Windows XP and PicoScope installation on a Mac with VirtualBox

Some programs are Windows-only, like the driver and oscilloscope program for the PicoScope USB devices. But you can use it on a Mac with the free program VirtualBox. This step by step tutorial shows you how to install Windows in VirtualBox on a Mac and how to install the PicoScope drivers and software.

Prerequisites:

a Mac with Mac OS X 10.6 or later
20 GB free harddisk space
a Windows XP installation CD
a PicoScope (optional, you can use Windows also for other tasks)

In Germany it is legal to sell OEM versions of software, so you can get Windows XP OEM CDs for less than 30 EUR from Amazon or eBay. But maybe you know someone who has updated to Windows 7, then you can get it for free.

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Step 1: VirtualBox and Windows installation

VirtualBox and Windows installation

First install VirtualBox from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads . This tutorial was tested with version 4.1.8. Start VirtualBox and click "New" to create a new virtual machine:

The default setup works for many applications, use a bigger harddisk, if you want to install more programs or more RAM, if your Mac has enough. I created it with 192 MB RAM and a 10 GB harddisk (after installing Windows and all updates, the disc needed about 4 GB) :

Insert the Windows installation CD and click "Start". You should see something like this after booting:

Press "Enter", choose the default for everything: NTFS file system etc. and press F8, if you agree with the license. Then the installation starts:

It needs some time:

Choose a use name:

and a computer name (the VM will be visible in the local network with this name, if you configure the network as bridged and not as NAT) :

Enable automatic updates and just use the default for all other questions:

Network configuration is automatic:

But you don't need to register, if you don't want:

Now Windows is installed:

Install a free virus scanner like http://free.avg.com, if you want to make your computer a bit more safe.

After this you need to restart it some times with Start->Turn Off Computer->Restart, until all updates are installed:

Some updates can be installed only after other updates are installed, needed 3 restarts for my installation. If you don't have Service Pack 3 (SP3), you might need more restarts.