Microsoft Virtual pc vs other virtualization software

There are many free virtualization tools. Among which the lightest one is Microsoft Virtual pc. It is just around 30mb in download size. I want to know that is this a stable tool to test operating system.I have to test different version of Linux distro on my system. I had seen vmware download which is around 500mb and my internet speed is not so great. I had never used Microsoft Virtual pc before. I want a light weight tool for this purpose. Just to run the software and to find out what all feature are there.

Vmware is a advance and stable software. If you use this you wont face any issue with installing operating system virtually on your system. It also comes with ready to use virtual images of various operating system. Compare to that the hardware requirement of Microsoft Virtual pc is higher. And it brings out many limitation. I will recommend you to stick with Vmware which is far more better. If in future you want to test a mac system or any other windows operating system then you have to change it.

I will also go with vmware. The reason lies with usage. Vmware is very easy to use. You can instantly create a virtual pc on that and it is simple. You can adjust the hardware requirement in that every now and then. This is a one time download. With few simple process you can install your operating system on that and get smooth output. You can make changes in the hardware settings anytime. It is faster compare to other tools. While Microsoft Virtual pc can be a bit complicated to use for the first time.

I am using Orcale VirtualBox. I do not find anything simpler than this. This tool is just around 100mb for download and it comes with required features. You can easily create your virtual machine on that with less effort. I will recommend you to test this first. It has a very simple ui. You just have to click on start button to create your own virtual machine. You have to associated a bootable media with the cd/dvd rom in it and done. You can install os on the same instantly. It does not consume much ram.

Virtualbox is the simplest one. I am using this from long time. I had tested Mac and Linux operating system on that and it works really well. It does not freeze even if you are running multiple operating system on the same. It offer you a guest os mode where you can test windows operations system most effectively. It has a great performance. You can take snapshot of your virtual machine or generate ea full configuration file. The tool is capable of opening up virtual disk images crated in vmware or in Microsoft Virtual PC.

Virtualbox is good for beginners. But when you have to do more in virtual environment then you have to go with vmware. Because this is the best one. You get a variety of tools related to virtualization on the official site. You can download and test different servers and do a lot more. For your basic need I think Virtualbox is a better choice compared to Microsoft Virtual PC. The best thing is that it does not freezes if you are frequently switching between different operating system.