XP mode?

[Clannad_92]

hi all...
so i was thinking of formatting my laptop to install windows that support XP mode (before this i have to install two windows 64 for license, gaming, others; while 32 for my schools old software)...
i need suggestion or guidance on how to use/install/what should i know about XP mode and its compatibility...

[Mistgun_Zero]

Assuming you have win 7.

The easiest way would be to use virtual machine. But there are ways of installing XP on a different partition even after you have installed win 7, though I don't know how to.

[rathoriel]

Assuming you have win 7.

The easiest way would be to use virtual machine. But there are ways of installing XP on a different partition even after you have installed win 7, though I don't know how to.

XP mode is a virtual machine (you find it in the folder Windows Virtual PC)

what are you trying to run in XP mode? XP mode is really no differnet than running a computer with XP on it. Also windows 64bit can run 32bit software.

[megido-rev.M]

Software which doesn't involve the Windows core doesn't really need XP mode. If the 32-bit stuff doesn't work, doubtfully the 64-bit stuff would work either.

Although apparently XP mode is already a VM, generally I suggest to use a VM, install XP on it, and that old software you're forced to use in this. It will keep that stuff effectively sandboxed, which will also let you remove it in a snap afterward.

[Clannad_92]

what are you trying to run in XP mode? XP mode is really no differnet than running a computer with XP on it. Also windows 64bit can run 32bit software.

old software...and it need to be in 32bit windows...plus, win7 64+win7 32=waste of space...win7 64+winXP mode 32=save spaces + old software more compatible...

so, how is it?
VM vs XP mode? which is the better?

[Bob2004]

XP mode is a virtual machine, so there's not really all that much difference. It just has the advantage of already being pre-configured with Windows XP, integration features, access to the host PC's hard drives already set up, things like that.

XP Mode is generally easier to install, and better than most other free VM software. There's no reason not to use it, if you actually need to (though it seems strange that your software only works in a 32-bit environment. The way Windows handles it, a 32-bit application shouldn't even be aware it's running in anything other than a 32-bit environment, and should work fine).

[lapa321]

The program i use for managing my archives was written in Visual Basic several years ago and there are no Win7 compatible libraries. Simply setting the XP mode in the program properties isn't enough because of the missing DLLs, so the only other option was to install MSVirtualPC.

I don't actually know how the other VM's work, but the thing about using the MS one is that there are two ways of running in XP. Either by launching the MS virtual XP and running your application on it...



Or running the program directly on Win7.


Note the classic WinXP title bar and the Win7IE9 behind it.

The second one loads much faster.

When you install a program in VirtualPC, it creates a duplicate link in Win7. Launching from the link will launch the program inside Win7 without needing to go through VirtualPC.

[Clannad_92]

hey @lapa, did you just mention that i can run a program that is not compatible with win 7 directly after installing xp mode?

@bob, its not my software, its my school old software...and fyi i can run them in win7 32...im asking about xpode because i think installing two windows (64 and32) is waste of space...so i think i want to install only one windows 7 64+xp mode 32...

[megido-rev.M]

If it's not clear already, XP mode is essentially a pre-configured VM with XP on it, just that it's integrated with the actual OS (Win7). The integration allows you to run a XP-only process seemingly outside the VM, when it actually is inside it (notice the XP-themed window in lapa's second screenshot).

As far as Win7x64 is concerned, it can also run 32-bit software, so there's no reason for you to install a 32-bit OS. If you want XP mode (for stuff that can only run on XP's core) you'll need to get the professional edition or higher.

[Bob2004]

Ah, could it be that the software you want to run is (at least partly) 16-bit? If it's old enough, that would be quite possible. Windows Vista/7 x64 cannot run 16-bit applications (for no good reason - it's just been arbitrarily disabled as far as I can see), but the x86 versions can. That would explain your problems.

If that is the case, then yes - Windows XP mode is definitely the best solution, since that always contains a 32-bit copy of XP, even when the host PC is running a 64-bit version of Windows.

[Clannad_92]

so, judging from the situation and advices from you all, i should install windows 7 ultimate 64 + xpmode 32...

though i still hav many question about xpmode...
this one came out of my mind atm:

1.someone just said that i can run directly an application from win 7 after installing it in xpmode...is it true?

2.how about my software(graphic, touchpad etc)? last time i tried to install win xp32(normal) in to my laptop it didnt go well...i think(maybe) when trying to install winxp, i get BSOD...and why is that?

i need fast answer, so that i can start formatting my laptop next weekend...

[lapa321]

1.someone just said that i can run directly an application from win 7 after installing it in xpmode...is it true?

Yes, when you install Microsoft Virtual PC, it creates a shortcut in the Win7 start menu. I checked the link of the sample above and this was in its properties dialog.

%SystemRoot%\system32\rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\VMCPropertyHandler.dll,LaunchVMSal "Windows XP Mode" "||10242439" "Shortcut to Project1"

I did not make that link, it was created by MSVirtualPC and added to my start menu.

