Virtual PC

This article is about the x86 emulator for PowerPC Macs and Windows and formerly by Connectix. For the generic term, see Virtual machine.
Not to be confused with Windows Virtual Desktop.

Virtual PC is a discontinued x86 emulator for PowerPC Mac hosts and Microsoft Windows hosts. It was created by Connectix in 1997 and acquired by Microsoft in 2003. The Mac version was discontinued in 2006 following the Mac transition to Intel, while the Windows version was discontinued in 2011 in favour of Hyper-V.[1]

Up until version 4, Virtual PC only supported Classic Mac OS hosts. In 2000, version 4 was released for both Mac OS and Windows, and version 5 (2001) added support for Mac OS X hosts. After Microsoft acquired Virtual PC from Connectix in 2003, the program was renamed Microsoft Virtual PC. In July 2006, Microsoft released the Windows version free of charge.[2] In August 2006, Microsoft announced the Mac version would not be ported to Intel-based Macs, effectively discontinuing the product as PowerPC-based Macs would no longer be manufactured.

In 2009, Microsoft released Windows Virtual PC, which is only compatible with Windows 7 hosts, and is the technical foundation for the latter's Windows XP Mode. Windows Virtual PC does not officially support MS-DOS or operating systems older than Windows XP Professional SP3 as guests.[3]

  1. ^ "Windows Virtual PC – FAQ". Microsoft.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  2. ^ "Virtual PC is free!". July 12, 2006. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference wvpc-desc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).