My Technology Guide

Microsoft developed Windows XP Mode so that businesses using Windows XP productivity applications can upgrade to Windows 7 easily without loosing productivity. Windows XP Mode makes it very easy to install and run many Windows XP productivity applications directly from within Windows 7-based PC. But one of the main requirements to run Windows XP Mode was that the PC's should have Hardware Assisted Virtualization (HAV) technology enabled.

This was a great set back for many small and mid-sized businesses who were not having any HAV enabled hardware. In the past we have covered an article about VMLite XP Mode, an Alternative to Microsoft Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 to help people who are not having HAV enabled hardware.

You may miss the Aero Glass look, if you are using Windows 7 on virtual machine as you can utmost achieve the Aero Basic look. But if you are running Windows 7 virtual machines on Windows Virtual PC, then there is a simple way to activate the Aero Glass experience. Follow these simple steps to activate Aero Glass in Windows 7 virtual machines running on Windows Virtual PC.

First, install Windows 7 in your virtual machine, or if you have already done installing, click on the Tools menu and select Install Integration Components.

One notable feature of Windows 7 is the Windows XP Mode and Microsoft provides this for free. XP Mode lets users run Windows XP virtually inside Windows 7. However the catch is, to run Windows XP Mode you must have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate version installed and your computer must have hardware‐assisted virtualization support.

Not everyone is lucky enough to run the pricey edition of Windows 7 that supports XP Mode or their hardware supports hardware‐assisted virtualization. Most of the general users who opted for Windows 7 Home Premium edition or lower will not be able to install Windows XP Mode. But they still will need the functionality that Windows XP Mode offers. So, what these users should do?  Here is something that is made keeping mind about everyone who wants to run Windows XP inside Windows 7. So that their old programs can still work, even if they upgrade to Windows 7.

Windows XP Mode is freely available for Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise users. It allows you to run legacy applications inside a Windows XP virtual machine running in the background. Windows XP Mode was primarily designed to help businesses move from Windows XP to Windows 7. Almost all programs that are compatible with Windows Vista and a majority of Windows XP programs, run well in Windows 7. But, if a program doesn’t run properly even after trying the Program Compatibility troubleshooter, you can run the program in Windows XP Mode.

Windows XP Mode runs in a separate window on the Windows 7 desktop, much like a program, except it's a fully functional version of Windows XP. When you install a program in Windows XP Mode, the program appears in both the Windows XP Mode list of programs and in the Windows 7 list of programs, so you can open the program directly from Windows 7. Do note that it isn’t optimized for graphic-intensive programs such as 3D games or for programs with hardware requirements such as TV tuners.

Windows 7 users may have already heard about the Windows XP Mode in Windows 7. For late comers, it basically allows Windows 7 users (supported versions are Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate) to run Windows XP in a virtual environment. Windows XP Mode is freely available for Windows 7 users.

Running an application using Windows XP Mode under Windows Virtual PC can be beneficial if the application is not compatible with Windows 7. Those users who wants to run Windows XP Mode can download the required software to launch applications in the virtual environment with just one click in Windows 7.

Microsoft has released a pre-built, pre-configured Windows 7 VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) for Hyper-V Server which allows user to instantly mount and run the virtual machine. The VHD is of Windows 7 Enterprise version and is for a user to test it free of cost for 90 days. Windows 7 Enterprise edition is almost equal to Windows 7 Ultimate edition except that it’s targeted at corporate and business users, and requires activation via KMS or MAK, both available through volume licensing distribution channels.

"Guidelines on usage: You have 10 days to activate the product. If not activated within 10 days, the system will shut down once every hour until activated. The 90-day Trial is the full working version of the Windows 7 Enterprise, the version most of you will be working with in your corporate environment. It will not require a product key (it is embedded with the download). The 90-day Trial will shut down once every hour when you have reached the end of the 90-day evaluation period. The 90-day Trial is offered for a limited time and in limited quantity. The OS activation will be available through March 31, 2010, while supplies last," Microsoft noted.

Microsoft has released an updated Release Candidate (RC) of Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode for Windows 7. Windows Virtual PC is a new virtualization runtime engine for Windows 7 which requires hardware-assisted virtualization (Use SecurAble to easily determine if your processor supports virtualization).

You can download Windows Virtual PC RC and Windows XP Mode RC for free at Windows Virtual PC homepage. You may also download the both setups using the following direct download links: