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Where can I get images or full Windows OS's to run in Virtual Machines [closed]
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I want to test my software on different Windows Operating Systems. I plan to do it using Virtual Machine software, either VMWare or Microsoft Virtual PC.

I would like to be able to test Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 98 in both 32 and 64 bit flavors, and possibly at differing service pack levels.

Where can I get the Images or full OS's, either free or by purchase, to run on either of these VM systems?

Update, June 2015: Microsoft is retiring the TechNet Subscription service and replacing it with the TechNet Evaluation Center. So romandas' answer is no longer valid. I'm moving the accepted answer over to Michael Burr, whose link still provides a good number of OS images, and for free as well.

Catarinacatarrh answered 15/1, 2009 at 0:48 Comment(0)
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You can get VPC images of installed OS's from Microsoft at no cost for a select number of OS/IE configurations:

There are a couple caveats - the images expire in a few months, then they put up new ones for download - so these really are for testing. Also their licensing might have restrictions in addition to the expiration date (I honestly don't know - I haven't used one of these in a long time).

Currently the available images are:

  • WinXP SP3 with IE6
  • WinXP SP2 with IE7
  • WinXP SP3 with IE8 Beta
  • Vista with IE7
  • WinXP to Windows 8.1, IE6 to IE11

For other OS's, your best bet is something like the MSDN or Technet subscription mentioned elsewhere.

Sidnee answered 15/1, 2009 at 1:35 Comment(0)
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Edit: Apparently, my original answer of using Technet is incorrect if you plan on testing custom code with the Technet-provided products. I'm not going to comment on whether it's illegal or not, since I Am Not A Lawyer, Nor Do I Play One On TV, but it is clearly a violation of MS's license agreement to do it. So, if you want to test custom code on MS products, apparently you will need to grab one of the MSDN subscriptions. My apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Less expensive than MSDN (over $1000 I believe) is MS Technet Plus ($349 for download-only; $249 to renew). Since you are only asking for operating systems, not developer tools. Technet includes everything MS has except Visual Studio and related. I use this for building systems within my VMWare testbed. 10 licenses per OS.

There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions of all their OS and servers, plus legacy stuff going back to MS-DOS.

Information here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx

Rondelle answered 15/1, 2009 at 1:27 Comment(9)
That sounds like a much better fit than a full MSDN sub, +1. – Designed
The MSDN Operating Systems subscription is only $700, but that's still considerably more than $300. I wonder why. – Sidnee
Does MSDN Operating Systems come with Vis Studio, or is it just the OSes? – Rondelle
Yeah, but if he qualifies for Action Pack, Empower, or Bizspark then you're talking ~$299/year for 5 MSDN subscriptions, a bunch of office licenses, etc. – Weichsel
Excellent! Exactly what I wanted. Thank you. – Catarinacatarrh
+1 we use Technet here. The caveat is that you're supposed to purchase one technet subscription for each person that will be using any of the software (even if it's two people accessing the same software at different times). We've got about 20 VMs on ESXi with different configurations, works great!! – Sensual
I hate to spoil the party, but I think this is illegal. This Microsoft page says "software on TechNet Plus is not licensed for developing or testing applications that you have created" download.microsoft.com/documents/uk/technet/abouttn/… – Killdeer
Hi Romandas, my second comment was intended to be a sort of humorous emphasis to the first comment. I will delete it now, especially given the edits you've made to your answer. I'm sorry if it caused any offence. – Killdeer
No problem. I've deleted my comment as well, since it's out of place now. – Rondelle
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You can get VPC images of installed OS's from Microsoft at no cost for a select number of OS/IE configurations:

There are a couple caveats - the images expire in a few months, then they put up new ones for download - so these really are for testing. Also their licensing might have restrictions in addition to the expiration date (I honestly don't know - I haven't used one of these in a long time).

Currently the available images are:

  • WinXP SP3 with IE6
  • WinXP SP2 with IE7
  • WinXP SP3 with IE8 Beta
  • Vista with IE7
  • WinXP to Windows 8.1, IE6 to IE11

For other OS's, your best bet is something like the MSDN or Technet subscription mentioned elsewhere.

Sidnee answered 15/1, 2009 at 1:35 Comment(0)
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The easiest way is with a MSDN subscription of some sort. You get ISO's of all the OS's for testing purposes for one yearly fee. Depending on your situation the cost varies.

Oddly, the partner site is completely broken for Google Chrome right now.

Edit: If you qualify for Action Pack, Empower, or Bizspark then you're talking ~$300/year for 5 MSDN subscriptions, a bunch of office licenses, real SQL Server licenses, etc.

Weichsel answered 15/1, 2009 at 0:53 Comment(2)
Doesn't Technet give you everything MSDN does, except the Dev tools, at a cheaper price? – Rondelle
@romandas: yes, but it's illegal to use Technet for testing or developing. This Microsoft page says "software on TechNet Plus is not licensed for developing or testing applications that you have created" download.microsoft.com/documents/uk/technet/abouttn/… – Killdeer
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If you have the installers for these OSs on DVDs, you can route your Virtual PC to user the host PC's disk drive and just boot the virtual machine off the disk. Then you continue with the OS install as if you were doing it on an actual machine.

Make sure you allocate enough resources to each virtual PC ahead of time.

That is how I did it for Microsoft Virtual PC

Integral answered 15/1, 2009 at 0:51 Comment(0)
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Take a look at the VMWare Appliance Market:

Windows 7

Windows 2008 Server

Windows 2003 R2 Server

Superimpose answered 15/1, 2009 at 0:52 Comment(1)
You still need licenses to run those past 30 or 60 days, IIRC. – Rondelle
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You can get the ISOs from MSDN and install them as VMs. Once you have a fresh install, take a snapshot so you can easily start off with a clean slate, or at various different points (e.g. OS without .NET and OS with .NET).

Diplo answered 15/1, 2009 at 0:53 Comment(0)
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An MSDN subscription is what you need. All the old OSs in different versions (including international). Not as VM images though, you'll need to install them yourself. The licence terms would prohibit a 3rd distrubuting OS image files obviously.

Comedown answered 15/1, 2009 at 0:54 Comment(0)
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Another virtualization tool you should consider is VirtualBox by Sun. It runs on any platform, and can run most any OS, even with seamless windows. It's free, easy to install and uses minimal resources. Here's a list of known supported OSes

Jermaine answered 15/1, 2009 at 1:6 Comment(4)
I use VirtualBox and find it to be the best choice. I run all my Linux distros from inside VirtualBox using the CD's. – Careaga
No downvote, but you're not actually answering the question. – Designed
@Rondelle -- sorry you didn't find it helpful. It points to sources of images, which were asked for, and provides an additional, useful tip. If I had asked the question, I would want to see this kind of feedback. – Jermaine
@KenPaul this question asks for windows images. I don't see you providing any? – Absinthe

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