Windows XP Mode Setup And Configuration

With the recent release of Windows 7, one of the most common buzz words is Windows XP Mode.

If you currently own Windows 7 Professional or upwards we can setup and configure Windows XP Mode over the internet for you. The process takes less than 1 hour over broadband.  Contact Us for details.

If you only have Windows 7 Home Premium see our XP to Windows 7 Migration Service

So what is Windows XP Mode and how can it help end users?

Windows XP Mode is a FREE add-on for Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise that enables both end users and IT staff to solve XP application compatibilty problems. What this really means that XP Mode provides a way to run any XP based applications within Windows 7. So any legacy or custom / bespoke line of business applications designed to run in XP can now be run in Windows 7.

Windows XP Mode can also help IT support staff who run Windows 7 to provide IT support to XP based users.

Pro's and Cons

Pro's:

• FREE to Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise users
• Full Windows XP SP3 virtual machine (VM) environment
• Allow users to run legacy XP applications under Windows 7
• XP Applications can be published to Windows 7 All Programs menu
• Run XP and Windows 7 on one machine reducing hardware costs and footprint

Con's:

• Only available to Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise users
• Requires Hardware Assisted Virtualization (HAV)
• XP applications HAVE to be reinstalled from scratch
• Security HAS to be configured from scratch

Who can run Windows XP Mode?

Any computer running Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise editions.

What are the hardware requirements?

• Hardware assisted virtualization (HAV) technology such as Intel-VT or AMD-V
• 1GHz 32 or 64 bit CPU
• 2GB RAM
• Hard disk space: 20 MB for Virtual PC, 2 GB for XP Mode and 15GB per guest virtual machine

How do I check my machine supports HAV?

System manufacturer's have been implementing HAV into systems for over 3 years now. However your system might not support HAV or you might have it turned off by default. Microsoft, Intel and AMD provide tools to test for HAV support:

• Microsoft HAV Tool
• Intel Processor ID Utility
• AMD Virtualization™ Technology and Hyper-V Check Utility
• SecurAble Utility

How to check the computer BIOS for HAV?

• ACER - ALL ACER systems capable of supporting HAV have been enabled and do not require any further configuration
• ASUS - ALL ASUS systems capable of supporting HAV have been enabled and do not require any further configuration
• Samsung - ALL Samsung systems capable of supporting HAV have been enabled and do not require any further configuration
• DELL - Please carry out the following:

Press F12 when the system starts

Select BIOS setup and press Enter

Expand Virtualization Support and then select Virtualization

Select Enable Intel Virtualization Technology

Click Apply then Exit

Power OFF then restart

• HP Systems - Please carry out the following:

Press the Esc key on system start up

Press F10 to Configure BIOS

Scroll to System Configuration

Select Virtualization Technology and press Enter

Select Enabled and press Enter

Press F10 to Save and Exit

Select Yes and press Enter

Power Off then restart

What if my system DOES NOT support HAV?

XP Mode requires HAV to run so if your system DOES NOT support HAV then we suggest you upgrade to one that does or see our XP to Windows 7 Migration Service

Getting XP Mode

There are 2 downloads required to obtain the components for XP Mode:

• Windows Virtual PC
• XP Mode
• Get both Virtual PC and XP Mode here

Installing XP Mode

There are 2 steps to installing XP Mode:

• First double click your downloaded Virtual PC update and install the Virtual PC add-on

• Once complete then double click the XP Mode add-on

Once done restart your system.

Starting Windows XP Mode

Once your system has restarted, start Windows XP Mode by simply navigating to Start > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Virtual Windows XP as shown:

You will be prompted provide a password, whether to save it or not and enable Updates

Configure Virtual PC Settings

Next you will want to configure your Virtual PC settings. To display these either navigate to Start > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Virtual Machines > Right click Virtual Windows XP and select Settings or power up your Virtual Windows XP and select Tools > Settings. Please note that some settings such as Memory can only be altered when the VM is off.

You will then be presented with the following:

From here you can configure the settings for your XP Mode virtual machine

Configure XP Mode Settings

• Install malware protection - Like any system, malware (Anti-virus / spyware / malware) MUST be present on an XP Mode machine
• Turn ON Automatic Updates - Like any system,  Automatic Updates should be turned ON to enhance performance / security etc
• Install USB hardware drivers

Applications Publishing

Probably the primary reason you are implementing Windows XP Mode is to ensure that your legacy XP applications run as expected within Windows 7. Once you have installed an application into the XP Mode machine you can then publish the application to the Windows 7 Start menu.

For this example we will install a boot CD creation utility called UBCD4WIN on our XP Mode machine. This application DOES NOT run under Windows Vista or 7 but we use it regularly. Once installed we can publish the application to the Windows 7 Start menu as shown:

 

So to launch this application all we have to do is click Start > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Virtual Windows XP Applications > then select our application.

Our application will then launch under Windows XP Mode.

It is important that when you install an application, that you install it for ALL USERS. Then all users of the XP Mode machine will have access to the application. Should application NOT appear in the Virtual Windows XP Applications list then this is probably the reason.

Publishing Internet Explorer 6

Some people or businesses might still require Internet Explorer 6 for certain web based applications to work properly. Windows XP Mode has IE6 installed by default. So all that is required is to publish IE6 to the Windows 7 All Programs menu.

To do this just right click the IE6 icon on the desktop and select Create Shortcut. Once done, paste this shortcut into the All Users startup programs as shown:

The IE6 shortcut will now appear on the Windows 7 All Programs menu as shown:

To launch IE6 we just click the icon.

We hope this guide helps you to understand Windows XP Mode better before you decide whether or not to implement it. Should you need any help with this guide or if you require XP Mode setup on your machine(s) then please Contact Us.

Lanarkshire IT Services can configure XP Mode for you over the internet including setup, configuration, application installation, networking and security.