Very often there is a need to install outdated software which does not want to work in Windows 7.
Previously, I used WMVare virtual machines to solve the generally simple task of running a couple of programs or old equipment, I deployed a computer on a computer... It was extremely time-consuming and not practical. Relatively recently, I once again tried to screw on my old scanner and came across one interesting solution - Virtual machine XP mode.
Windows XP Mode
Windows XP Mode is a solution based on the Virtual PC platform that allows you to run applications written for XP in a background and invisible to the user virtual session.
- Solves all problems of program incompatibility with Windows 7
- Forwarding USB and COM ports
- Supports printers, smart cards, clipboard, shared hard drives, as well as USB and COM ports.
- Easy setup of XP Mode
- Transparency for the end user.
- The virtual environment is configured and managed from familiar interface Virtual PC.
XP Mode It is distributed absolutely free of charge and does not require special licensing.
XP Mode Only Windows 7 editions Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate are supported.
For work XP Mode Requires hardware support for virtualization at the processor level - Intel-VT or AMD-V.
The following list shows some models Intel processors, which have hardware support for virtualization:
Pentium 4 662 and 672
Pentium Extreme Edition 955 and 965 (not Pentium 4 Extreme Edition with HT)
Pentium D 920-960 except 945, 935, 925, 915
Core Duo T2300, T2400, T2500, T2600, T2700 (Yonah)
Core 2 Duo E6300, E6400, E6320, E6420, E6540, E6550, E6600, E6700, E6750, E6850 (Conroe)
Core 2 Duo E7600, E8200, E8300, E8400, E8500, E8600 and some versions of the E7400 and E7500 (Wolfdale)
Mobile Core 2 Duo T5500, T5600, T7100, T7200, T7250, T7300, T7400, T7500, T7600, T7600G, T7700, T7800 (Merom)
Mobile Core 2 Duo SU9300, SU9400, SU9600, P7370, P8400, P8600, P8700, P8800, P9500, P9600, P9700, T8100,
T8300, T9300, T9400, T9500, T9600, T9800, T9900 (Penryn)
Core 2 Quad Q6600, Q6700 (Kentsfield)
Core 2 Quad Q8400, Q8400S, Q9300, Q9400, Q9400S, Q9450, Q9550, Q9550S, Q9650 and some versions of the Q8300
(Yorkfield)
Core 2 Extreme X6800 (Conroe_XE)
Core 2 Extreme QX6700, QX6800, QX6850 (Kentsfield_XE)
Core 2 Extreme QX9650, QX9770, QX9775 (Yorkfield_XE)
Xeon 3000, 5000, 7000 series
Atom Z520, Z530, Z540, Z550, Z515 (Silverthorne)
all Intel Core i7 processors
Pentium Dual-Core E6300, E6500 and some versions of the E5300 and E5400*
Celeron E3000 series
I understand that this seems like an obsession, but what can I do - I suddenly became quite interested in writing videos for the blog (a bad example is contagious, I guess). And judging by the statistics, the video turned out to be a very popular thing, I plan to further supplement my separate selection of videos on local UA-IX resources for more convenient viewing users in Ukraine.
What is Windows XP Mode in Windows 7? This small piece of technology with a common named Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization, MEDV, also popularly known as “the bear” (not to be confused with well-known characters in Internet folklore:)) - comes as part of the MDOP 2009 package. A small part, but the most important one - Windows XP Mode allows you to launch a virtual OS process (Windows XP or Windows Vista) in a specially developed edition of Virtual PC (in currently supplied separately in beta version status), and in this case the user will not be shown the desktop of the virtual machine, but only the window of the application that is installed in the virtual OS, but published as a “regular” link in the “Start” menu of the parent system.
