Downloading an operating system distribution kit from the Internet and installing it on a virtual machine is a simple but time-consuming process. It is much easier to download the special files of a virtual machine with a guest system already installed and simply open this machine in the appropriate hypervisor program. Below we will learn how and where to download a finished virtual machine with guest Windows, and also consider how to open it in VirtualBox and VMware Workstation hypervisor programs.
Pre-built virtual machines at Modern.IE
Modern.IE is a Microsoft web resource created specifically for testing websites in a window of various versions of standard Windows browsers, from Internet Explorer 6 in XP to Microsoft Edge on board the new Windows 10. For testing Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge browsers, the web -Resource Modern.IE and offers completely free download of ready-made virtual machines with Windows installed - in various versions of the system and for various hypervisor programs.
Regardless of which version of Internet Explorer we choose inside one or another version of Windows, we will get a full-fledged operating system for testing both standard browsers and other functionality. The only caveat is that English-language Windows are installed on all virtual machines. The issue with Russification in versions 7, 8.1 and 10 is solved by installing a Russian-language localization package and choosing Russian as the language of the operating system in its settings. You can translate Windows XP into Russian using the Multi User Interface for WindowsXP Russifier utility.
The second, less significant nuance is outdated versions of Internet Explorer in some cases. If your goal is not to test older versions of Internet Explorer, it is of course better to choose a system with a more recent version of the built-in browser. Although this point is not fundamental, because Internet Explorer is for the most part a browser for downloading other browsers.
Virtual machines have either non-activated full versions of Windows installed or trial versions with a limited free activation period.
Downloading virtual machines
To download the finished virtual machine, open the Modern.IE website and go to the Virtual Machines section.
Here you need to decide on some parameters.
The first parameter - Choose your OS - is the choice of the operating system installed on the physical computer. The list of hypervisors for each operating system presented - Windows, Mac OS and Linux - will be different, the contents of the list depend on the support of certain virtualization programs by these systems. The richest list of hypervisors, of course, is in Windows. There is VirtualBox, and VMware Workstation, and Hyper-V as part of server operating systems, there are even separate virtual machines designed to run on the old Microsoft Virtual PC platform.
The second parameter - Virtual machine - is the choice of the version of Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge as part of a particular version of Windows. Modern.IE offers ready-made virtual machines with all versions of Windows, from XP to the new Windows 10. Not only virtual machines with server editions of Windows are presented.
The third parameter - Select platform - is the choice of platform, that is, the hypervisor.
After selecting the finished virtual machine on the right, we will see the archive prepared for download. Click the download button "Download".
The distribution of the finished virtual machine contains all the necessary files for import by the hypervisor. For example, a VMware Workstation virtual machine includes a VMDK format virtual hard disk and an OVF configuration export file. The finished virtual machine for the VirtualBox program contains an export-import OVA configuration file. And as part of the assembly of virtual machines for Hyper-V, we will find a virtual VHD disk with the installed system and configured files.
After downloading the archive with the virtual machine, it must be unpacked into a separate folder and placed in a secluded place, preferably on a non-system drive.
How to open a finished virtual machine in VirtualBox
After unpacking the downloaded content into a separate folder, launch the VirtualBox program and select "Import Configurations" from the "File" menu.
In the window that appears, use the browse button to specify the path to the unpacked OVA file. Click "Next".
The options for importing the virtual machine will follow. Here you can change some data - change the name of the machine, set a different indicator of RAM, select a different installation folder for the virtual hard disk. Click "Import".
Upon completion of the import process, by clicking the "Settings" button, you can change other parameters of the virtual machine - for example, increase the video memory, activate 2D and 3D video acceleration, enable the shared clipboard, etc. After all the settings, turn on the virtual machine.
Windows will start, and the process of installing the necessary drivers for the emulated computer devices will follow. After that, in the VirtualBox window, you will see the desktop or the Windows start screen.
How to open a pre-built virtual machine in VMware Workstation
To open a virtual machine in VMware Workstation, we also unpack the downloaded archive into a separate folder on the computer. We launch VMware Workstation and click the option to open a virtual machine either in the "File" menu or in the main tab of the program. In the explorer window, specify the path to the OVF file.
At the end of the process of importing a virtual machine, as in the case of VirtualBox, you can change some parameters in the settings, in particular, set the desired amount of RAM in accordance with the hardware capabilities of the physical computer.
After starting the virtual machine on VMware Workstation, the drivers will also be installed, and then we will be greeted by the operating system screen against the background of branded wallpapers from the Modern.IE web resource.
Have a great day!