Windows 7 and the Virtual PC

I bought a new computer in October and guess what? A program I use (ACT! 2000) and Vista did not play nice. So, I had to install ACT! on my husband’s computer, ask the client for a complete sync and jump from one computer to the next. Which was not too bad, but if the husband was using his computer, it caused some scheduling issues. For some reason, he did not appreciate me dumping him out of his chair so that I could access the computer.

Well, my husband is an engineer and bless his little heart, he is always looking for ways to make life easier for me. (Too bad that has not included winning the lotto ‘yet’.) We upgraded to Windows 7 but still had that issue – mainly because I did not try to see if ACT! 2000 would run on it. However, the husband found a solution! We had to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional, but the solution is pretty slick so far.

Microsoft has a download that creates a virtual pc on your computer that runs XP. We have installed it, installed ACT! 2000, and I decided to use Outlook Express (since that was on the virtual pc) to sync updates. Yeppers! All works, except the printer. I just have to install the drivers on that virtual pc to get those to work I believe.

So, all-in-all, a decent solution to a Vista nightmare. And, my husband gets his computer back.