This article shows how to run Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 on a new virtual machine using Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization software.
Microsoft released the Windows Vista operating system on January 30, 2007, with many innovations such as the remarkable new Aero theme, new start icon, and information preview.
Although Windows Vista had severe changes in the user interface compared to XP, it caused system slowness on computers with old hardware.
It received a lot of criticism for discovering serious system vulnerabilities in this operating system. However, Microsoft has circumvented these problems by releasing a comprehensive update.
Later, Microsoft ended direct support for this system on April 10, 2012, and extended support on April 11, 2017.
You can install this old system of Microsoft on a computer with old hardware or run it on a virtual machine by following this video or the steps below.
Step 1: To install the Hyper-V virtualization software on your Windows 10 system, turn Windows Features On or Off, select the Hyper-V option, click OK, and restart your system after the installation.
Step 2: Find and run the Hyper-V Client software in the start menu. After opening Hyper-V Manager, you must create an External Switch that you will use on guest machines before installing a Windows operating system. The Default Switch connects virtual computers to your local network using the NAT adapter, but often this adapter can cause network problems. Therefore, open the Virtual Switch Manager tool from the Actions section to create an External Switch.
Step 3: Select External in Virtual Switch Manager and click the Create Virtual Switch button, and then after the External adapter is created, select the External Network setting in its settings, select the Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter of your host computer, and click OK to close the window.
Step 4: Click Actions / New / Virtual Machine to create a virtual computer.
Step 5: When the Before You Begin window opens, continue with Next to create a manual virtual machine.
Step 6: In the Specify Name and Location window, type the name of the operating system you will install in the Name field and specify the folder on your external storage device after clicking the Browse button to back up the VM in an external location.
Step 7: There are two types of firmware in the Specify Generation window, Generation 1 and Generation 2. Generation 1 supports BIOS firmware to install older systems of Windows, such as Vista. Generation 2, on the other hand, supports UEFI firmware to install newer software such as Windows 10. Select Generation 1 for the BIOS type, as Vista does not officially support the UEFI system.
Step 8: You must assign the RAM size to the guest system in the Assign Memory window. If you are going to run multiple VMs simultaneously in Hyper-V, you can enable the Dynamic Memory feature to enable more efficient use of host resources in the VMs. However, if you use only one virtual PC, uncheck Dynamic Memory and assign a fixed size of 4096 MB (4 GB) to the VM.
Step 9: Continue without selecting a network adapter in the Configure Networking window.
Step 10: In the Connect Virtual Hard Disk window, you can increase or decrease the virtual hard disk size depending on your usage. By default, Hyper-V has set a disk capacity of 127GB for the Windows Vista virtual machine, but you can set this value to the recommended minimum of 50GB.
Step 11: In the Installation Options window, select the Install an operating system from a bootable image file option to add a Windows Vista ISO file to the virtual machine. Click the Browse button to add the image file you downloaded to your computer.
Step 12: In the Summary window, you will see the configuration settings of the virtual computer. If there is a setting you want to change, you can return to the previous settings or close the wizard by clicking Finish.
Step 13: After creating the Windows Vista virtual computer, open its settings and set the virtual processor number to 4 or higher according to the hardware power of your host.
Step 14: Vista does not support the new adapter card that Hyper-V defines by default as it is an old system; therefore, you cannot connect to the Internet or local network. So in the VM settings, delete the existing network adapter and add the Legacy Network Adapter with the Add Hardware option. Define the External Switch you created for the Legacy Network Adapter you said.
Step 15: Finally, connect to Windows Vista and start the installation by clicking the Start button.
Related Articles
1. How to Create a Virtual Machine in Hyper-V
2. How to Install Windows 8 with Hyper-V
3. How to Install Windows 10 with Hyper-V
4. How to Install Windows XP with Hyper-V
5. How to Install Windows 7 with Hyper-V