Windows Xp mode in Windows 7

Windows XP Mode on Windows 7 allows you to run many older Windows XP programs that are not natively compatible with Windows 7. It is one of several built-in tools in Windows 7 that helps with compatibility allowing Windows XP users to continue to use all of their programs after upgrading to Windows 7.

It can be particularly useful to large organizations that are moving from XP to Windows 7 and need to retain key programs that are not compatible with the new OS. By utilizing Windows XP Mode these organizations can safely deploy Windows 7 without worrying about operational downtime or additional costs.

For Install Win xp Mode:

Run a Bing or Google search on “windows xp mode download files”. The first search result you’ll find will lead you right to the official Windows XP Mode download page.

After clicking the appropriate link (where the red arrow on the screenshot above is pointing to), you’ll be brought to the Windows XP Mode download page. Select the specific edition of Windows 7 you have in your computer and choose a language you’re most familiar with. For example, we selected “Ultimate 32-bit” and “English”, respectively.

Next, you’re supposed to download and install these three files in the following order:

1. Windows XP Mode
2. Windows Virtual PC
3. Windows XP Mode update

I suggest you download each of those three files first, then install them in the sequence specified above. Note that the actual filenames will appear quite cryptic. For example, the Windows Virtual PC file may be named Windows6.1-KB958559-x86. To avoid confusion, rename each file after every download in such a way that you’ll know which one was downloaded first, second, and third.

In my case, I left the first file’s name as is. But for the second and third files, I inserted ’2′ and ’3′ in the beginning. Here’s how they looked like after I saved them on my PC:

Installing the Windows XP Mode file

To install a file, just double-click on it. Start with the first installation file.

When you get to the Windows XP Mode Welcome screen, just click the Next button.

In the succeeding screen, you’ll be asked to specify which location you’d like the installation to be placed. Here, we’ve opted to accept the default location. Click Next.

Barring any unforeseen events, the installation should go on smoothly. As soon as the installation setup is completed, click the Finish button.

Installing the Windows Virtual PC file

Now that you’re done installing the first file, you may now proceed with the second. Double-click the second file to begin the next installation.

When you’re asked whether “you want to install the following Windows software update”, click Yes.

Read the license terms and click I Accept if you’re amenable to everything stated in there.

Wait for all updates to be installed. When the installation’s completed, click Restart Now.

Windows XP Mode update

At this point, your computer will automatically restart. Remember that you’ve only installed two out of three files yet. You still lack one more. So once you’ve logged back in, go back to the folder containing those three installation files and double-click the third and last file.

Again, when you’re asked whether “you want to install the following Windows software update”, click Yes.

Just like before, wait for all updates to be installed. Then when the installation completes, clickRestart Now.

After the restart, you will have already completed the installation of Windows XP Mode. This also means that you would have an updated version of Virtual PC and a fully licensed Windows XP SP3 running as a virtual machine. The next step is to set up your freshly installed virtual environment.

Setting up Windows XP Mode

Once you’ve logged back in, click the Windows orb > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC >Windows XP Mode.

Note: All Programs is not shown in the screenshot below.

In the succeeding window, read the Windows XP Mode License Agreement. If everything looks fine, check the “I accept … ” check box and click Next.

Assign a password and click Next.

You’ll then be asked whether you want to turn on Automatic Updates. This will let your virtualized version of XP perform a routine check for the latest security updates and carry out an automatic installation if any is found. Select your desired option and click Next.

In the next window, you’ll be informed that the setup process will share whatever drives you have on your computer with Windows XP Mode. Just click the Start Setup button.

Once the setup process is done, Windows XP will automatically launch as a virtual machine. This is how it will look like.

Installing an application in Windows XP Mode

In the succeeding steps, we’ll show you how to install a program unto your freshly installed Windows XP Mode environment. We’ll be using an application named ColorPic as an example and we’re assuming its installation file is found in the shared C: drive, inside the Windows 7 environment.

Go to Start > My Computer.

Navigate to the shared C: drive on the Windows 7 host machine.

Find the installation file of the application you want to install and run it by double-clicking.

Proceed with the entire installation process as you would in an ordinary Windows XP environment. At the end of the installation, check the checkbox that says Launch Program File before clicking the Finish button. That way, you can test the program right away to see if it works as expected.

Here’s the ColorPic app running on our Windows XP Mode environment.

Launching the Windows XP application from the Windows 7 desktop

After you’ve installed the application, you can actually launch it straight from the Windows 7 desktop. In Windows 7, just go to the Windows orb > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC >Virtual Windows XP > Virtual Windows XP Applications. You’ll then be able to see all the applications you installed in the Windows XP Mode environment.

Here’s that same ColorPic application again.

See the difference between this and the previous screen shot? It now looks like ColorPic is actually running on Windows 7, not on Windows XP Mode. That’s how all your installed Windows XP applications will look like. They will all appear as if they’re running straight from Windows 7 when in fact, under the hood, they’re actually running on Windows XP Mode.