Thus, for the user, working with applications both installed in “native” Windows 7 and in virtual Windows XP is absolutely “transparent” - it will be able to distinguish them only by the window design. And no confusion with desktops, switching and all that kind of stuff. For administrators, there is no hassle with the compatibility of applications written for Windows XP when they are launched in Windows 7 - since they are launched in the native, albeit virtual, XP environment. And to call it particularly “virtual” is quite difficult, especially when compared with “pure” Hyper-V virtualization - in Windows version XP Mode supports not only USB flash drives, but also a variety of “natural” USB and other devices - for example, I “found” and started working a fingerprint reader on my laptop in virtual Windows XP.
In fact, this is all close (or rather, even built on the same principle) to the operation of terminal services in Windows Server 2008, where the user, instead of a remote desktop, sees windows of individual applications running on the server. Only in the case of MEDV/Windows XP Mode, such a server is a virtual OS in which special “a la terminal” services are installed, and the “terminal client” is located on the parent OS and its tasks also include “raising” the virtual OS upon request, if it doesn't work yet. So everything is really simple, no fraud, just “software magic”. :)
Yes, and one more thing - MDOP offers this mode of operation not only for Windows 7, but also for Windows Vista, and in addition - utilities centralized management images, virtual OS settings and application publishing, which is very useful for networks where even 50 PCs will use a single image and settings.
How to enable/launch Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 RC?
Both in RC and in the release (most likely) there is no ready-made “super button” with the proud name “turn on Windows XP Mode”. The technology is external (again, for now) in relation to Windows 7 itself (only professional editorial staff, Home/Starter editions are not supported). But it doesn’t matter - on a special website you can download a new version of Virtual PC for support in Windows 7 Windows mode XP Mode and a “ready” image (about 450MB) of “clean” Windows XP, in which the necessary services and drivers are installed. For those who want to create their own virtual image– the site contains beta versions of updates for Vista/XP, the installation of which in the virtual OS adds support for Windows XP Mode. Download, install - first the Virtual PC for Windows 7, then the image itself.
In the “Start” menu in “Programs” the Windows Virtual PC section appears, and in it – the actual item Virtual Windows XP. This is the link to the same image, which is 450MB and is installed second :) At the first start, the image is configured in a very trivial way - only the password of the future user is requested and that’s all. All settings of this virtual OS correspond to typical settings virtual Virtual machines PC, except for the Auto Publish item that appears. This item is responsible for how applications from virtual Windows XP will be published in the start Windows menu 7. By default, the automatic publishing mode is set, which means - attention!!! - all over again installed applications in the virtual machine will automatically “pop up” in the menu parent Windows 7.
We establish what we need - and in start menu, in the same Windows section Virtual PC section appears Virtual Windows XP Application with links to these virtual applications.
Closing virtual machine, launch the required application from the start menu already Windows 7 – and after a short wait (in the video you can estimate the startup time of the virtual machine “in the background” with the subsequent launch of the required OS on the HP 8510w laptop) we get the application in “real” XP mode. What restrictions does Windows XP Mode impose? – the most important thing is the requirement for hardware support for virtualization in processors. Instructions for configuring hardware virtualization are on the same page (shown above) as downloading Virtual PC itself. I would like to draw special attention to the fact that often to enable hardware virtualization after the actual installations BIOS settings more is needed physical shutdown computer power supply.
One of the most interesting new Windows tools 7 is Windows XP Mode or Windows XP Mode. Essentially, Windows XP Mode is a fully functional version of Windows XP running on Windows 7.
In many ways, this is similar to how Parallels Desktop works on the Mac. Allowing users to work with Windows applications XP under Windows 7, Microsoft has effectively made application compatibility problems a thing of the past.
Step one: Go to the page Windows downloads XP Mode (http://www.microsoft.com/ru-RU/download/details.aspx?id=3702). Select Windows 7 Professional as your operating system (32-bit or 64-bit, respectively) and also select your language. Please note that the site will not allow you to download necessary files if you choose Windows Home Premium.
Step Two: As per the on-screen instructions, you need to download and install three different packages (files): Windows XP Mode, Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode update. In this case, the packages must be downloaded and installed in the order in which they are written above. The site may require you to install a Windows Activation Update, which will allow it to verify that your Windows is genuine. For many users this shouldn't be a big problem.
