Windows XP SP3 is free on Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate & Enterprise.

Ok so windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and some people might be thinking of upgrading to windows 7 but maybe have a bunch of programs on their XP system that are XP only that they dont want to lose when they make the switch.

Well there is a solution in windows 7 professional & Ultimate versions that will allow you to use most XP only programs (as long as you still have the install programs for them). Its called "Windows XP Mode" and is free from Microsoft with your windows 7 (pro/ultimate). Its not prefect but might help ease the transition between operating systems for some people.

Windows XP Mode was primarily designed to help businesses move from Windows XP to Windows 7. It isn't optimized for graphic-intensive programs such as 3D games, nor is it well suited for programs with hardware requirements such as TV tuners.

Its basically a free copy of Windows XP (fully licensed , no key needed) running in Windows Virtual PC , but you dont really have to be an expert in setting up virtual machines to use it.

Before you begin

In order to use Windows XP Mode, you need to make sure your computer meets certain system requirements, otherwise Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode won't work correctly, even though you might be able to download and install them. Before you begin, follow these steps:

Make sure you're running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate. To find out which edition of Windows 7 you're running, click the Start button Start button, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.

Find out whether your computer's CPU is capable of hardware-assisted virtualization. To check, download and run the Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool.

If you receive the message “This computer is configured with hardware-assisted virtualization,” you can run Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode. See the instructions below.

If you receive the error message "There is no hardware-assisted virtualization support in the system," your computer's CPU doesn't support hardware-assisted virtualization. You can still use Windows XP Mode by installing an update to Windows 7. See Why am I receiving errors about hardware-assisted virtualization (HAV) when I try to use Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC?. Be aware that XP Mode will run much better if hardware-assisted virtualization can be enabled.

If you receive an error message saying "Hardware-assisted virtualization is disabled," this means your computer supports hardware-assisted virtualization, but you need to change settings in your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS) to turn on hardware-assisted virtualization. Procedures to turn on virtualization settings in your computer's BIOS vary depending on the BIOS manufacturer. Check the information that came with your computer or go to the computer manufacturer's website.

More info from Microsofts official page on how to set it up here

Here is a demo


CNet also has a great Demo here

Virtual box. Its Free!
I have xp in a virtual box running on Linux Mint. No more spying ms for me!

VoidHawk
Virtual box. Its Free!
I have xp in a virtual box running on Linux Mint. No more spying ms for me!

Yes virtual box is good.

But you get a fully licensed free copy of XP fully updated to Service Pack 3 from Microsoft with windows 7 XP Mode. Not everyone who is currently using XP has access to their original CD Key.

Also although its not super hard to use virtual box for computer literate people , installing XP Mode on windows 7 is very simple you just download it and run it.

But lets not turn this into a windows v linux thread. Its purely an informational thread for people who might be thinking of migrating from XP to Win 7.

reply to post by VoidHawk


Good thinking!

You ought to start a thread demonstrating to many technically-challenged folks like myself the simplest way of doing that. Would ALL windows 7 third-party programs work on XP "in a virtual box", btw?

reply to post by PhoenixOD


What a racket. So basically Microsoft is saying people have to give up XP and upgrade to a new version of Windows so they can run a virtual machine inside the new version of Windows that let's them run the old version of Windows.

reply to post by Bassago


Its not new , its always been a feature of Windows 7 but a lot of people havent heard of it.It was designed to ease the transition between XP and windows 7 right when windows 7 first came out years ago.

Its a great way to get a free fully patched version of XP while getting used to Windows 7 so you dont have to spend more money on upgrading essential XP software.

PhoenixOD
installing XP Mode on windows 7 is very simple you just download it and run it.

Its just a prebuilt virtual machine. Several prebuilt os's can be downloaded and installed into virtual box easily too.

Just sayin


For those not too savy with os's it is an easy option I agree, but for those that have their cd they have the option of custom installs. I have two xp versions, one for internet usage, which I cloned and dump as needed, the other has all the software installed that I used to use before I switched to mint.

