Virtual PC

Virtual PC is an emulator that was created by Connectix and later acquired by Microsoft, to allow PowerPC-based Macs to run PC software, including Microsoft Windows, within a virtual machine.
==History==
The software was first released in June 1997 as Connectix Virtual PC. It allowed Power Macintosh computers to emulate a PC to run DOS, , Windows, or OpenStep. Registered users of SoftWindows were offered a competitive rebate.Connectix Corporation Ships Connectix Virtual PC, Connectix. 1997-06-11.
Version 2 was released in 1998 and added support for Windows 98. Apple offered Virtual PC 2.0 with Windows 95 for free to purchasers of a Power Macintosh G3 computer.More Power or More Compatibility., Apple Computer. Archived 1998-05-09.
Version 3 was released in 1999 with improved performance and USB support for Mac OS 9 users running Windows 98.
Version 4 was released in 2001 with up to double the performance through support for the PowerPC G4 Velocity Engine. Disk images containing the Windows installation could be dynamically resized. Support for Windows 2000 was added; support for other operating systems could be added more easily through pre-configured OS Packs. This was also the first version to be ported to Windows to run on PCs.Virtual PC for Windows review by Gregg Keizer, CNET. 2001-08-24.
Version 5 was released in 2002 with support for Mac OS X 10.1 or later. Classic Mac OS was still supported for users of Mac OS 9.1 or later. Support for Windows XP was added with improved menu and text scrolling performance. Undoable disk images allowed users to back out of any problematic Windows session. Multiple Virtual PC sessions could also be networked together on the same computer.
Version 6 was briefly released for Mac users in 2003 before Connectix was acquired by Microsoft. Performance for Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later was increased along with improved compatibility for USB printers. Classic Mac OS was still supported for users of Mac OS 9.2.2 only.
===Acquisition by Microsoft===
Virtual PC was acquired by Microsoft in 2003. Its development and support staff, including Connectix's Chief Technical Officer Eric Traut, were transferred to Microsoft. Version 7 was the final major release for Mac, and added support for the PowerPC G5 processor in four editions that were bundled with Windows 2000 or XP.Virtual PC for Mac: Which One to Get It All Done?, Microsoft. Archived 2004-10-24. It was last updated to version 7.0.2 on June 21, 2005.Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7.0.2 Update, Microsoft. 2005-06-21. The introduction of Boot Camp with Intel-based Macs in 2006 had rendered emulation unnecessary at the time.VPC future uncertain as Microsoft welcomes Boot Camp, Macworld. 2006-04-06. Microsoft announced on August 7 at the 2006 Worldwide Developers Conference that it would end development of Virtual PC for the Mac.WWDC: Microsoft kills Virtual PC for Mac by Peter Cohen, Macworld 2006-08-06.
 
The PC version was adapted into Windows Virtual PC to allow users of Windows 7 to run older software in "Windows XP Mode" (XPM), which was compared to the Classic environment in early versions of Mac OS X.Windows 7's XP Mode is CYA at its best by Scott Lowe, Computerworld. 2009-04-27. Virtual PC has since been replaced by the hypervisor for machine virtualization in Windows.Hyper-V Technology Overview, Microsoft. 2016-11-29.
==Gallery==
Virtual_PC_2.1_Win98_box.png|Connectix Virtual PC 2.1 with Windows 98
Virtual_PC_3_boxes.png|Connectix Virtual PC 3 with DOS, Windows 95, and Windows 98
Virtual_PC_6_Mac_boxes.jpg|Virtual PC 6 with DOS, Windows 98, 2000, XP Home, and XP Professional
Microsoft Virtual PC 6.1 for Mac box.jpeg|Virtual PC 6.1 for Mac with Windows 2000
Microsoft Virtual PC Mac 7 JP box.jpg|Virtual PC 7 for Mac with Windows XP (final Mac version)
Virtual_PC_5_Windows_XP_monitor.jpg|Virtual PC for Windows running Windows 2000 within Windows XP
Virtual_PC_OS_Packs.png|Connectix OS Packs for Virtual PC
==References==
==See also==
*Parallels, developer of virtualization software that filled the absence of Virtual PC for Mac.
*QEMU, an open source machine emulator and virtualizer.
==External links==
*Virtual PC at Connectix (archived 1997-06-19)
**Virtual PC 2 (archived 1998-07-08)
**Virtual PC 3 (archived 1999-11-27)
**Virtual PC 4 for Macintosh (archived 2001-04-11)
**Virtual PC 5 for Mac (archived 2001-12-05)
**Virtual PC 6 for Mac (archived 2003-08-01)
**Virtual PC 4 for Windows (archived 2001-04-11)
**Virtual PC 5 for Windows (archived 2002-08-16)
**Connectix Virtual Server (archived 2003-08-06, 2002-10-17)
*Microsoft Virtual PC 6.1 for Mac at Microsoft (archived 2003-07-19)
**Microsoft Virtual PC 7 for Mac (archived 2004-09-11)
**Windows Virtual PC (archived 2009-05-03)
***Description of Windows Virtual PC at Microsoft Support
***How to set up XP mode in Windows 7 to browse the network via My Network Neighborhood
*Windows Virtual PC at the Microsoft Wiki
* at Wikipedia
Category:Connectix software
Category:Discontinued software
Category:Emulators
Category:Virtualization software
Category:Mac OS X software
Category:Windows software
Category:1997 introductions