If, when installing Windows Virtual PC, you receive an error like “This update is not applicable to your computer,” then you selected the wrong option in the first step operating system. In this case, you should try another possible version Windows 7 Professional. If you receive an error like, “Unable to start Windows Virtual PC because hardware-assisted virtualization is disabled,” then you can simply ignore it. In the future, installing Windows XP Mode should solve the problem.
Step Three: Once all three packages are installed, you need to restart your computer.
Step Four: Now you have Windows XP Mode installed, but when you try to launch it from the Start menu on a computer with Windows 7 Home Premium, it will not be able to boot. To work around this issue, open Windows Explorer(using the Windows key + E) and go to Windows folder XP Mode. On most Windows computers XP Mode is located in the C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\ folder.
Step Five: Click right click mouse over file with named Windows XP Mode base.vhd and select Properties. We do not yet have the necessary rights to remove the read-only attribute from this file, which prevents us from changing this file, but we can fix it. Click the Security tab and then click the Advanced button.
Step Six: In the Window additional parameters security, click on the Owner tab and then click the Edit... button. Confirm any warnings that pop up.
Step seven: In the Advanced Security Settings window, select your current Windows account. IN in this example, we will select the user steve, but your user will most likely have a different name.
Once you have made your selection, click OK. If you then see security warnings pop up, click OK to confirm them too.
Step Eight: Return to the advanced security settings window and click on the Permissions tab. Next, in the permission elements window, select Everyone and then click the Change Permissions button.
Step Nine: Select Everyone in the permission items window and then click the Edit... button.
Step ten: In the new window, check the box next to Full access(Full control).
Step Eleven: Click OK, then OK again, then again, again and again. After this, you should exit all the access options windows of the above-mentioned file and end up in Windows Explorer.
Now it is advisable to create a backup copy of the Windows XP Mode base.vhd file, which will be very useful if you ever want to return your Windows XP virtual environment to its original state.
Step twelve: Click Start -> All Programs -> Windows Virtual PC -> Windows Virtual PC. In the window that opens, click on Create virtual machine.
Step Thirteen: In the new Create a virtual machine window, enter any name for your Windows XP mode virtual machine and then click Next. Then if you triple the volume random access memory allocated for the virtual machine, click Next again.
Step fourteen: When installing a virtual machine at the add stage virtual hard disk (Add a virtual hard disk) select Use an existing virtual hard drive(Use an existing virtual hard disk) and then click the Browse button. Here we want to select the previously modified Windows file XP Mode base.vhd, which is usually located in the C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\ folder. You can also enable or disable the Enable undo disks option. When you have finished making your selection, click Create.
Step fifteen: From now on, Windows XP Mode should already be running on your system. To access virtual Windows environment XP just double click on the newly created virtual machine file from the list.
You can also now replace the broken one Windows icon XP Mode (located in the menu in Start -> Programs -> Windows Virtual PC) to a link to your new working virtual machine.
However, it is worth understanding that the installed Windows XP virtual machine does not have valid license, and therefore will only work for a limited time due to failed activation. And although there are quite a lot smart ways To bypass the activation problem, the simplest and most recommended way is to simply upgrade the operating system from Windows Home Premium to Windows Professional.
By the way, the upgrade will allow you to gain access to other features, such as remote desktop Remote Desktop and support for increased memory.
This answer contains information regarding various operating system option techniques. Windows 7, both using the OS itself and using various secondary programs.
Restoring the Traditional Start Menu in Windows 7
Bring back the traditional start menu, the return function to which in Windows 7 missing, it is possible with free software CSMenu. This utility makes an alternative Start button, returning it to the traditional style, clearly recognizable by the interface Windows 2000. After installation (administrator rights are required), the program leaves two icons on the desktop. By launching one, the user starts scanning programs located in the start menu. After indexing, you can delete this icon, and then, in order for the configurations to take effect, exit your profile and log in again. After logging in, you need to move the second icon to the taskbar - it will serve as a specific “Start” button, made in the traditional style. Despite all this, the real button does not go anywhere, it remains in place. Download CSMenu there is a possibility from the forum about Windows 7: windows7forums.com. There you can also watch a video on how to install the program.
