Virtualization with Windows7

Windows 7 virtualization includes running Windows 7 as either a host OS (Operating System) or a guest OS (virtual OS). When you run Windows 7 as the host OS, you can run another operating system, such as Windows XP or Linux, within it as its guest OS. When you run another OS, such as Mac OS X Snow Leopard, as the host OS, you can run Windows 7 within it as its guest OS.

Support for these technologies is not across the board, however. Intel-VT can be found in some very old Pentium 4 models – the 662 and 672 – but not in certain Core 2 processors. There are even some Atom chips with –VT, but not all Pentium-D processors. The Core 2 family is quite varied, according to this Intel product list.

In the case of AMD, it introduced AMD-V in 2006 with the Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 X2 with family "F" or "G" on socket AM2. Earlier generations of AMD chips that used the Socket 939 do not include AMD-V. The "Sempron" family also does not support AMD-V.

Windows 7 has a new feature that makes it easier than ever to set up multi-boot scenarios on a single machine.
Boot from VHD allows you to mount a vhd as a bootable drive and, as the name implies, boot from it.  It's a great scenario for creating multiple OS installations without having to create multiple OS partitions on your hard drive.

In Windows 7, native VHD boot allows you to create and modify VHD files without installing the Hyper-V server role. You can attach VHD files by using the disk management tools, and you can service the Windows image inside the VHD. You can use the deployment tools in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) to apply a Windows image to the VHD and to apply updates to the image in the VHD file.

Native VHD boot also requires the Windows 7 boot environment. The Windows 7 boot environment is initialized during a full operating system installation, and it includes the Windows Boot Manager, Boot Configuration Data (BCD), and other supporting files.

More details will be updated soon.