I am successfully using Altiris SVS (
http://www.svsdownloads.com/) to run multiple versions of Alibre, as well as Xpress and Expert on the same system.
It is perfect for my needs, as I only need to run Windows XP Professional, but need multiple versions of the same software. It isolates each installation into it own virtual "layer" that can be turned on and off as required. I can now turn off Alibre Expert, and turn on Xpress to test compatibility of my models without having to boot up yet another computer or reboot to another operating system installation.
I install using the Global Option, and continue capturing the installation all the way through the entry of the user name and password, as this step is where all the Repositories and user configuration files are created. Quiting the capture earlier will not include these files that are unique to to each version and can cause conflicts if these files are not "turned off" when that version is deactivated.
If you want to install Xpress, you need to do that on a clean system where Alibre has never been installed (at least not without SVS), as there is a memory of installations and the next install will revert to the same version of the software (Profesional/Expert...).
SVS is also great for software you suspect of causing problems with other software, as it can be turned off both for troubleshooting the cause, as well as preventing conflicts.
It is also great to prevent software bloat and slow downs as you can turn off software and the system will perform as if the software was never installed. When I installed MS Office 2003, my system boot time doubled, as well as my system performance degraded. My system became even slower and more unstable as more software was installed. I ended rolling my system back about 6 months to when I did not have much more software installed other than Alibre, and my system got its old performance and reliability back (I save images of my operating system using Acronis True Image, both at initial build, and periodically). While I keep the bloat of some software off my production system and install it on my secondary system, I can now install a bit more on my production system and keep it turned off except when I specifically need it. I leave the Office word processing only on my secondary system though, and generally use WordPerfect as it is better software anyway. Excel is the standard in Spreadsheets though, but I keep it's installation for use with Alibre on an SVS layer I can leave off until I need it, and this keep my production system humming along with my bare system performance. Anyone with a lot of experience with Windows knows how systems seem to degrade with time and software, but with SVS I am able to keep my system "young" by turning off all but the bare essentials.
