I managed to install Windows 95 (An OEM version) on a VISTA host (Not W7, sorry). But what I have to share may help to get it working for some people. So here goes ...
For Windows 95 Guest: ...
Memory: 8MB
Hard Disk: 256MB (non-expanding, must be fixed size)
Sound: SoundBlaster16
VT-x: Disabled
Nested Pg : Enabled
Display: 8MB
3D Acc: Disabled
Remote Serv: Disabled
Boot with a Dos 6.22 image as the Floppy disk (Link: MS-DOS Boot Disk Download AllBootDisks - Providing Free Boot Disks from MS-DOS to Windows XP.)
* Booting with a Win95 Boot disk gave problems when Windows copied the files onto the HD.
For a Windows 98SE install: ... (I had to change a few things)
VT-x : Disabled
pae/nx : Disabled
HD : 504 MB
(However, this ended up being too small since Windows takes up over 300MB
- A 2Gig disk would be better)
RAM: 128MB
Video: 8MB (same as before)
Current Problems to resolve:
For both instalations, I am looking for video drivers that will give me at least 800x600 resolution. The current 640x480 screen size lacks space somewhat. Any help on getting that bit fixed would be appreciated.
Getting Soundblaster 16 drivers for Windows98 would also be good. The ones I downloaded didn't seem to work at all. Interestingly, Win95 had sound right from the first screens.
Tip to set up OS in VM:
Set the boot order to floppy on first boot of the VM. Once Dos has loaded, use FDISK to give you a partition on C: and then format C: Then install the OS. Once the OS has been installed, change the boot order to boot from the HD.
Well, best of luck getting these systems to work for you again!
Regards,
Alf.