2.how about my software(graphic, touchpad etc)? last time i tried to install win xp32(normal) in to my laptop it didnt go well...i think(maybe) when trying to install winxp, i get BSOD...and why is that?

I get that too. Apparently, the XP installer cannot recognize new laptops (Laptop came with Vista, i wanted to 'upgrade' it to WinXP, no dice.)

When you install VirtualPC WinXP, you are not actually going through a full WinXP installation since it's piggybacking on your Win7 drivers already. If you have a WinXP installation disk, you will not be using it. Not sure about WinXP specific devices since i've thrown those out a long time ago.

You don't actually have a WinXP folder in your harddrive containing your system files. It's all compacted in one module. On my PC it's.

C:\Users\lapa\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vhd

That is a 5.7 Gigabyte file. I can't find the program i installed anywhere in my harddrive, so i'm assuming that it's inside there as well.

When you're downloading the WinXP module, it's under 500MB. And while it's running, it will continue to check for updates.

A bit of warning tho, Win7's MSE does not work so you may want to install a WinXP anti-virus. It does have Windows Security Center and will also automatically download WinXP updates. If you get a message that says windows needs to restart after downloading an update, it will only restart the VirtualPC, not your actual PC.



Drives A, C and D are the ones inside the VirtualPC.


Under "Others". Drive C, D are my 'real' partitions. E is my card reader (it's a laptop). F is daemon tools. Z is my USB drive. If you check your router, you'll likely see two new devices connected to your network. The virtualPC and WinXP module are given their own separate network names. Not really sure how that works considering that they're all using the same LAN card.

[costi]

2.how about my software(graphic, touchpad etc)? last time i tried to install win xp32(normal) in to my laptop it didnt go well...i think(maybe) when trying to install winxp, i get BSOD...and why is that?

XP installer does not recognize most SATA controllers working in AHCI mode. Either switch to IDE in the bios (if you can) or add the relevant drivers to the XP install disk using nLite. Or, if you have a floppy drive in your laptop (which I very highly doubt ), you can use a diskette to provide the necessary drivers

[Bob2004]

You don't need to install any drivers with Windows XP Mode, except in very specific cases, since it never interfaces with any of your hardware directly. It runs in an entirely virtual computer, which means virtual memory, virtual graphics card, virtual input devices, etc, so you shouldn't need to install drivers for anything.

As for antivirus, I wouldn't bother tbh. You're only going to be installing a very limited, specific set of software that's known to be safe, and you're not going to be using Windows XP to browse the web at all, so there's very little threat. An antivirus would just slow things down.

@lapa321: The way the Virtual Machine connects to the internet by default (in XP Mode, anyway) is using NAT, or Network Address Translation. It basically works in exactly the same way as your router does when deciding which computer it is meant to send data to. Basically, even though the VM and host PC are sharing one network card, and thus only have one physical address on the network, their IP addresses are actually different. So as far as the router is concerned, they are actually different computers, despite only being one computer.

That's how it works by default, you can also set up all kinds of virtual networks, and the host PC can act as a bridge, and link that to the real network. You can also disable internet connection for the VM completely, which is what I do.

[megido-rev.M]

There's not much reason to over-secure a VM which only has minor purpose, especially if it's sandboxed. Drivers don't really matter either as the hardware is all emulated anyway.

[lapa321]

You don't need to install any drivers with Windows XP Mode, except in very specific cases, since it never interfaces with any of your hardware directly. It runs in an entirely virtual computer, which means virtual memory, virtual graphics card, virtual input devices, etc, so you shouldn't need to install drivers for anything.

As for antivirus, I wouldn't bother tbh. You're only going to be installing a very limited, specific set of software that's known to be safe, and you're not going to be using Windows XP to browse the web at all, so there's very little threat. An antivirus would just slow things down.

@lapa321: The way the Virtual Machine connects to the internet by default (in XP Mode, anyway) is using NAT, or Network Address Translation. It basically works in exactly the same way as your router does when deciding which computer it is meant to send data to. Basically, even though the VM and host PC are sharing one network card, and thus only have one physical address on the network, their IP addresses are actually different. So as far as the router is concerned, they are actually different computers, despite only being one computer.

That's how it works by default, you can also set up all kinds of virtual networks, and the host PC can act as a bridge, and link that to the real network. You can also disable internet connection for the VM completely, which is what I do.

First time i saw that, i thought someone had hacked into my wifi

[Clannad_92]

thanks all...you explain it in the way that i can easily understand...

if got any trouble, i will ask again...

EDIT : after installing xpmode, i can say that i like it...but why it only detect 512mb ram and i cant change the display setting from medium 16bit to high 32bit?

[Bob2004]

You can adjust hardware in the virtual machine settings. Tools -> Options, I think.

As for the display settings, that's one of the big downsides. The way XP Mode works, is it connects to the virtual machine through RDP. In other words, you're actually using remote desktop - the difference is, you're connecting to a virtual computer, instead of a remote computer. It's sadly not possible to get it to do 32-bit colour, but you can improve it to 24-bit. This guide explains how: http://www.somelifeblog.com/2007/10/remote-desktop-video-32-bit-mode.html