May 1st, 2009
Hands on: Windows 7 'XP Mode'
Over the past few days a huge number of electrons have been inconvenienced to bring you news about a new Windows 7 feature called XP Mode. In this post I’m going to take a closer look at this technology and what you need to make it work for you.
Check out the Windows 7 XP Mode gallery
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First, let’s clear up some confusion. XP Mode isn’t just another regular virtual machine. True, at its core is VM technology in the form of Virtual PC 7, but it also leverages Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) protocol, in particular features such as features such as Remote Applications Integrated Locally and multi-monitor support.
To get going with XP Mode you first need Windows 7. Specifically you need either Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise editions. Try setting up XP Mode on say Home Premium and it won’t work.
You also need a CPU that supports chip-level virtualization, either Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel-VT) or AMD Virtualization (AMD-V). This presents a couple of problems. First, not all CPUs support chip-level virtualization (even some Core 2 Duo pieces don’t). Secondly, this feature is disables by default by most BIOSes even when the CPU can handle it.
You also need two components. You need a specific update (KB958559) that installs Virtual PC 7, and the compressed XP SP3 VHD package. Both these packages come to 450MB.
OK, so you install the XP Mode components. What next? Well, what you end up with is the XP SP3 OS running inside a window on your desktop. The default is that it XP Mode gets 256MB of RAM. If you want to give XP Mode more RAM, you can change this easily. As far as connecting to the network and Internet goes, this is handled using a shared networking NAT. Easy.
When you close the XP Mode Virtual PC window, this hibernates the XP OS. This is fine, but eventually you’ll need to restart the OS. If you want to shut down the OS you’ll have to do it manually. If you do, then restarting the virtual XP SP3 OS takes a little over a minute.
Applications you install into the XP Mode OS install shortcuts under the Windows Virtual PC entry on the Windows 7 desktop (as long as the shortcuts are put into the All Users Start Menu folder on the XP OS. If they’re not, you’ll have to move it manually. Pretty straightforward, if it works.
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Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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