I have run both VMServer and VM workstation with Windows XP SP2 successfully.
You need to devote part of your RAM to the VM, so the more you have and the
faster your processor the better. A dual core or better is best, but I have a
AMD 64 single core and it works fine. You should also consider VirtualBox which
is easier to set up. You need a Windows license to be legal. Once installed
though, it should run any Windows program with the exception of games which are
resource intensive.