Create a Virtual Machine of your Existing Computer With a Click

Virtualization, in simple English, is a interesting technology that helps you run multiple operating systems on the same machine.
For instance, if you are running Windows Vista on a computer, you can create virtual machines for Windows XP or Ubuntu and run these operating systems on your existing Vista machine just like any other Windows application.

How to Create a Virtual Machine

Windows Virtual PC, Virtual Box and VMware Workstation are some popular applications that allow you to create new virtual machines on a Windows PC but the only problem with these programs is that they require you do everything from scratch.
That is, if you want to create a new virtual machine, you will have to install the whole operating system first using the original installer DVD and then configure it with your favorite programs. This can be both time consuming and difficult.
What if you could use your existing Windows computer, that already has all your favorite programs installed, and turn into a virtual machine?

Convert your Computer into a Virtual Machine

While it has always been possible to convert an existing hard drive into a virtual machine, the process was difficult and often required expensive programs.
Well, not anymore. There’s a new utility from Microsoft that makes it both simple and free to convert an existing installation of Windows into a virtual machine ready to run on any other computer.
Microsoft’s Sysinternals team has released a simple application called Disk2vhd, that lets you easily migrate an existing computer to a virtualized hard drive (VHD). It’s a tiny utility doesn’t even require instillation.

Create Virtual Hard Disks with Disk2VHD

When you run Disk2vhd, it will immediately show you all the drives and partitions on your computer that it can migrate to a VHD.  Simply select a drive that you wish to create a VHD file from and click “Create.” Disk2vhd will convert the hard drive into a VHD file even if the computer /drive is currently in use.



When the Virtual Machine VHD file is created, you can run it in any desktop virtualization program including the free Windows Virtual PC, Virtual Box, or VMware Player. You can also mount the virtual machine as a standard hard drive in Windows 7, and can even boot from it if your computer is running Windows 7 Ultimate.
You may use Disk2vhd to create virtual machines of your Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and higher machines, including x64 systems.

Usage Scenario

Let’s say you have a computer that is already running all the software programs you frequently use, but you now want to move to a new computer or upgrade your operating system. You can then consider creating a virtual machine of your old machine using the Microsoft utility and this will help you use all your favorite programs (with the same settings) on the new machine.
You can also use virtualization to create a ghost image of your hard drive in a single file and this will be handy in the event of a disk failure.
Disk2vhd is an useful tool that will make it much easier for you to enjoy the benefits of virtualization without being too technical.

Career Information, Descriptions and Resources

Deciding which career opportunities are worth pursuing and which are not requires reliable and up-to-date information. Unfortunately, so many individuals are quick to make life altering career decisions that ultimately do not enable them to achieve their long-term personal and professional career goals. This section of the EducationAtlas.com website is designed to provide students and aspiring professionals alike relevant career information on a variety of careers and career topics that will help them select a

Early Childhood Education

High quality early childhood education has proven to be a great investment for our country and we believe that this is a necessary investment, which should not be passed up. Studies have shown that a strong focus on education for children under five has produced long-term benefits.

A well-known study found that people who were in a quality preschool program later in life earned up to $2,000 more each month than those who were not. Children who were in preschool programs usually graduate from high school, own homes, and have

Higher Education

Higher education, as provided by 4-year universities and colleges (i.e. Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc.), is usually theoretically inclined. Alternatively, higher education and training provided by vocational universities and schools (i.e. University of Phoenix, DeVry, ITT Technical Institute, etc.), usually emphasizes both practice and applied theory. Additionally, professional and career education is included within higher education, as many postgraduate academic discipines are professionally and vocationally oriented, such as law, medicine and

Strong Growth in Online Education; New Study Shows Enrollment up 12 Percent to Nearly 4 Million

For nearly 5 years, growth in online enrollments in higher education program has outpaced growth in traditional enrollments at campus based higher education programs. It is the opinion of academics and professionals alike that online enrollments will continue substantial growth for many years to come.

A 2008 Sloan Survey of Online Learning reports that online enrollment in career and degree programs has increase nearly thirteen percent during the last year alone. The survey also revealed nearly 4 million students were enrolled in one or more online courses in the

Study Skills Resources by Subject

Accounting Biology Business Chemistry Computer Science Economics Education English Engineering History Law Math Physics Political Science

Study Skills Guide for Students

Developing effective study skills, improving reading comprehension, discovering your own personal study style, learning to manage your time more efficiently and learning the best way to prepare for exams are just a few of the topics covered in "The Study Skills Guide for Students". We're confident that if you take the time to learn and apply the concepts and principles taught in this section you'll not only improve your performance in school but you'll also increase your ability to learn. Whether you're a freshmen in high school or a senior in college you'll find the study skills guides, tutorial and information included in this section invaluable.

Caribbean Medical Schools : A Good Option?

By Jessica Freedman, MD

President of MedEdits: Medical Admissions

Because the competition for admission to medical schools in the United States is extremely strong, many applicants consider attending medical school in the Caribbean. In fact, a great many bright and talented applicants are now opting to obtain their medical education in the Caribbean.

How can you decide what is the best choice for you? What must you consider in evaluating these schools? And will you be able to obtain a residency in the United States after you graduate? To help you decide if attending a Caribbean medical school is a good choice, this article provides a framework for evaluating these schools and the success of their graduates.

A Little Background

In the last four decades, the Caribbean has seen a steady increase in the number of medical schools on the islands as well as the size of their student bodies.  In the

Why I Chose Podiatry School

By Joseph Baker

For many students looking for a career in healthcare, allopathic medical school is the only option that they have considered. While information exists on podiatry as a professional career choice, it can be missed behind the stacks of information on allopathic and osteopathic medicine.
Podiatry school, or podiatric medical school, is very similar to its allopathic and osteopathic medical school counterparts, with some key differences.  The biggest difference is the degree earned.  A graduate of podiatric medical school receives a doctoral degree of podiatric medicine, or a DPM.  This degree certifies the graduate to be a complete and specialized physician of the foot and ankle.
Following graduation from a four-year podiatric medical college, a podiatrist will then go through three years of

MCAT Study Guide Roundup

Venture inside any bookstore and you know there’s a book for just about everything, and studying for the MCAT is no exception. There are shelves and shelves of MCAT prep books, some of which you’ve probably already heard of (or own) and some you may not.

Here’s a rundown of the tip of the iceberg of what’s available in the MCAT prep world:

The Gold Standard MCAT, by Dr. Brett Ferdinand, covers all science sections in detail, and includes a review for verbal reasoning, a “Five minute, Five step” approach to the writing sample, conversion tables for MCAT scores, and over 100 diagrams and

Country guides

i-studentadvisor produce six country guides annually to answer any questions international students may have about studying in Ireland, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. The country magazines contain a variety of interesting articles and institution profiles to capture the experience of living and learning in that country.

Each of the country guides begin with the Study Guide section, which is a tool to help the student through the application process from the initial choice of institution through the visa requirements to what to do on arrival. The Study Guide can be downloaded and printed to use in class sessions or emailed to students and parents using the

GRE Study Guide Recommendation

A study guide is a student tool used to help facilitate learning and comprehension of literature, research topics, history, and many other subjects. Most study guides summarize chapters of novels or the important elements of the subject. So basically these guides give you some useful and helpful study abbreviations, the important study elements, summaries, and more which helps you with studying.

There are a number of companies that produce study guides. The most notably company is

Online Degrees, Courses and Programs

The following colleges and universities offer online associate, bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees and programs in business, criminal justice, healthcare, psychology, and many technology fields. To find out more about online degee and education programs simply click on a link below to review programs of interest.