To load an OS into the Virtual Machine (VM), you'll need anoperating system. When you create your virtual machine, you'll either need an operating system .iso file, or a CD with the loaded operating system. For this exercise, you'll be using a separate Windows operating system (Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows Server) as a Virtual system. You will be downloading and installing an .iso file from the same MSDNAA site as Virtual PC.

1. Log into the site, and click on the Operating Systems under Categories on the left. Select one of the Operating Systems on that page. Make sure it's one you're comfortable with. Follow the process to download the Operating System image (it's similar to Virtual PC).This time,there is a license number, so copy and save that number!The downloaded .iso will be in its own folder with the name "Windows ..."

2. Start the Virtual PC. You should see a window pop up with a title of ‘New Virtual Machine Wizard'. If you don't see the wizard, click on New...

3. Read the text and click Next.

4. You'll see three options. For this exercise, select ‘Create a virtual machine'. Click Next.

5. Name your new machine Windows7 (or whichever OS you are using) and click Next.

6. A window will appear that shows the default values for memory, virtual disk size, and sound card for the Windows OS. You might look through the different operating systems just to see what would be recommended for them. Before you move on, make sure that Windows XP is selected, then click Next.

7. You can now adjust the RAM for your virtual machine. By default Windows image has 128 MB of RAM. Adjust the RAM to 512 MB, then click Next.

8. You now have the option to either use an existing virtual hard disk, or creating a new one. Select ‘A new virtual hard disk', then click Next.

9. The new window will show you where the hard disk will be saved. Use the defaults, and click Next.

10. The wizard will be complete. Click Finish.
You should now see your Virtual PC Console window that shows your new virtual machine. At this point, it hasn't been started, and there is no operating system installed.

1. Click on Start.

2. You'll see your new machine start with some loading information appearing in a new window.Wait for the virtual machine to complete loading itself.

a. Note: If it appears stuck on DHCP...., then hit the Esc key.

b. Next, you'll either get a message about a disk image or the need to "Reboot and Select proper Boot device. When you get the message, click on the CD drop-down menu and select "Capture ISO Image...". Browse through your directory to your saved Windows Image or .iso file and select it.

c. After selecting the boot image, you may need to restart the virtual image, so it knows what iso file to use. This is done by selecting Action drop-down menu and "Ctrl+Alt+Del."

3. In a little while, you should see your new virtual operating system starting to load. Follow the default options for the install. Here's where you'll need that license number.

4. When you are installing, you are free to use your host machine and move back and forth between the two operating systems. To do this, you need to use the ‘hostkey'. With Virtual PC, it's the right (not the left) ALT key. To practice, click your cursor in the virtual machine, now try and move to your host machine... nothing happens!

5. To get to your host machine, hold down the right ALT key and move the mouse.

6. If you need information on loading other operating systems, you might go to: http://www.essjae.com/virtualization/.

7. You'll need to load two operating systems into your virtual machine. You can go back out to the MSNDAA site and download Windows Server 2003, or if you feel comfortable, try a Linux operating system.

a. Ubuntu Linux images are available here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download

b. Other distributions are available here: http://iso.linuxquestions.org/

8. To complete the exercise, supply each of the following:

a. Write a one page synopsis of your experience in loading the virtualization software and operating systems. Include what you learned in the process.

b. Take a snapshot of your Virtual PC Console with two machines running and include it in your written synopsis. To give you an example, here's a picture with one running.