Quicker way to create duplicate Virtual PC images

virtual-pc

I use Virtual PC to create fresh environments for testing my installer. But I must be doing something wrong because a VPC image with Vista or XP inside is taking around 15GB of disk space (that includes VS2005/S2008 installed in them).

To create a new copy for testing I copy and paste the folder that has the .vhd, .vmc and .vsv files inside. After using the new VPC image for testing I then delete that copied folder. This works but it takes a looong time to copy 15GB each time. Is there some faster/more efficent approach?

Best Answer

Use differencing/undo disks. This means when you shut down your VPC you'll be asked if you want to save changes, simply answer no and you'll be back to where you started.