ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 101
I
fyou’ve bought ashiny new PC but still
want to access your oldcomputer,you
can convertyour Windows PC into a
virtual one for free,such as for an old
Windows 7computer.The easiest way to do
this is to use your Windows installation disc
and create anew virtual machine in the free
VirtualBoxapplication.However,you can also
convertyour entireWindows computer into a
virtual one,which we’ll show you how to do
herewith an old Windows 7computer.
First,you’ll need as much free disk space
as the amount of storage thatyou’recurrently
using; if you can delete old files and
applications,do this now.Werecommend
using an external harddisk to save the image
to (if you have one to hand),so thatyou’renot
taking up valuablestorage space.
To convertyour computer to avirtual
one,you’ll need Microsoft’sfreeDisk2vhd
program from Microsoft(tinyurl.com/
msdisk2vhd).Download this to your
computer,then extract the files and run
the application.First,remove the option to
Use VHDX(aslightly oldervirtual disk image
has to be used for compatibility).Youcan
select which harddisksyou want to save,
then choose whereyou want to save
your virtual image and click Create.Your
computer will now be virtualised.
Next,you need to download and
install VirtualBoxonyour computer (www.
virtualbox.org).This is afreevirtualisation
application,which supports .vhd files.It runs
on Windows,Linux and macOS,so you can
run your old computer on practically any
other operating system.
Open VirtualBoxand select New to create
anew virtual machine,then enter aname for
your computer,such as Windows 7.This
should set the operating system as the right
type,but if not,use the drop-down menus to
select the type of operating system thatyou
want and click Continue.Youneed at least
2GB of RAM dedicated to the virtual machine,
so you can leave the default or increase this if
you have moresystem RAM; 4GB makes
Windows 7run smoothly.Click Continue,then
select ‘Use an existing virtual harddisk file’.
Select the folder icon,click the Add button,
browse to the .vhd file from your old
computer and select Open.Choose this
virtual harddisk from the
list and select Choose.
Once you’redone,you
can click ‘Starttoboot
your old computer as a
virtual one’,and you’ll
see thatyou have your old
files and applications,
which will still run.
Windows 7may need
reactivating,which may
mean calling Microsoft.
Tell them thatyou’ve changed motherboard
as the reason for this,and you should get
your operating system activated.Youshould
now clear out your old computer,asyou can
only have one Windows 7running on one
PC per licence key.
In VirtualBox,it’s worth installing the
VirtualBoxGuest Additions on your virtual
computer by clicking Devices,InsertGuest
Additions CD Image,which will let you run
your old computer at ahigher resolution.
From the View menu,you can even run
your computer in Seamless mode,which
dumps the Windows 7desktop image and
makes it look as though applications you’re
running areactually on Windows 10.Just take
note of the popup box,which tells you which
keycombination you need to switch back to
regular virtualisation mode.
This method is handy if you have old
applications thatyou rely on,as you can run
them as though they werenative Windows 7
applications.However,avirtual computer can
takeupalot of disk space.And,while
VirtualBoxlets you shareyour actual
computer’s USB ports through the Devices,
USB menu,it can be trickygetting old
peripherals such as printers to work correctly.
CREATE AVIRTUAL MACHINE
FROM YOUR OLD PC
LEFT:Create avirtual
image of your computer
with the free Disk2vhd
ABOVE:Youcan runyour old computer as avirtualised one
