ievms is an automated way to download and configure Windows testing environments for IE6, IE7, IE8, IE9, and IE10. The full download is a hefty 37GB, but it’s still faster than doing it all by hand. I was able to get all virtual machines installed on an external USB drive in 78 minutes on my Macbook Pro.

To install, just run:
curl -s https://raw.github.com/xdissent/ievms/master/ievms.sh | bash
The shell script downloads your images to ~/.ievms and configures VirtualBox appropriately.

For specific versions of Internet Explorer, use:
curl -s https://raw.github.com/xdissent/ievms/master/ievms.sh | IEVMS_VERSIONS="7 9" bash.

Images are provided by Microsoft via the modern.ie project. Each machine is pre-configured with a user account named IEUser. Launch the image and you’re immediately at a Windows desktop.

I used to rely on a Microsoft Technet subscription for this very purpose. This free solution is a welcome one.

For full details and complete list of download options, see the Github page: http://xdissent.github.io/ievms/

Hat tip to Than Tibbetts for the lead.