What is Windows XP Mode?

What does Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 do? I tried finding a description on the MS Virtual PC page, but it's so vague.

 

It just runs an application of your choice in a virtual Windows XP environment. Basically for backwards compatibility. So, if you have a tried-and-tested application that works in Windows XP, but does not work natively in 7, use XP Mode and it will run in Windows 7.

 

Oh ok thanks. So it's like Parallels in a way.

 

So will this be better than comparability mode in Vista.

 

On supported Windows 7 machines (with hardware supported virtualization) the way it works is that once you install an app in "Virtual XP Mode" it becomes just another application in your start menu and can be run side by side with apps running natively in 7. The virtual environment is running in the background but it's not running in a separate window as is the case with regular Virtual PC.

Here's a screenshot of GOM Player running in VirtualXP. Notice that it's running just like any other app and can see the local drives like any other app. Yet it's actually running in a virtualized Windows XP environment. (GOM Plyaer runs fine in 7 btw. I was just fooling around.)

 

Thanks for the screenshot@Fountainhead

 

XP Mode works just like VMWare Fusion's Unity feature or Parallels Coherence feature. It's a great way at promoting backwards compatibility. I wonder how it works for old games though...

 

I suppose it depends what you mean by "old" games. I doubt that anything requiring graphics acceleration would work since the display adapter in the virtual machine is just a standard VGA adapter.

 

LOL, yeah the definition of what constitutes being an "old" game is very grey. I have a game (Grandia 2) that was originally released in 2002. It does work in Vista, so I think it'll be fine under Windows 7 without the need for using XP-Mode.

 

There goes any hope of running PS well in W7. :<

 

Just a reminder that this is only available in the Professional and Ultimate versions. If you ordered Home Premium, you'll have to stick to a virtual machine. Again, just to let those who do not know not be ignorant of this fact. Someone might develop a registry hack or whatever, but we'll have to see.

 

I don't think running PS should be a problem.

 

Hah! Good I ordered Win Pro for 90 GBP!

P.S. I play an old old game known as AirFix DogFighter and it works fine.

It is definitely pre2k!

 

It currently runs at half the framerate that it does under XP when running on Vista.

 

Which PS are you talking about?

 

Planetside.

It'd be nice if it didn't run like crap for the (finally) Werner server merge.

 

I know about Quake Live, but how does Quake 4 run in Win7 or XP mode?

 

Basically all games that require hardware acceleration will fail to run XP mode.
DOS games (software rendering) will/should run under XP Mode.

 

and about all games that require hw acceleration work on vista / win7.

not all, but most. no matter how old.

 

no, it's a different thing. it's a full xp running in parallel, in a virtual machine. while it gives 100% xp compatibility, it gives 0 hw compatibility. and it is not supported for home users anyways. it means for companies that they have to manage win7 clients on the net AND winxp clients on the net (with all the security issues that may arise from it) and is quite complex.

you can download virtualbox for free, install an xp on it, and have essentially the same thing. not that nice of an integration directly into your host os (no startmenu entries, no free windows, etc by default), but it's the same logical way.



win7 still has "compatibility mode". because being able to run an app in compatibility mode is a much bigger gain. no two os running all the time, no xp security holes alive, no different gui.

this is really only for some very strange business apps that require xp, 100%, and have no special hw requirements (if they need to access any non standard hw, say a pci card that reads some robotic data for some measurements, what ever, it wouldn't work, as you can't install the card in the vm.. or maybe you can? haven't followed virtual solutions that closely lately)

 

XP Mode requires Intel VT-x extensions, right? All current and recent AMD processors have VT-x (called AMD-v). The problem is that Intel decided to remove VT-x from certain lines of their processors (like lower end ones) for no good reason. If you are stuck with an Intel processor without VT-x, then XP Mode will be very slow for you.