Kurius
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Good thinking!

You ought to start a thread demonstrating to many technically-challenged folks like myself the simplest way of doing that. Would ALL windows 7 third-party programs work on XP "in a virtual box", btw?

edit on 10-4-2014 by Kurius because: (no reason given)

I've installed almost every flavor of windows into a virtual box, they all worked just fine. The only problems Ive seen are some of the modern 3d games cant always get access to my graphics cards, but otherwise everything else works just fine.

Here's XP Android and an early beta of the Steam os all running on a mint desktop

reply to post by PhoenixOD


So my XP updated, and I got the notification today when coming home from work. Is this the last update, or what? IDC about the updates so much, I am using, and will use my XP until I need to buy a new PC.

SixX18
reply to post by PhoenixOD

 

So my XP updated, and I got the notification today when coming home from work. Is this the last update, or what? IDC about the updates so much, I am using, and will use my XP until I need to buy a new PC.

Those will be updates that are none specific to XP. I just had a look and my system is waiting on the installation of 2 updates for Internet Explorer so it was probably that.

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Good advice for those who haven't heard of XP Mode by now but I would Not use Microsoft's product called " Virtual PC" to run the XP Mode virtual machine - it's not optimized for XP Mode and runs the virtual machine very slowly. People need to understand the " Virtual PC " program running XP mode is Only a virtual machine - one of tons of such apps that can run XP mode and it is Not mandatory people use this program with XP Mode.

I use a free product specially optimized for XP Mode called VMLite XP Mode. VMLite is a version of virtual machine software based on the open source version of Oracle's Virtual Box software. It was designed specially to counter the limitations in Microsoft's own Virtual PC software. The software is free, but one needs to register with the website before they can download. There is even a way to force the system to use a max of 256 megabytes for video memory in the virtual machine instead of the default 128 megabytes - something you cannot do with Microsoft's Virtual PC software.

Check it out. www.vmlite.com...

Pros and cons of VMLite vs Virtual PC running XP Mode:

Pros:

(1) Runs faster. No RDP/RemoteApp is getting in the way.

(2) no requirement for VT-x or AMD-V

(3) supports more virtual disk formats

(4) vpc has a disk capacity limit of 127G, while VMLite has a limit of 2TB. 127G is way too small to run virtual machines converted from a physical computer.

(5) supports 64-bit guests, vpc only works with 32-bit guest OSes.

(6) supports multiple virtual CPUs, whereas vpc only works with a single vcpu.

(7) better and faster graphics. VMLite supports 32-bit true colors, and supports 3D/2D acceleration from version 3.1.2. VPC seems to have only 16-bit colors, and no support for 3D/2D. For example, if you play Google Earth in vpc, it will be very slow. Another example, you won't be able to play SecondLife in VPC, whereas VMLite 3.1.2 has no problems in playing SecondLife.

(8) VMLite file sharing is much faster than vpc, since we don't use tcp/ip to transfer files, instead we forward kernel level IRPs between host and vm, and between VMs.

Cons:

(1) VMLite does not support USB devices at the moment, while VPC/XP Mode has strong supports for USB devices. (We are working on it, takes quite some time, though)

(2) VPC/XP Mode does better job to integrate individual virtual apps, with taskbar integration. We are implementing this feature on VMLite too.

In summary, after we implement USB and single application mode, VMLite will be superior to VPC in every aspect.

www.vmlite.com...

There are No Cons. these last two issues were fixed in an update after this post was made.

Bassago
reply to post by PhoenixOD

 

What a racket. So basically Microsoft is saying people have to give up XP and upgrade to a new version of Windows so they can run a virtual machine inside the new version of Windows that let's them run the old version of Windows.

Lol.

Sometimes it sux to see the world for what it really is without all the Marketing Spin isn't it!! I'm guessing that is why "Ignorance is bliss". While some see the end of XP as just the inevitable course of how things work, you saw the Truth of how things are. What an ugly, stinking truth it is sometimes too.