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Windows XP Mode on Windows 7: Virtually Worthwhile

Dec 1, 2009

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Windows XP Mode Pre-Requisites

The hardware requirements for XPM are as follows:

Hardware virtualization support. On Intel machines, this means Intel Virtualization Technology (abbreviated VT, but identified as Vanderpool Technology on older machines or motherboards); on AMD machines it’s called AMD Virtualization (abbreviated AMD-V). For all machines, you’ll want to reboot your PC and fire up the BIOS to check for such support and to make sure it’s enabled (it’s often disabled by default, especially on older PCs). Microsoft has a handy Configure BIOS page with links to identification and compatibility check tools.
CPU virtualization support. This applies primarily to CPUs more than three years old, but affects older Intel and AMD processors alike. If you’re unsure about your CPU, visit the maker’s specifications for that processor and look for information about virtualization there (the tools mentioned in the previous list item will also help you figure this out).
Microsoft recommends a minimum of 2GB of RAM on the host PC (the machine that will run XPM) and 15GB of disk space for each XP instance you want to store on your hard drive. If you want to run multiple VMs, add at least 512MB of RAM for each additional one to that total. My test machine has 8GB of RAM, and I’ve run as many as half a dozen XPM instances without incident.

Installing XPM is not without its potential gotchas, but it is both quick and straightforward if everything works as it should. I strongly urge you to check for and uninstall any earlier versions of Virtual PC on your Windows 7 machine before installing this latest version. This can be interesting because the beta and RC versions of this very same software show up only in Windows Update, not in Programs and Features as you might expect. You’ll need to click Start, All Programs, Windows Update, then click View Update History to look for and uninstall earlier Virtual PC installations (a simple right-click on the entry offers an uninstall option).

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