as the others?

How about programs that don't require virtualization? I don't care so much about speed as I need to just be able to run multiple OSes on my Pentium Dual core 1.3 GHz laptop which doesn't have the virtualization technology.

Vmware server...

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/s ... VqZGJkZWQq

...and this is different then vmware player and just from my experience, I'd stay away from the 2.x product.

You might want to explain what hang ups you're having. None of the three you named specifically state you need a CPU that does virtualization, although there are caveats for certain uses (i.e. running a 64 bit guest) which would require that.

Well, I know that for sure, MS released a patch for Virtual PC that would let it run XP Mode (maybe others) without virtualization technology. I just read the FAQ and user's guides for Parallels and from what I gain from reading it, my impression is that you need it (at least, the latest version).

Here is the requirements list for Parallels:
http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/pd4wl/sr/

It lists a procesor with VT as a "pre-requisite" which I take is a requirement, of course.

Part of the problem, too, is that my laptop only came with Win7 Home Premium 64-bit, and I don't care to buy another OS quite yet for it. I guess, from what I saw, though, VirtualBox might be one of my only choices, unless I decide to go the VMWare route, which I may have to look into. But if the price is about as much as upgrading to Win7 Pro, then I'd probably just take the upgrade from Microsoft (seeing that I don't really need the Linux support, only the ability to run WinXP).

Is VMWare server free to use? or is it a limited time trial? if so, I may give it a try.... I need something that is not a 30-day trial or something. Granted I may use it on my 3 PCs, I don't plan to install anything on any more than that (so I don't think I'll need a site license for anything).

And I'm not having any "hang-ups..." I just haven't tried, and don't want to invest any money into something unless I'm sure its going to work.

What I linked to is their free product. I probably should've linked these also

http://www.vmware.com/support/server/do ... erver.html

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/data ... server/1_0

You do need to register with them to get a key, but that's the only requirement.

so they are not time lmiited trials (as in I could use them for more than a month or so... like six months or a year if I needed to)?

You can use it for as long as you want.

Good. from what I saw on the site, it looks like it might be what I was looking for. Now to see if it will work with my 1.3GHz Pentium Dual core laptop is another story... i'll keep you updated.

I also saw a few articles on how to get the XP Mode copy of Windows to work with VirtualBox, which would be a bonus, because I think I sold my copy of XP last year when I dumped one of my older computers (so it could be sold as a working computer with an OS).