IE Testing VPC Images Updated
Just wanted to get a post out to let people know that we’ve updated the IE VPC Test images. These images are meant to make it easier for you to ensure your website works properly across different browser versions and different operating systems without having to have a separate box dedicated to that particular OS. You can download them via the IE Developer Center or more directly through the Microsoft Download Center. As a reminder, you need to have Virtual PC installed on your computer which is also available on the Download Center.
Available for download are the following VPC’s:
- Windows XP with SP3, Internet Explorer 6, expiring August 31, 2009
- Windows XP with SP3, Internet Explorer 7, expiring August 31, 2009
- Windows XP with SP3, Internet Explorer 8, expiring August 31, 2009
- Windows Vista Business, Internet Explorer 7, expires 120 days after first run
- Windows Vista Business, Internet Explorer 8, expires 120 days after first run
If you’re curious about why you shouldn’t use tools like IETester or other tools that allow you to run multiple versions of IE on the same box (Frankenbuilds), check out this blog post on my blog.
Thanks!
PEte LePage
Comments
Anonymous
January 01, 2003
The comment has been removedAnonymous
May 06, 2009
PingBack from http://asp-net-hosting.simplynetdev.com/ie-testing-vpc-images-updated/Anonymous
May 06, 2009
I love the way you told us what has been updated in these images to make it worth spending time downloading them. Is it just the expiry date?Anonymous
May 06, 2009
@PinkDuck: Yes, the intent of the updated image is to update the expiration date; the old VPC images recently expired.Anonymous
May 06, 2009
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May 06, 2009
Why do you do this? Every time my testing images expire I have to set up each Virtual machine AGAIN and AGAIN with all the plugins I need to do CSS debugging. Just give us some [----]ing images that don't expire!Anonymous
May 06, 2009
Thanks for updating the images. Can I second the request for non-expiring images?Anonymous
May 06, 2009
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May 06, 2009
No, they do not hate you, they love you: Microsoft Expression Web SuperPreview http://blogs.msdn.com/xweb/archive/2009/03/18/Microsoft-Expression-Web-SuperPreview-for-Windows-Internet-Explorer.aspx And they even mentioned IETester which is not a 100% solution but quite practical in my opinion.Anonymous
May 06, 2009
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May 06, 2009
I'm using Window 7 with XP Mode to get IE6 for testing. Since it is already installed, is there a way to get it to Auto-Publish so it doesn't require the whole desktop, etc?Anonymous
May 06, 2009
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May 06, 2009
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May 06, 2009
>Even Microsoft itself doesn't believe in using VPC When you say silly things like that, you ruin your own credibility. When you do it twice, you look doubly foolish.Anonymous
May 06, 2009
when are we going to see a win. 7 vpc image?Anonymous
May 06, 2009
Thanks for the update. It would be appreciated if you could supply new images next time BEFORE they expire? As others said, it would be great if non-time-bombed images could be provided, maybe not to the general public, but maybe to MSDN or Gold (or higher) partners.Anonymous
May 06, 2009
If you all of us running VPC instead of IETester or something like that, please make sure all of the VPCs have difference UUID by default...Anonymous
May 06, 2009
If you are looking to follow this series, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed at http://feeds.jasongaylordAnonymous
May 06, 2009
If you are looking to follow this series, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed at http://feeds.jasongaylord.com/JasonNGaylordAnonymous
May 06, 2009
Why was the comment I posted here last night deleted? It contained no offensive language. Censoring criticism of your approach does not fix anything! @ Viktor Krammer They only mentioned IETester in the context of "don't use it"! SuperPrrview doesn't let you run IE7 and IE8 side by side, doesn't let you use developer tools and doesn't provide a full browsing experience with element interaction. It's just for visual comparison. What's needed is standalone versions of each browser version, but Microsoft won't provide them, and don't want other people providing them, because it would weaken their position in potential antitrust hearings. Instead they continue to insist the browser and OS are so intermingled as to make them inseparable.Anonymous
May 07, 2009
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May 07, 2009
Probably the best solution is building your own test environment with VMWare. Once the images are set up, they never expire and load within seconds. >Run IE7 and IE8 side-by-side Actually, this is what IE8 compatibility mode does with the addition of developer tools and a nice script debugger. Again, compatibility mode is not a 100% accurate solution but quite practical for most Web sites to see how they would look and interact in IE7.Anonymous
May 07, 2009
@MSFT - Awesome. Thanks for updating.Anonymous
May 07, 2009
Are the Vista 2/3 rar's are corrupt? I've tried downloading them several times. Do you have md5's? Extracting Vista Business with IE7.vhd Extracting from IE7-VIS2.rar CRC failed in Vista Business with IE7.vhd Extracting from IE7-VIS3.rar Extracting Vista Business with IE7.vhd Extracting VPC_Vista and IE 7.rtfAnonymous
May 07, 2009
@Jon-- Rules for comments on IEBlog are posted here: http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2004/07/22/191629.aspxAnonymous
May 08, 2009
Can we have an IE6 image that does not include SP3? SP3 upgrades IE's Jscript version to 5.7, the same as IE7. This means that there is no way to test with Jscript 5.6, the default version that comes with IE6. Yes, people should upgrade to the latest Service Packs for their operating system, but that isn't always the case. Let me get this straight on available versions of IE for various instances of Microsoft products: IE6 with JScript 5.6 (all installs of IE up to XP SP3) IE6 with JScript 5.7 (XP SP3) IE6 with JScript 5.8 (IE on Windows Mobile 6.5) IE7 with JScript 5.7 (all IE7 installs) IE8 with JScript 5.8 (all IE8 installs). So when do we get IE7 with JScript 5.8 to really make this difficult? :-pAnonymous
May 08, 2009
Brian, Microsoft released JS5.7 as a download for IE6 users, so it's a little misleading to suggest that only XPSP3 users will have it. While it might be nice for the VPCs to offer a broader range of customizability, delivering the "fully patched" version accounts for the most likely end-user configuration. Not much changed between JScript 5.6 and 5.7.Anonymous
May 08, 2009
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May 08, 2009
You don't have to use Microsoft's VPC to run the IE images. VirtualBox (cross-platform and free) is capable of using the images if you follow the right steps. http://zytzagoo.net/blog/2009/03/20/howto-running-ie6-ie7-and-ie8-on-ubuntu-intrepid-810-using-virtualbox/Anonymous
May 09, 2009
Hi Peter, I am using Vista x86 SP1 and developing with VS2005, VS2008 and Expression Studio. I cannot work out how to address the Vista localhost from my VHD images. I wonder if you could point me in the right direction, and/or provide documentation on the VHD download site for common testing scenarios/configurations.Anonymous
May 09, 2009
Ok. That was easy.(a new download and install prompted a rethink). From your VI right click on My Computer and select Properties - Computer Name tab, "Change" button. Change your Workgroup name to that used on your host machine (default "WORKGROUP"). You will be prompted to reboot your VI. On your host machine, open File Explorer and add Shares to the folders that you want access to.Anonymous
May 12, 2009
IE Tester 와 Multiple IE 둘다 이제 믿지 못함… 그냥 귀찮지만, Virtual PC로… 완전 뒤통수 맞아서 헤롱헤롱…Anonymous
May 18, 2009
Expecting an average web designer to run 5 virtual machines all the time is ridiculous. Create an application that starts in less than a minute and lets me easily test sites in all the versions of IE. Yeah, I know, those images are better than nothing. But only that much better.