Your Linux laptop can do a lot of things, but it cannot fully emulate Windows nor can it run many essential Windows programs. If you find yourself needing to run Windows applications, especially Windows legacy applications on Windows XP, there is a solution: virtualization.

Running Windows XP in a virtual machine (VM) on your Linux laptop is a better solution than either reimaging your Linux system with XP or attempting the often precarious task of setting up a Linux/Windows XP dual-boot system next to an existing Linux installation. However, if your system has Windows XP installed on it, you can more easily set up a dual-boot Linux/Windows XP.

This article describes how to set up a Windows XP virtual machine on your existing Linux system. In the previous issue, I described how to set up a dual-boot Linux/Windows XP system that has Windows XP already installed.

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