Download Free Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 VHD Images for Microsoft Virtual PC

If you want to test original Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 for free, you can give a try to free VHD images released by Microsoft.

Microsoft has released free VHD images of Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to be used with Windows Virtual PC to help web designers and web developers to test their websites in older versions of Internet Explorer.

Following VHD images are available for free to download:

• Windows 7 with IE9
• Windows 7 with IE8
• Windows Vista with IE7
• Windows XP with IE6

The VHD images contain full Windows set up with the specified version of Internet Explorer. The images are patched with the latest security updates and are otherwise clean installs of the operating system with very few modifications.

These images are specifically designed to run on Microsoft Virtual PC, and may or may not work in other hosting environments.

The password to login to all of these images is Password1 and the username will be present when you first login.

Windows XP Image:

It contains Windows XP SP3 with IE6 VHD file and was fully patched to July 2011.  This image also contains the install files for IE7 and IE8.  If you want to have separate base XP images for IE7 and IE8, you can copy the VHD, rename it, and install the other desired version of IE.

You can download it using following link:

Download Windows XP VHD Image for Free

Windows Vista Image:

It contains Windows Vista SP2 with IE7 VHD file and was patched through March 2011. The install files for IE8 and IE9 are also available for install on the image.

You can download it using following links:

Download Windows Vista VHD Image for Free – Part 1

Download Windows Vista VHD Image for Free – Part 2

Download Windows Vista VHD Image for Free – Part 3

Download Windows Vista VHD Image for Free – Part 4

Download Windows Vista VHD Image for Free – Part 5

Download Windows Vista VHD Image for Free – Part 6

Due to the size of Windows Vista VHD, it is split across several files, you’ll need to download all files for that version of the Internet Explorer and uncompress them to the same directory to unpack the VHD file.

Windows 7 with IE8 Image:

It contains Windows 7 SP1 with IE8 VHD file and was patched through March 2011. The install files for IE9 are also available for install on the image.

You can download it using following links:

Download Windows 7 with IE8 VHD Image for Free – Part 1

Download Windows 7 with IE8 VHD Image for Free – Part 2

Download Windows 7 with IE8 VHD Image for Free – Part 3

Download Windows 7 with IE8 VHD Image for Free – Part 4

Due to the size of the Windows 7 VHD, it is split across several files, you’ll need to download all files for that version of the Internet Explorer and uncompress them to the same directory to unpack the VHD file.

Windows 7 with IE9 Image:

It contains Windows 7 SP1 with IE9 VHD file and was patched through March 2011. This image also has the ACT Toolkit 5.6, IECTT, and Expression Super Preview software installed.

You can download it using following links:

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 1

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 2

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 3

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 4

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 5

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 6

Download Windows 7 with IE9 VHD Image for Free – Part 7

Due to the size of the Windows 7 VHD, it is split across several files, you’ll need to download all files for that version of the Internet Explorer and uncompress them to the same directory to unpack the VHD file.

HOW TO USE:

Once you have completed the download, double-click exe file to expand the VHD file. Start Virtual PC and create a new VPC, and point to the files you just expanded.

You can download Virtual PC using following topic:

[Direct Download Link] Official Links to Download Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7

NOTE: You will need a minimum of 3.0 GB hard drive space free to expand the VHD file. All images will shutdown and become completely unusable on November 17, 2011.

NOTE 2: You may be required to activate the OS as the product key has been deactivated. This is the expected behavior. The VHDs will not pass genuine validation. Immediately after you start the Windows 7 or Windows Vista images they will request to be activated. You can cancel the request and it will login to the desktop.

You can activate up to two “rearms” (type slmgr –rearm at the command prompt) which will extend the trial for another 30 days each time OR simply shutdown the VPC image and discard the changes you’ve made from undo disks to reset the image back to its initial state.

By doing either of these methods, you can technically have a base image which never expires although you will never be able to permanently save any changes on these images for longer than 90 days.

Thanks to our reader “sumit_g” for sharing it…

Also Check:

[Tip] Install and Test Operating Systems Virtually in Windows Using Hyper-V