Most of my work applications don't work on Windows 7 or 8, and when I connect to my office VPN it takes me off the Internet so we use virtualization right now to run Windows separately.

XP is fine as I have licences for it but does anyone have any recommendations on which the best virtualization software tends to be? I'm using Hyper-V right now but I hate it. The resolution for XP is terrible, but the thing I really hate is that when you are inside of Hyper-V it captures the keyboard, so pressing ALT-TAB while in XP tabs between windows in XP versus tabbing out of Hyper-V to Windows 8 applications. I also can't CTRL-V to paste or copy, I have to choose the menu option and select to type clipboard etc.



I've used VMware before but I seem to remember it doing the same thing where it doesn't let you ALT-TAB out of the virtual machine. I guess there's just VirtualBox or whatever that Oracle one is but are there any other options? I know I can do VMware and use Unity or whatever it is but I prefer them in a separate window. Thanks!

VMWare (not free), and Virtual (free) are the two best out there. VMWare is probably the best, however, it depends whether you willing to spend the money.

Hi there
you can use VMPLAYER which IS Free -- my recommendation -- works 100%. VMware workstation is really good but it costs you some money so go for the free VMPLAYER.

Latest version handles 3D and DVD playing which earlier releases had some trouble with so more of your game will work too.

Cheers
jimbo

For the OP: in order to have full resolution in Hyper-V, you need tobset up an internal networkbon your host and guest, then use that to remote desktop into the guest.

I agree with Jimbo here: VMware Player is the easiest to use.

To exit screen you do: left CTRL + ALT (so ALT + TAB will work inside the VM normally)

The rest is pretty solid and stable + drag 'n drop files support.

If you try Oracle VirtualBox, the exit VM command is right CTRL (also doesn't interfere with ALT + TAB).

Both programs are free for home usage.

Regards
Hopachi

You can use Hyper-V but not necessarily use Hyper-V Manager. If using Windows XP Professional, you can enable Remote Desktop and use the Remote Desktop Connection to open a full (or windowed) connection to the virtual machine and use it like a normal desktop.

Originally Posted by pparks1

I've always preferred vmware. Their player product is free and handles most things very well. My preference for vmware is because it is what I use at work so it keeps things consistent. And I can easily move vms that I create on my desktop to our vSphere environment. I use vmware workstation 8 as that was the version that I paid for. I have easily gotten my $160 out of that purchase.

And in addition VMware seems to be the easiest one to use in general and especially for beginners. Don't forget drag 'n' drop files between host and guest.
I use both VirtualBox an VMware Player and can tell the difference.

If you plan to run a Win95 - 98 than VMware is the choice again because it has tools for integration and fullscreen support.
For the rest, all guest OS'es worked in my case.

Originally Posted by leemoreau

Most of my work applications don't work on Windows 7 or 8, and when I connect to my office VPN it takes me off the Internet so we use virtualization right now to run Windows separately.

I'd be interested to know which applications don't work in 7. Have you tried enabling compatibility mode on those applications? It sounds to me like you don't really know how to set up your computer to work properly with your needs.

For example, with the VPN, you can configure the client to NOT disconnect you from the internet, and only forward requests to your workplace. What VPN client are you using?

Originally Posted by leemoreau

XP is fine as I have licences for it but does anyone have any recommendations on which the best virtualization software tends to be? I'm using Hyper-V right now but I hate it. The resolution for XP is terrible, but the thing I really hate is that when you are inside of Hyper-V it captures the keyboard, so pressing ALT-TAB while in XP tabs between windows in XP versus tabbing out of Hyper-V to Windows 8 applications. I also can't CTRL-V to paste or copy, I have to choose the menu option and select to type clipboard etc.

What version of XP? Home or Pro? If Pro then you can remote desktop into it and it will have full resolution. If you run that in a window, then it doesn't capture alt-tab. Also, the Hyper-V client's resolution resizes based on what you set the VM's resolution to be. You have to install the Hyper-V client tools (which includes a virtual video driver) and then you can set the resolution to whatever you want.

There are a lot of ways to configure things, and instead of just jumping from program to program because the default configuration doesn't match what you want, you might try figuring out how to make things work for you.