Search the Internet using the Start menu
IN Windows 7 It became possible to search the Internet through the Start menu, but by default this function is disabled. To enable Internet search through the Start menu, you need to do the following:
Enabling DreamScene in Windows 7
DreamScene- one of the functions in Windows Vista Ultimate, which allowed you to set a video as your desktop wallpaper. But this feature has been removed from Windows 7 and it was replaced by the function Desktop Slideshow- function automatic change desktop background images. Possibility to enable DreamScene still exists. In order to launch DreamScene V Windows 7, you need to do the following function:
It should be understood that DreamScene not officially supported in Windows 7, because its options are not in the applet Personalization(Personalization) and on the configuration page Desktop Background(Desktop background sketch). Despite this, all functions DreamScene, including Play(Reproduce), Pause(Stop) and audio are supported.
Restoring the Quick Launch panel
IN Windows 7 The quick start bar has been replaced by a brand new function supported by the taskbar - pinning applications to the taskbar. In order to pin an application to the taskbar, just right-click on the application window in the taskbar and select "Pin the program to the taskbar".
To restore the quick start panel (Quick Launch)you need to create an additional toolbar and point to the folder Quick Launch: to do this, right-click on the taskbar and select “Panels” in the context menu and then “Create toolbar...”. In the dialog box that opens, point to the following folder: C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch. (In that case the folder AppData is not visible in the dialog box, you need to open the control panel, select the “Appearance and Personalization” item, in it select the “Show hidden files and folders" and in it select the option "show hidden files, folders and drives") After which the toolbar Quick Launch will be added to the taskbar. To display it traditionally, you can right-click on the panel and uncheck the text display characteristics Show Text and headings Show Title. The convenience of the traditional quick start panel is that the user will have access to application icons that place their shortcuts in this panel.
Changing the panel Windows tasks 7 per XP/Vista style
One of the most obvious configurations in Windows 7 There is a new taskbar in which icons are shown instead of buttons, and all application windows are combined under one button. The first thing you need to do to return to the older style of the taskbar is to right-click on any free space and select the line from the menu that appears Properties(characteristics). Next on the tab Taskbar(taskbar) opposite the label of the taskbar buttons Taskbar buttons you need to select the option Never combine(never connect twice), which will set the display in the taskbar separate button for each separate window. It is also possible to select the option Combine when taskbar is full(Merge twice when the taskbar is full), which will join windows together once when the taskbar is full. After performing these actions (and of course implementing them), the buttons will be displayed with text inscriptions... which, however, will be made in the style Windows 7. To “correct” this, you still need to go to the taskbar characteristics and set the option to use small icons Use small icons. At the same time, the taskbar will become a little narrower and will be very similar to the panel Vista. The only remaining problem will be the pinned icons that will still be on the taskbar. But it is possible to remove them by right-clicking on each of them and selecting Unpin this program from taskbar(unpin this program from the taskbar). And after which the taskbar will look and work almost like a panel WindowsXP/Vista.
Changing the LOGON UI Welcome Screen in Windows 7
Windows 7 has a new welcome screen LOGON UI. The welcome screen can simply be changed using the free Tweaks Logon Changer program. With its help, you can change the welcome screen to any other picture or return the original welcome page. In that case, the size of the image is more than 256 KB, then Tweaks Logon Changer will offer to make a copy of it and automatically compress it to a suitable size.
It is possible to change the welcome screen using the system itself, if you are not using additional programs. How to do this is discussed in detail in this article.
