At the time of writing, the following combinations are available: Various Windows and IE VMs are presented. Now select your host OS and virtual host platform - we’re using VirtualBox running on a Mac: Visit modern.ie and follow the Test your site using free virtual machines link:
#IN BROWSER WINDOWS XP EMULATOR FULL#
The other VM hosts have similar processes - full instructions are available at modern.ie.
#IN BROWSER WINDOWS XP EMULATOR INSTALL#
Head over to then download and install the application for your OS. It’s available on all platforms, is easy to install, fast, and it’s free. Virtual PC (free - add-on for Windows 7)įor the purposes of this article, we’ll use VirtualBox running on a Mac.Hyper-V (free - add-on for Windows 8 and Server 2012).VMware (commercial - Windows, Mac, Linux).VirtualBox (open source - Windows, Mac, Linux).There’s little excuse - you probably have the software already and Microsoft provide a range of free Windows/IE VMs at modern.ie. Virtual Machines therefore provide a mechanism to run any edition of Internet Explorer from a Windows, Mac or Linux host. Because it’s handled as a data file, we can start, stop move or restore XP anytime we choose. For example, we can run Windows XP in a VM application on Windows 8.1 so we can retain older, incompatible software. We’re not limited to old OSs - we can emulate a real PC and run any platform we desire. In reality, it’s all happening within the host PC’s memory. In essence, these are Virtual Machines (VMs) that make the original OS and software think it’s running on real hardware. You’ve possibly seen emulators that run old operating systems such as Amiga OS, games consoles, or arcade machines on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
![in browser windows xp emulator in browser windows xp emulator](https://win95.ajf.me/birthday.gif)
Fortunately, we can do the same without hardware using Virtual Machines. Emulators and IE’s own document modes can help but you should never trust them for anything more than basic layout checks.Ī few years ago it would have been necessary to install and maintain a suite of PCs with various combinations of Windows and IE.
![in browser windows xp emulator in browser windows xp emulator](https://i.stack.imgur.com/YwDY7.png)
![in browser windows xp emulator in browser windows xp emulator](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/internet-browser.png)
Testing IE poses a challenge it’s available only on Windows and, even then, you can install only one version at a time. The solution is to test early and test often - especially the older browsers. A high proportion of those are from large businesses and government agencies yet, despite the commercial opportunities, few of us devote enough time to testing IE until it’s too late. Internet Explorer remains the world’s second most-used browser with almost one in four users on the desktop. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make SitePoint possible!