Virtual PC for Mac Version 7

Virtual PC for Mac Version 7

The release of Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7 is Microsoft’s first internally developed version of this software emulator. The release touts G5 compatibility, new features, better performance and a more responsive interface, but it fails to deliver some key expectations. Performance is sluggish running Windows XP Professional on a high-end dual processor G5. Video performance isn’t hardware accelerated and limited to 16MB of emulated Video RAM. My evaluation version is incompatible with G5s with more than 2GB RAM, but Microsoft promises a patch. While it now runs on G5 architecture, it doesn’t exploit that architecture. I didn’t test Virtual PC 7 with a G4, so I can’t verify the reports of performance gains on G4 Macs.

On the plus side, Virtual PC 7 is better integrated with OS X, which makes set up, file transfer and peripheral compatibility a little easier. Compatibility with other “virtual machines,” as Microsoft characterizes them, extends to Windows 2000 using Virtual PC 5.0 or better. You also can transfer most data between Virtual PC 7 and previous installs using an automated wizard on the new “PC Menu.”

Installation using my G5 2G dual processor with 4.5GB RAM was anything but uneventful. An “Installation Overview” guide and well-illustrated 79-page “Getting Started” manual assisted. Once the install of Virtual PC 7 and Windows XP Professional was complete, I immediately received an alert indicating an “Unhandled PowerPC Exception.” The “Reset” button didn’t work, which required me to “Force Quit” the application and delete the XP install in my “Documents” folder. The problem relates to Virtual PC 7’s incompatibility with G5 Macs with excess of 2GB RAM, according to Microsoft.

Once I manually removed two offending components, I reinstalled XP Professional and the program launched. Microsoft says it currently supports an install of 2000 or Home Edition from a previous version of Virtual PC. However, when I launched a virtual Windows 2000 machine created with Virtual PC 6.0, a screen warned that Microsoft didn’t support the install. The Windows 2000 container converted to Virtual PC 7 use, but some mouse and keyboard control was lost. (It did eventually run.)

Setting up alternative virtual machines with Microsoft-supported operating systems is handled using an automated process. Extended universal serial bus support, particularly for Mac printers, is improved. The software recognized my two inkjet Epson USB printers and a Hewlett-Packard USB laser printer.

Although Microsoft claims an overall performance boost, I didn’t detect a noticeable improvement over previous iterations, particularly in screen response. As stated earlier, no graphics acceleration is provided, and VRAM access is an emulated S3 Trio32/64 chipset limited to 16GB VRAM — again a disappointment. The application does key into the Mac OS X’s Quartz Extreme functionality for supported video cards, but the performance was still disappointing.

Moreover, overall system RAM access is limited to 512MB. This translates into sluggish performance on the DP 2GB G5. It also fails to exploit a key selling point in Apple’s G5 architecture — the capacity access up to 8GB RAM.

Virtual PC 7’s “Fast Save” feature closes a Windows session instantaneously and saves the existing state of the session. This feature speeds a return to a Windows session. The “Preferences” pane is improved and provides settings that are easier to configure. However, my DVD burner simply recognized it as a “MS C/DVD-ROM” drive.

The Virtual PC 7 application menu has been augmented with a “PC Menu” that includes options for updating the operating system, transferring documents from another PC and accessing PC settings, among other things.

Emulation of the Windows OS was rock solid. I installed various PC-centric, legal-specific and mainstream office applications and they ran without issue. To move files between the Mac and PC desktop, you could “drag and drop” and “cut and paste” — or you could configure Virtual PC 7 to include a “shared folder” as a separate access volume.

Suspecting the sluggish performance was related to the huge overhead Windows XP brings, I tested performance on the Windows 2000 virtual machine. Performance improved, particularly with supplied Windows applications such as Windows Internet Explorer. Microsoft intends to offer additional enhanced OS installs for the Windows 2000 and Home Edition by the time you read this. Some users are reporting a 10 to 35 percent increase in performance running Virtual PC 7 on G4 systems.

Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7
Microsoft Corp.
www.microsoft.com/mac
Price: Starts at $99 for upgrades to $249 for Windows XP Professional.
G3 700MHz or better;
512MB RAM.

Reviewed by David A. Saraceno, who has practiced law for 30 years. Located in Spokane, Wash., he owns a motion graphics company that produces DVDs for attorneys. He also writes about various technology issues.

Dec/Jan '05 Issue

PROS
Improved setup and printer support. Backward compatibility with previous Virtual PC installs to Version 5.0.

CONS
Supports G5 architecture but doesn’t take advantage of the second processor. Limited to 512MB RAM. Windows XP sluggish even on a G5.

VERDICT
Although this is a necessary upgrade for the G5, Microsoft failed to truly exploit G5 architecture.