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I need to run Windows to be able to use a feature for some remote work. However, I would rather not have a full-blown 20GB (or much more) Windows 8 install for Parallels.

Is there a way to get a barebones Windows virtual environment on a Mac? Something like Windows XP with nLite done for a Mac install? (Using Parallels or something else.)

I cannot run nLite on OS X to begin with. Are there prepared ISO files or something?

slhck
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László
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3 Answers3

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If you only want to run ActiveX and do some minimal browser testing try WINE (winehq.org). It allows you to run some Windows apps 'natively' without running a virtual machine. In particular you can run IE6.

WINE emulates a Win2k / XP environment though so very new programs and programs created by Microsoft will not usually work well.

Joe Harris
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Experiment with Windows PE, perhaps?

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824964.aspx#WindowsPELimitations

László
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There is a script for OSX which helps you install IE App Compat VHDs as Virtualbox VMs, which are primarily used to test Web site layouts on IE browsers, but could be used for ActiveX too. You can find the script on Github, and more info on IE App Compat VMs from Microsoft.

The platforms provided are: IE6 on XP, IE7 on Vista, IE8+9 on Win7. If IE6 is enough, it has the smallest footprint. If not, I'd recommend skipping the Vista version and going for Win7.

aleksikallio
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