VMware Player

When you’re trying to decide whether to run a program, it’s always a good idea to do a little research first. Maybe you want to try out a new operating system but aren’t sure if your computer can handle it, or maybe you need to test a piece of software and want to make sure it runs on the same configuration as your current setup. Whatever the reason, VMware Player enables you to install and test operating systems on a virtual machine that can be run from inside Windows. VMware is capable of running Windows, Mac OS X and Linux operating systems in its virtual machines, so you can use this app with pretty much any computer.

VMware Player enables you to install and test operating systems on a virtual machine that can be run from inside Windows. You may already be familiar with the free VMware Player, which runs on both XP and Vista, but did you know that it’s capable of so much more?

The VMware Player is a virtualization tool that allows you to run multiple operating systems on your workstation without needing to reboot between them. This is how I run Linux distributions on my Windows 7 machine. It allows me to test out new Linux installations without having to risk breaking my main OS, or even if I’m just curious about trying out a different distribution. The instructions for setting up your own Linux virtual machine are pretty easy if you know how to use VMware player: go to the download page and install it, then open up the application, click “Create New Virtual Machine,” and follow the steps from there. Once everything is set up, open VMware player again and click “Open Virtual Machine.” Select the .vmx file that corresponds to your operating system and that’s it!