How to enable/run Windows XP Mode in Windows 7
XPMode(mode WindowsXP) is an addition that, in conjunction with VirtualPC allows you to ensure full compatibility of older applications with Windows 7. XP Mode is a virtual machine with pre-installed system Windows XP; it starts from under itself Windows 7 and suggests creating a launcher for old applications that are not compatible with Windows 7, just in the middle Windows XP, due to which full comparability is achieved.
It is important to note that the function Windows XP Mode urgently requests hardware support for virtualization, in addition, company specialists Microsoft It is recommended to use a computer equipped with at least 2 GB of RAM. You can verify that the computer’s hardware meets the necessary requirements by downloading and running the utilities posted on the page microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc.
A ready-made “super button” with the proud title “enable” Windows XP Mode" no. The development is external to the Windows 7, with all this, only professional editions are supported - Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. To install XP Mode to a computer running Windows 7, you need to download the latest version from the special Microsoft website Virtual PC(file Windows 6.1-KB958559-x86 ~4.9 MB) and finished image Windows XP(file VirtualWindowsXP.msi~445 MB), in which they are already installed necessary services and drivers. For those who want to make their own virtual image, the website contains update versions for Vista/XP, the installation of which in a virtual OS adds support for the mode Windows XP Mode. After downloading both files, you need to install them - first Virtual PC For Windows 7, later the image itself.
In the "Start" menu in "Applications" a section appears Windows Virtual PC, and in it there is actually a point Virtual Windows XP. At the first start, the image changes in a very elementary way - only the password of the future user is requested. In the start menu, in the same section Windows Virtual PC a section arises Virtual Windows XP Application with links to virtual applications. It is possible to run as a virtual machine with Windows XP, as well as individual programs installed inside the virtual environment. At the same time, the system provides completely transparent work with such applications and does not impose any multifunctional restrictions on them. From the ones running inside Windows XP programs have the ability to work with files of the parent system, interact with USB and other devices connected to the computer, copy data via the clipboard, send it to print, etc.
Additional information on the site:
In the last, seventh article of the series dedicated to Windows 7, we will talk about application compatibility and XP mode, and explore changes in the User Account Control system UAC users, let's touch on improvements in graphics subsystem, and also consider the new version Windows programs Media Center and some invisible at first glance, but useful features new operating system. We will also summarize the general results of our cycle.
If you are faced with the fact that any of the programs that you worked with on previous versions of Windows do not start or work incorrectly, go to the "Troubleshooting" section and click on the link "Running programs designed for previous versions of Windows". Windows versions" (Run programs made for previous versions of Windows).
A wizard will launch to help you troubleshoot application issues. This wizard can also be opened from context menu. To do this, simply right-click on the application icon that is not working and select Troubleshoot compatibility.
To begin with, the wizard will search for programs installed on your computer and display a list of them. If there is no program in it that does not start for you or does not work correctly, you can specify the path to it executable file manually (note that the troubleshooter does not work with applications whose files have an MSI extension).
After this, the master will analyze possible problems and will prompt you to run the application with recommended compatibility settings. If no problems are found during the test run, you can save the parameters suggested by the wizard, and in the future the program will always be launched in this mode.
If the compatibility problem is not resolved, the wizard will offer to describe it in more detail, for example, indicate whether it does not start at all or works with errors. The user can manually specify the operating system on which the program ran successfully.
You can find a fairly extensive list of applications on the Microsoft website that are compatible with Windows 7. So, if the program you can't get to work is on this list, then most likely the problem can be solved by installing a new version or update released by the developer . But even if the program is not on the list compatible applications, this does not mean that it is incompatible with Windows 7.
In any case, look for the latest version on the manufacturer's website. If the problem cannot be solved in any way - for example, a new version is not available or you for some reason do not want to install it, you always have the opportunity to update Windows 7 to the edition that supports XP mode. The "Start" and "Home Basic" versions can be upgraded to the "Home Advanced" edition, and this, in turn, to the "Maximum" or "Professional" edition. Detailed recommendations information regarding the update can be found on a special page on the Microsoft website.
