One of the disadvantages of running a virtual machine with a guest operating system is the fact that it works pretty slowly and it eats up a lot of resources. In Windows Virtual PC, Microsoft has elegantly solved this problem by providing a package called Integration Components. This package can be installed in your virtual machine and significantly improves the interaction between your virtual machine and the physical computer, as well as between the host and guest operating systems. In this article I will describe the benefits of using Integration Components, how to install them, configure them and turn them on.

In our previous articles, we discussed about Windows Virtual PC & Windows XP Mode and shown what these tools do, the prerequisites for using them and how to install them. I will continue this series by showing how to install a guest operating system in Windows Virtual PC. As you will see, the process is not very complicated, even if there are a few configuration options you should be aware of.

When getting infected with a virus, one of the most common things that can happen is for the Windows Task Manager to be disabled. In such a scenario, every time you try to launch it, you will receive a message saying that the 'Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator'. In this case, the first thing you should do is to install a good antivirus solution and disinfect your PC. If you need recommendations on good security solutions, check our 'Security for Everyone' series. After you disinfect your PC, you can enable your Task Manager again by using a free tool called TaskMgrED, developed by one of our team members. In this article you will find out how this tool works and also receive the download link.

Windows XP Mode or XPM is a very useful feature which allows Windows 7 users to run a pre-configured virtual machine with a licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3. This allows users to run old applications in Windows XP mode directly from Windows 7 therefore eliminating the need to have both operating systems installed. This feature helps eliminate many issues, especially in corporate networks which use a lot of old software. In this article I will show the following: when is Windows XP Mode useful, which are the prerequisites for installing it, how to install it and how to configure its installation.

Windows Virtual PC is a virtualization solution provided for free by Microsoft. You can use it to install and run in a virtual environment other operating systems such as Windows XP or Windows Vista, directly from your Windows 7. These virtual environment operating systems are called virtual machines and can be very useful in many scenarios. In this article I will share the following: what you can do with Windows Virtual PC, which operating systems are supported, what are the prerequisites for using it, where to find it and how to install it.

Windows DVD Maker has been introduced with Windows Vista and it continues to be present in Windows 7. Unlike with other tools in Windows 7, Windows DVD Maker doesn't have any new major features compared to its Windows Vista counterpart. The differences are cosmetic at best and the tool works the same. In this article I will touch on the following topics: where to find Windows DVD Maker, which file types and discs is supporting, how to customize and burn a DVD and how to solve issues with this tool.