Usage Scenarios for Virtual PC

As already mentioned, Virtual PC is designed for running desktop operating systems and applications. Some primary scenarios for using Virtual PC include the following:
• Support for running legacy desktop applications. For example, you might have applications that were designed to run on Microsoft Windows® 98 that will not run on your new computer that is running a Microsoft Windows XP operating system. With Virtual PC, you can run Windows 98 and your applications in a virtual machine on your new computer.
• Help desk. If you are a help desk technician, you can use Virtual PC to set up a variety of desktop environments inside virtual machines. You can then duplicate the desktop environments of your clients and reproduce and troubleshoot the problems clients present to you.
• Desktop application testing. If you are a developer, you can use Virtual PC to set up virtual machines so you can test desktop applications in a variety of operating system environments.
• Training. If you are a trainer, you can use Virtual PC to set up your training programs to run inside virtual machines. This way, you can offer a variety of different classes without needing to use a separate computer for each one. In addition, you can set up the virtual machines to discard changes that were made during a class. This can dramatically reduce your class set-up time.
These scenarios are described in detail in the Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 Technical Overview white paper, available at the Microsoft Web site at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=45404.
In addition to these scenarios, there are a number of other ways you might want to use Virtual PC, depending on your situation and computing needs. For example, you might use Virtual PC at home so your family can use it to browse the Internet. This can eliminate worries about applications or files your family might download—those downloaded materials will not affect the host operating system. If the virtual machine becomes corrupted or infected with a virus, you can simply delete the virtual machine and start over.