How to test your web site with IE9 on Mac OS X or How to Run Microsoft IE9 on Windows7 VHD Image in VirtualBox for free

You need

• Mac OS X 10.6 or higher
• Download IE9 images (7 parts) from the official Microsoft Developer Page (free)
• Unarchiver Utility (free)
• VirtualBox from Oracle (free) (I wrote this summary with version 4.0.12)

Then you do

• Open the EXE File with the Unarchiver, this will extract the whole 14GB virtual image file.
  You get two files:

  Windows 7.vhd
  Windows 7.vmc
  

• Do you already use other VHD Microsoft Images in VirtualBox? If so, you have to set a new UUID to this new VHD file, because it won’t run otherwise. Execute this in a Terminal:

  VBoxManage internalcommands sethduuid /full/path/to/Windows\ 7.vhd

• Open VirtualBox and create a new machine. When it asks for a harddrive (or boot drive), just skip this, we make this later. Finish the whole creation process. In the overview dashboard you should see your new machine.
• Now right-click on the new machine –> Settings
• Click on the Storage Tab
• If you don’t see an IDE Controller entry in the tree view to the left, you have to create the IDE Controller first (there is a + Icon on the bottom).
• Right-Click on the IDE Controller and select Add Harddisk –> In the popup, select Choose Existing Disk –> Select the VHD File we created in the first step. As a result you should now see the new VHD disk under the IDE Controller.
• Start the virtual machine by double clicking it
• You get a screen with two icons: “Admin”, “Administrator”. Click on Administrator and enter the password “Password1“
• In order to extend the expiration date for 30 days, open a Control Panel (Windows Icon -> Search for application) and execute:

  slmgr –rearm

That’s all! Feedback is welcome.