XP Mode's Ready to Go

XP Mode's Ready to Go

Monday, October 05, 2009 - by Michael Santo
More than just a setting, XP Mode, which we wrote about earlier, consists of a Virtual PC-based virtual environment and a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). This is Microsoft's "solution" for those concerned with possible issues with compatibility with older software. On Thursday, Microsoft announced the software has RTMed and will ship on Oct. 22nd, the same day as Windows 7.

Windows 7 XP Mode requires a CPU that is capable of hardware virtualization. You also need to have Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise edition.

To check whether a CPU can support hardware virtualization, users can download, install and run either the Intel Processor Identification Utility or the AMD Virtualization Compatibility Check Utility.

Here's what Microsoft said in their announcement about XP Mode:
Windows XP Mode is designed to provide small business and mid-sized businesses running Windows 7 Professional (or higher) the ability to run Windows XP productivity applications that may not be natively compatible with Windows 7. We expect many Windows XP applications to be compatible Windows 7 however Windows XP Mode is meant to serve as an added safety net so small and mid-sized businesses can migrate and run Windows 7 without any road blocks. Windows 7 Professional is designed to meet the needs of small and mid-sized businesses.
Via: Microsoft | News Archive | Tags: Microsoft, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
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Comments

By 3vi1 on Oct 5, 2009

What about Vista compatibility mode? Oh wait... it is Vista.

By realneil on Oct 5, 2009

Vista's only compatible with Snails and crippled Turtles.

By realneil on Oct 5, 2009

This XP mode is a good thing though.

By gibbersome on Oct 5, 2009

XP mode is a great thing, and it appeals to people who stubbornly refused to upgrade to XP when Vista came out.

Make no mistake, this is very much a marketing move.

By 3vi1 on Oct 5, 2009

Yeah, as much as I have fun busting on Microsoft: I do think it's a good addition.

They sure did wait until last minute to sign-off on it though, eh?

By Crisis Causer on Oct 5, 2009

So far my Windows 7 install has had no need for Windows XP compatibility, but I welcome the feature just in case I need it.

By Soupstyle on Oct 5, 2009

I liked it on my PC with the Release Candidate, worked very smoothly.

By Kyouya on Oct 5, 2009

Unfortunately, from what I heard, XP mode is not going to help engineers with the software(s) they are required to use at Universities. It is mostly aimed for businesses and consumers.

By mentaldisorder on Oct 6, 2009

Like Crisis, I have had no problems with my RC and have no need to install XP-mode.  However, I do use vmware for XP and Linux.  Last I was on the MS site for XP mode they claimed they had something called a virtual machine.  Not sure if it is just xp mode (didn't read about it.)

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