Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode how to#
Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode install#
Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode upgrade#
Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode license#
Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode windows 7#

Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode windows 7#

That’s no surprise, though, because my system’s 1GB of RAM had to be shared between Windows 7 and XP. When I resized the XP window or went to full-screen mode, it was particularly slow. On my machine (a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop with 1GB of RAM and an Intel Core Duo T240 chip running at 1.83 GHz), Windows XP Mode ran significantly slower than if XP were running natively. The other PCs on my network saw XP as if it were a separate PC from the Windows 7 machine under which it ran, but they couldn’t connect to it. I had problems with network connectivity, though - although I could connect to my network’s Linksys router and browse the Internet without trouble, I couldn’t see or connect to any other PCs on my network. You can use XP Mode just as you would normally use XP - you’re running an actual copy of the operating system. It looks just like XP, with one exception: There’s a menu bar across the top for some XP Mode-specific features, such as using USB drives and customizing how XP Mode should work. XP will launch in its own window inside Windows 7.

Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode how to#

At the end of the installation process, you’ll go through the usual setup routine for a new copy of Windows, including questions such as how to handle Automatic Updates and so on. Installation is straightforward: Windows Virtual PC first, and then Windows XP Mode.

Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode license#

You won’t have to pay for a separate license for XP. Windows Virtual PC is the newest version of Microsoft’s Virtual PC, and Windows XP Mode is essentially a precreated virtual machine for XP designed to run in Windows 7.

Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode install#

You need to download and install two (currently beta) apps: Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode. It’s also good idea to get back into the BIOS when you reboot and see whether the new setting took.įinished? You’re finally ready to install Windows XP Mode. Make sure to turn off your PC after changing the BIOS, to put the new setting into effect. At first, I couldn’t find an option for virtualization support, but after nosing around, I finally discovered it in a very odd place - in the POST behavior area. (Microsoft offers sample instructions for Dell, HP and Lenovo.)įor example, on my Dell, I rebooted and pressed the F12 key as the system restarted to get into the BIOS setup.

How you do that varies according to system manufacturer and even model, so check with your manufacturer. You’ll need to check your system BIOS to find out whether your hardware virtualization is turned on if it’s not, you’ll have to turn it on. There’s no clear reason why that is, although according to Microsoft, there are potential security issues with hardware virtualization. Hardware virtualization is turned off by default on many PCs. However, even if the CPU does support it, you’re still not out of the woods. If your processor doesn’t support either technology, you can stop reading now - you’re out of luck. You can use either the AMD Virtualization Compatibility Check Utility (which checks whether your processor supports AMD-V) or the Intel Processor Identification Utility (which is a more comprehensive checking tool). And to make things more confusing, some older, less powerful and less expensive CPUs, such as the Intel Core Duo T2400, do have the technology.īoth Intel and AMD have utilities you can download that will let you know if your PC has that support. However, that’s not necessarily the case.Įven some quad-core CPUs, such as the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400, don’t have virtualization technology built in. You might assume that if you’ve got a multicore PC, it can certainly do that. XP Mode requires that your CPU be capable of hardware virtualization using either Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) for Intel chips or AMD-V for AMD chips. Here’s the first piece of bad news: Your PC may not be able to handle Windows XP Mode, even if you’ve just bought a new machine. Those businesses may indeed want to use it - but for many consumers, the problems with Windows XP Mode will likely outweigh its benefits.

Windows virtual pc and windows xp mode upgrade#

Microsoft has touted the feature for small businesses that need to run XP applications but want to upgrade to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode, one of the most hyped features of Windows 7, was designed to integrate XP with Windows 7 so that you can run XP applications from directly inside Windows 7.