I currently test unattended CDs by running them in Virtual PC. Unfortunately, this can be a rather slow process, at times. Are there any better ways to test?

The best and most thorough way to test your unattended CD's is to have a second PC or laptop or something that you can play around with, that way you can test drivers and everything. Failing that, Virtual PC is about your only option.

Use iso directly, not CD.

Some used to say VMWare is faster than VPC, the older versions anyway.

The above reply can also be a "better" method, apart from speed, but I hate using factory machines for testing because of drivers.

Are 6 (even more) 700MB-CDs for US$1 considered expensive, anyway?

I use DAEMON Tools or CD-RWs and i save allot of money that way

I think VMware 5.5 is quite faster than Microsoft's Virtual PC.

Like piXelatedEmpire, I rely on a testbed machine. Anything in the PIII range or better works nicely, but it doesn't hurt to run a test install on a PII (550 or better) as well, in my experience.

Takeshi is right VMware is faster that Virtual PC, but don't forget to install the VMware Tools in your virtual machine.

Is better to test your images than burn cd's each time.