I tried using Microsoft's Virtual Desktop Manager, a PowerToy for Windows XP that lets you create as many as four separate desktops, but it's as buggy as an anthill, and offers no version for Vista.

How to Install Windows XP in Microsoft Virtual PC. Virtualization programs such as Microsoft Virtual PC can help your business computers run older programs that require Windows XP. You can use ...

Installing Windows XP in a Hyper-V virtual machine is easy. To begin, make sure that your virtual machine is selected in the Hyper-V Manager and then insert the Windows XP CD in the optical drive.

VirtualXP solves that problem by converting your Windows XP hard drive into a Microsoft virtual disk. Once it does the conversion, you can open it in Windows 7 or 8. How to Run Windows XP for Free ...

You can employ a little trick that uses the Remote Desktop Connection tool to connect to a networked virtual machine running in Windows 8 Client Hyper-V.