After a long time Microsoft has finally been able to put something interesting in it’s Operating System and this is in the form of Windows XP Mode in it’s forthcoming Windows 7. Windows XP mode in Windows 7 is the current buzzword of the industry. All the tech bloggers are covering this topic more or less, so even I am in the fray now. First of all let me tell what exactly is the XP mode in Windows 7. It is a feature available in Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise edition where in from Windows 7, we can run Windows XP like a native Operating System on our PC. In earlier version of Windows Microsoft had an option called Compatibility mode and according to Microsoft this enabled users to run older program (meant for older version of Windows) in newer version of Windows. But this has hardly worked. With the new feature Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 this compatibility mode has been improved to a greater extent as XP mode itself uses a virtual PC based virtualization environment and a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). Moreover this feature is not available out of Box in Windows 7. The end user needs to download it for free from Microsoft Download center. remember something called Windows Ultimate Extras available for Windows Vista Ultimate throiugh Windows Update?

Requirements to take advantage of Windows XP mode feature:

- The PC should be running with Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise edition.
- 2GB RAM and 10-15GB HD space for Virtual environment.
- As it utilizes CPU based virtualization technique the CPU should support it.
- For AMD based AMD-V and Intel based processor Intel-VT should be turned on in BIOS.
- The free download of Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode available from Microsoft Download Center.

Microsoft has a detailed document on How to confirm your PC can run Windows XP Mode . Here you can find download of the processor test utility too.

Setting up Virtual XP or Windows XP Mode:

If your PC meets all the above requirements and you have downloaded the 2 set up files from Microsoft, first install the Windows Virtual PC and then install Windows XP Mode. At this stage you might be asked to restart the PC. Upon re start you can run Virtual XP from Start > All programs list. It will ask you to enter the password, in this window check the option Remember credentials (recommended). After this step is complete you will see a wndow that says setting up virtual Windows XP for first use. It may take some time so don’t loose patience.

Now what you will see is a screen like this:

Now you are ready with your Virtual XP set up. It’s time to install a couple of application you wish to run under Windows XP. One thing to remember here is that while installing any apps select All users whenever you are asked else the integration feature will not work properly.

The Windows XP mode has a special feature as compared to Virtual PC or other virtualization technology in which you have to run virtual environment as a separate application. In XP Mode once an application is instaleld in Virtual environment it is published to the host Windows 7 too. It means the application will be availble in Windows 7 start menu. So starting the application will Start the application in Windows 7 but in virtual environment where the virtual PC will be running in the background.

Final thought on Windows XP Mode feature:

It seems Microsoft is not aiming to woo the consumer home users with this feature as it is evident from the fact thatthis feature is available only in windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise edition. So do you think Windows 7 will still be a bete noir to consumers who are upset about Vista’s program compatibility? Only time will tell and we will get to know once Vista RTM is released.

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