Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VHDs (Updated: 10/24/12) Available for Download

Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VHDs (Last Updated: 10/24/12) for Windows Virtual PC now available. Microsoft has provided the following VHDs with Windows set up with the specified version of Internet Explorer to help web designers and web developers test their websites in older versions of Internet Explorer. The VHDs are patched with the latest security updates and are otherwise clean installs of the operating system with very few modifications.

Download IE Application Compatibility VHDs
The IE Application Compatibility VHDs Image are available for download at Microsoft Download Center website. The download page contains different VHDs images, depending on what you want to test. These images are specifically designed to run on Microsoft Virtual PC, and may or may not work in other hosting environments. Download the files appropriate for you.

Due to the size of the Windows 7 and Windows Vista VHDs, it is split across several files, you'll need to download all files for that version of the Internet Explorer and uncompress them to the same directory to unpack the VHD file.

Note: The password to login to all of these images is "Password1" and the username will be present when you first login.

Windows XP Image

• Filename: Windows_XP_IE6.exe
• Contains: Windows XP SP3 with IE6 VHD file and was fully patched to October 2012.  This image also contains the install files for IE7 and IE8.  If you want to have separate base XP images for IE7 and IE8, you can copy the VHD, rename it, and install the other desired version of IE.
• Expires: This image will shutdown and become completely unusable on February 14, 2013.

Windows Vista Image

• Contains: Windows Vista SP2 with IE7 VHD file and was patched through March 2011. The install files for IE8 and IE9 are also available for install on the image.
• Filenames: Windows_Vista_IE7.part01.exe, Windows_Vista_IE7.part02.rar, Windows_Vista_IE7.part03.rar, Windows_Vista_IE7.part04.rar, Windows_Vista_IE7.part05.rar, Windows_Vista_IE7.part06.rar, Windows_Vista_IE7.part07.rar
• Expires: See *Note below

Windows 7 IE8 Image

• Contains: Windows 7 SP1 with IE8 VHD file and was patched through March 2011. The install files for IE9 are also available for install on the image.
• Filenames: Windows_7_IE8.part01.exe, Windows_7_IE8.part02.rar, Windows_7_IE8.part03.rar, Windows_7_IE8.part04.rar
• Expires: See *Note below

Windows 7 IE9 + Tools Image

• Contains: Windows 7 SP1 with IE9 VHD file and was patched through March 2011. This image also has the ACT Toolkit 5.6, IECTT, and Expression Super Preview software installed.
• Filenames: Windows_7_IE9.part01.exe, Windows_7_IE9.part02.rar, Windows_7_IE9.part03.rar, Windows_7_IE9.part04.rar, Windows_7_IE9.part05.rar, Windows_7_IE9.part06.rar, Windows_7_IE9.part07.rar
• Expires: See *Note below

*Note: You may be required to activate the OS as the product key has been deactivated. This is the expected behavior. The VHDs will not pass genuine validation. Immediately after you start the Windows 7 or Windows Vista images they will request to be activated. You can cancel the request and it will login to the desktop. You can activate up to two “rearms” (type slmgr –rearm at the command prompt) which will extend the trial for another 30 days each time OR simply shutdown the VPC image and discard the changes you’ve made from undo disks to reset the image back to its initial state.  By doing either of these methods, you can technically have a base image which never expires although you will never be able to permanently save any changes on these images for longer than 90 days

System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Note: You will need a minimum of 3.0 GB hard drive space free to expand the VHD file.