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Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

microsoft.com

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Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#111

Post by mgkimsal »

acdha wrote: post #107
adrr wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't IE10 let you run the past versions of IE with developer mode? Haven't tried with IE10 but i know IE9 had it.

No: the compatibility modes aren't the same as the real browser - they try but some features, especially things like CSS or DOM handling of errors, non-standard properties, etc. will not be consistent enough to avoid testing in the real thing. When IE8 was out, setting IE7 compatibility mode using an HTTP header worked for 99% of a huge internal business app but I had to monkey-patch around a third-party library beca…

did you let them redistribute it?

Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#113

Post by at-fates-hands »

wpietri wrote: post #58
ecaron wrote: post #12

The biggest problem with these is that they all have an expiration date - and Microsoft frequently forgets to update them. And getting through to Microsoft to tell them it is out of date... forget about it.

Yes! We eventually stopped bothering with these because it was too much time to re-download and re-install them every time they expired. Instead, we just narrowed our IE support to what we could maintain easily with a legitimate copy of windows installed on a VM.

I'm surprised more people haven't done this as it would seem an obvious way to solve the problem.

I've recently been in several large corporations and they won't support anything below IE8 now. Most are dropping support for IE8 after IE10 becomes more widely available.

Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#115

Post by ceejayoz »

dave1010uk wrote: post #74
duck wrote: post #28

Or better yet, just use https://browserling.com/ which is from another HN member, pkrumins.

Similar remote browser testing services I'll be testing soon: http://saucelabs.com/ http://crossbrowsertesting.com/ http://www.browserstack.com/ Some of these even do mobile browsers too. After spending several hours setting up just 1 or 2 VMs, I'm convinced using these services is not only cheaper and more stress-free but also lets you keep more up to date.

We've been loving BrowserStack, particularly all the mobile emulators they've got available. Something like two dozen Android devices.

Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#117

Post by sp332 »

BonoboBoner wrote: post #101
conductor wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hackers don't search for easy solutions ;) You can use any hex editor to cut the PE file: just cut from the beginning to the point where the Rar! signature starts and rename the extension to .rar.

Challenge accepted. Edit: There is no "Rar!" in Windows_XP_IE6.exe :(

It looks like a self-extracting CAB file, 7-zip can open it and maybe some other archivers as well.

Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#118

Post by SiVal »

crazygringo wrote: post #34

These have been around for years. I put together a guide for personal use a while ago, for how to get them running under VirtualBox on OSX. Should be a similar process under Linux. I don't have a blog or anything, so I'll include them here, hoping they'll be helpful to people here, sorry about the length (I last did this a few months ago, so it should be pretty up-to-date). - Extract the RAR files. On OSX use UnRarX:…

Thank you for this. What I wish I could find was a way to buy a low-cost version of Windows to run in VirtualBox on a Mac, not for testing IE, but just to be able to use Windows occasionally.

I'm not sure why MS wants to make buying Windows without a PC so expensive. I suppose they feel that locking us into PC hardware (that won't run MacOS, thanks to Apple's lock-in policies) is the best way to lock us into Windows. For me, someone who uses Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android for different things, it all just drives me toward a policy of trying to find ways to get by without MS and Apple as much as I reasonably can. A $39 "Windows for VMs" package would keep my foot in the Windows world, but lacking Apple's (current) hardware quality advantage, MS is the easiest to learn to do without entirely.

Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#119

Post by mlvljr »

SiVal wrote: post #118
crazygringo wrote: post #34

These have been around for years. I put together a guide for personal use a while ago, for how to get them running under VirtualBox on OSX. Should be a similar process under Linux. I don't have a blog or anything, so I'll include them here, hoping they'll be helpful to people here, sorry about the length (I last did this a few months ago, so it should be pretty up-to-date). - Extract the RAR files. On OSX use UnRarX:…

Thank you for this. What I wish I could find was a way to buy a low-cost version of Windows to run in VirtualBox on a Mac, not for testing IE, but just to be able to use Windows occasionally. I'm not sure why MS wants to make buying Windows without a PC so expensive. I suppose they feel that locking us into PC hardware (that won't run MacOS, thanks to Apple's lock-in policies) is the best way to lock us into Windows.…

Windows 7 is free (incl. the Ultimate version, with Aero, etc.), you may use without paying a penny, if you can tolarate: 1) wallpapers regularily replaced with a black "picture" (telling you that your Windows copy needs a proper license) 2) occasional reminders that you better buy a license in form of poop-ups (you can make them show less often setting up tray notifications appropraitely) 3) no update-on-demand (though security updates are provided automatically)

Bonus is the reminder pop ups (which are shownn not often anyway) almost never mess will full-screen videos, and never -- with games (so, if you'd like to have Windows for playing games, this solution is perfect).

You can google for smth like Windows 7 7600 build, download the ISO (from the MSDN or a tracker you trust), install, let it patch itsekf to the latest service pack, install DirectX, codecs, etc -- and enjoy :)

Re: Free VMs of Windows to test older versions of IE

#120

Post by LocalPCGuy »

adrr wrote: post #71
j_s wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Virtual PC isn't supported in Windows 8 and I couldn't get these images working in Hyper-V. They are truly almost an afterthought from Microsoft.

Doesn't IE10 let you run the past versions of IE with developer mode? Haven't tried with IE10 but i know IE9 had it.

My experience is that about 90% of the time, the compatibility mode in IE9 or IE10 will give you an accurate prediction of behavior in IE7 or IE8. It's that last 10% of the time, generally related to JavaScript issues in the original browser engines or obscure CSS bugs. So it works for basic stuff, but if you have anything complex going on you should test in a VM running the actual browser version you want to test.
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