Virtual machines are great for testing product installation and update scenarios. I use Virtual Server currently with a base platform and undo disks enabled to test installation. When done – no matter what the impact is to my virtual machine – I click “Turn off Virtual Machine and Discard Undo Disks”. Within seconds the machine is ready to use again in the same state with which it began: with my base platform installed.

Today Virtual PC 2007 was released and available for download for free. Virtual PC and Virtual Server use the same file formats but provide different levels of functionality. I use Virtual PC at home currently because of the great drag-n-drop interface. It allows me to debug applications at any level without requiring a separate machine.

If you have hardware-assisted virtualization you’ll see additional improvements in performance. Other new features are available as well.

Download today. It’s free!