Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 for FREE!

Virtual PC is by no means a bad product, but ultimately VMware is far more poweful. VMware is not biased towards an Operating System like Microsoft, so it's pretty easy to use Linux as a host or a virtual OS.

With VMware, I can try out some other Linux distributions that I would probably have never got round to. I'll probably download Mandriva and Debian and run them under Kubuntu

 

Or just use the tried & tested VMWare, which also supports linux or windows host systems.

 

After installing Microsoft Virtual Pc 2004, I installed windows 98 se and
that went ok, My Question is how do I setup the modem and will I need a firewall and AV to be able to go online?

 

You shouldn't need to setup the modem, just a tcp/ip connection via dhcp.

 

And where and how do I set that up ? What about an AV and firewall?

 

Yes, you should set up AV and a Firewall on the virtual machine. Just keep the amount of available RAM in check, for both the host and virtual OS

 

Wouldn't you not need a firewall on the virtual machine if you were using the bridged connection to your host network interface? Assuming of course that connection was firewalled.

 

how much ram do i need for windows 98 ? My xp has 768 mb ram, How much could I up the virtual pc /windows 98 too ? Also I am having allot of problems trying to get online, In windows 98 it doesn't recognize my modem.. can I just go online with XP then click start for virtual pc and start win/98 ?
I tried that as well , but nothing is happening there either.. any Ideas?
I would like to be able to go online with it... I have also tried installing the correct modem drivers for win /98 for my modem ,but nothing ...

 

No, you wouldn't need a firewall and / or AV if you were using a bridged connection.
But if you configure the virtual OS so it can access the network card directly, it will require it's own IP address and essentially become another computer on the network. It would no longer receive protection from the host's firewall or AV.

Windows 98 doesn't really require any more then 128MB of RAM. I think you would be wasting RAM if you gave it more

What type of Modem do you have? Integrated, USB or PCI?

 

the modem is a pci smart modem, and i have the drivers for XP and windows 98,
but it won't install them... how do I get a bridged connection???

 

When you say Modem, do you mean Dialup?

I have a modem in my computer, which I will try to set up now. I think I know how to do it and i'll post instructions in a bit (if I am sucessful )

 

Okay, bingo

This is a bit ruff and ready, but there we go:

1. Open up Virtual PC, you should be looking at the Virtual PC Console (an overview of your virtual machines.
2. Click the virtual machine once, and press settings on the right hand side
3. You should be looking at a Window with various hardware going down the left hand side. Click 'COM1'
4. Now, go into the Windows Control Panel (on the host computer) and choose 'Phone & Modem Options' (assuming you are running XP)
5. Click the 'Modems' tab and take note of the 'COM' number that has been assigned to your modem. In my case, my modem has been assigned COM3
6. Go back into the Virtual PC settings and where it says 'Pyhsical Serial Port', choose the COM number your modem is connected to in the drop down list.
7. Then Press OK and boot the virtual machine
8. Windows 98 does not automatically detect the presence of the modem, nor does it recognise it in the task manager. This is fine however.
9. Go into the Windows 98 control panel and choose 'Modems'.
10. A Wizard will begin and will scan for a modem.
11. It will detect a standard modem. This is fine and you DO NOT need the proper drivers for your modem. Why? Because Virtual PC is emulating them, remember?
12. So just accept whatever it finds and press OK.

I've typed this in a rush, so if it doesn't make sense just ask

 

Ok! my modem is setup on com port 3 as well, Now I did what you said but still no go, I get this error.. There was an error trying to open the following com port on your physical computer on com port 3..

before the port can be connected to your Virtual machine,you must verify that
the device is attached to the port, and it is not being used by another program.

Well I think we are getting closer,Now when I go to dial up, I am suppose to use the dialer for XP right?

 

You cannot use the modem in Windows 98 and XP at the same time.

If you want to configure the modem in Virtual PC, you will have to disconnect from your ISP first and make sure that XP is not using the modem. Then configure the modem via the instructions above and dial your ISP inside Windows 98

 

Ok! I followed your instructions, and windows 98 found the default modem on com port 3, Now after setting up the modem,Don't you have to setup a connection ? Now when I do setup a connection and I fill in all the blanks,
Then i get this error ...(ERROR 630 ) Any Ideas? Oh by the way,Thanks for
all your help...

 

Yes, you will have to configure the number you want to dial, your area code and username etc. You should be able to get this information from the XP 'Modems and Faxes' control panel applet

As for the error number, I don't have an answer.

I believe there is a test function in the 'Modems' applet of the Windows 98 control panel. You might want to use it to test the functionality first

To be honest though, I haven't used a Modem/Dialup connection in a long time, so I am very rusty on the subject

 

Ok! Get this! I am not able to get online with my internal modem,But I have an actiontec external modem and decided to give it a try and it worked.

This is very strange,I can get online only with an external modem...

does that make any sense ? anyway Thanks for your help, Oh Should I install a firewall in windows 98 or will it using my xp one?

 

Bizarre!

Yes, definately. And antivirus as well.

 

thanks for all your help..

 

The good news though, is that if you were to get a virus whilst browsing the internet in Windows 98, it would not effect your host operating system - XP in your case.

The Virus would be isolated to the virtual machine, so in the worst case senario, all you would have to do is delete the Windows 98 virtual machine and start again. XP would be fine however