There are various options to test a website in different versions of Internet Explorer. Some, like IETester, make it possible to install multiple versions of Internet Explorer on the same computer system. Others, like Browsershots, are online tools that can test a website in various web browsers as well.

A third possibility is now offered by Microsoft directly in the form of virtual PC images. Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 are provided as virtual PC images. It is possible to download a virtual PC image for each web browser running under Windows XP or Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8 images running under Windows Vista.

The Windows XP images have a size of around 600 Megabytes each while the Windows Vista images triple that size. The only limitation is an expiration date for the virtual PC images. The Windows XP images will expire in January 2010 while the Vista images will expire 120 days after their first execution. These expiration dates make the virtual PC images a less than favorable solution but its probably better than not testing the various editions of Internet Explorer at all.

Users who are interested in the virtual PC images can download them directly from the Microsoft website.

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Microsoft’s Virtual PC 2007 is one of the applications that can be used to run virtual systems on a single computer system. It has been optimized for Microsoft operating systems but can also be used to install and run operating systems from other developers. Setting up a virtual machine is actually a very straightforward easy process.

Virtual PC 2007 provides the option to create a virtual machine or to add an existing virtual machine from an vmc file which is good for distributing virtual machines to multiple computer systems.

Each virtual machine will be stored in an vmc file on the computer’s hard drive from where it can be accessed at anytime using Virtual Pc 2007. Most Microsoft operating systems can be selected from a list which would automatically adjust the computer memory, virtual disk size and sound capabilities. Selecting Other is a custom option to define those parameters individually.

New operating systems can be installed from CD, DVD or an iso image located on the computer’s hard drive or network drive. To boot the virtual machine from CD one would select CD from the top menu of the virtual console and pick the CD / DVD drive that contains the boot image. ISO images can be mounted and booted from as well.

The virtual machine will then start the installation of the operating system which might take some time. One important key combination is [CTRL ALT DEL] to get out of the virtual machine’s window and be able to access the normal operating system.

Each virtual operating system that gets created will be available as long as the vmc file on the hard drive remains. A user could use Windows XP as his standard operating system and use virtual machines for Linux, Windows Vista and Windows 95 on the same system without difficulties.

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Returnil basically clones the system partition of the computer and boots the computer using the clone instead of the real system partition. The effect is of course that changes made to the clone can be reverted easily by rebooting the PC. Folders can be specified that retain the data that was saved into them, if you would not do that the saved files would be gone after a reboot.

I wrote a review about the free version of Returnil a few months ago. The premium edition of Returnil has some advantages over the free edition. It comes with a Session Saver and File Manager that the free version lacks. It’s also possible to choose the caching method and it does add several other features that are missing in the free version.

What Returnil offers is a way to use a virtual system that does not degrade system performance in any way. It might not be needed by experienced users but it’s definitely a good way of protecting the system if you are an inexperienced user or want maximum security.

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One way to check if your websites are compatible with Internet Explorer is to use a virtual pc edition. They require Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 which can be downloaded from the Microsoft homepage. Microsoft is offering virtual pc images of Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 on Windows XP and Windows Vista. All you need to do is download those images and use them in Virtual PC 2007.

The images contain fully activated editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista which expire on July 3, 2008. Supported operating systems are Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows Vista plus roughly 1.5 Gigabyte free of hard drive space.

The naming convention at the download page is quite confusing and requires some explanation. I did download all images just to make sure I understand everything correctly. Mentioned on the page are the following virtual pc image downloads:

• IE6_VPC.EXE – Windows XP SP2 with Internet Explorer 6
• IE7_VPC.EXE – Windows XP SP2 with Internet Explorer 7
• IE8_VPC.EXE – Windows XP SP2 with Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1
• IE7-VIS1.exe – Windows Vista Business with Internet Explorer 7
• IE7-VIS2.rar – part of IE7-VIS1.exe
• IS7-VIS3.rar – part of IE7-VIS1.exe

Please note that the third part of the Windows Vista virtual PC image has a typo in the filename. It should of course be IE7-VIS3.rar instead of IS7-VIS3.rar like Microsoft named it. Just point the self extracting archive to the right file when it asks for it.

The Windows XP images have a size of roughly 1.25 Gigabyte while the Windows Vista image has a size of 6.3 Gigabyte. It seems that the Vista image is only available with Internet Explorer 7 as well.

I just want to explain briefly how you use those images. You install Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 from the location given above, create a new VPC and point it to one of the images that you have extracted before.

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