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I've been using VirtualBox for a while to virtualize Ubuntu inside Windows 7. Now I'm wanting to make a Windows 7 guest sandbox inside a Windows 7 host to install experimental software and tweak settings without fear of crashing my primary OS.

Before giving this a try, I wanted to know if it is possible and even legal under Microsoft's terms?

Secondly, is there a better (free) way to make a sandbox for the same purposes?

NoCatharsis
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3 Answers3

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1) Virtualizing Windows 7 in VirtualBox under Windows is exactly like Virtualizing it under Ubuntu, no tutorials required.

2) Yes it's legal if you have a valid license for the OS. Microsoft's legal terms don't allow you to use the OS, even in a virtual environment, without a license :/

Windows 7 has XP mode built in (Microsoft's Virtual PC integrated), and allows you to run XP for free, but it isn't 7 so it doesn't match your reqs. You can read more about this here.

There isn't a better way, VBox rocks on Win and *nix!

Note from the MS licensing doc:

Customers may install unlimited copies of the software on the licensed device. However, at any one time, they may run no more than one instance directly on the physical hardware

(html version avail here)

Community
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invert
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There is a full walkthrough on running Windows 7 in VirtualBox that I've used before. It is located here.

There is also documentation on the VirtualBox website showing a list of supported guest OS's that can be hosted in VirtualBox.

mindless.panda
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Yes, there is a free way if you have the OS and license. You can you VMware. VMware has a program called VMWare Player, which can be found at the following link http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/desktop_downloads/vmware_player/3_0. This tool is very easy to use. You may then create a virtual machine that probably very similar to VirtualBox. Try it out. It's free for the program, and very easy to use.

Good Luck-

David
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