"With virtual machines, you can assign the amount of installed memory for it to use.

Example would be if the “Host” OS is XP, you can allot, say 256mb of installed memory to it, and all the rest to the “Quest” OS.

Having the virtual machine running, with no security programs, firewalls, updaters, internet, and especially all the MS services that can be turned off, more than compensates for that 256mb loss of memory."

Yes, I understand all of that. My question is: If the problem is that the current XP (loaded) leaves too little memory for Poser, how is a VM running on top of that going to give you more memory for Poser? Can you 'starve' the real XP, giving it less memory than it wants, i.e. give it 256 when by default it wants 768 and give the rest to the VM? If that works then I can see it.

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken