Compatibility with security: How to run Windows XP in a virtual machine. If the imminent end- of- support deadline for Windows XP has finally spurred you to make the update to Windows 8, you might be concerned about whether you’ll still be able to run your old programs. ![]() And while most Windows XP software works just fine in Windows 8, some applications do indeed have compatibility issues. Fortunately, there’s a way you can run any Windows XP software at all, using virtualization. Any Windows XP software you have should run in the virtual machine, and because the virtual computer can’t make changes to your real computer’s hard drive, you won’t have to worry about end- of- support security issues. However, there are a few limitations with Windows XP mode. First, it only works in Windows 7—if you’re still using Windows Vista or have updated to Windows 8, then Windows XP mode won’t work on your system. Further, it’s only available on the Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions of Windows 7, rather than the more common consumer versions. It’s not entirely clear what the security ramifications of running XP Mode after support is cut off are, or if Microsoft will continue to host the free download that allows you to use XP mode. It borrows some of your host computers resources, like hard disk space and RAM and uses those to run the virtual computer. With a virtual machine, you can have a full- fledged Windows XP computer running in a window on your desktop, or even one running Linux or Windows 9. Don’t worry—we’ll walk you through them, one at a time. You can pick it up at www. Once you’re at the site, just click on the download link, then click on the link that says “x. Virtual. Box . If you bought your PC with Windows XP already installed, the product key is most likely on a sticker somewhere on your PC or with any documentation that came with it. ![]() If you installed Windows yourself, then hopefully you kept the product key that came with the installation disc. If you didn’t, you can still recover your CD key by running Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder on the system running XP. There’s a few choices you can make during the installation, but you can just leave the default options selected for everything and click through. When the installer is done, Virtual. Box will start up, and you’ll see a message informing you that you don’t have any virtual machines created yet. To remedy that, click on the blue New button in the top left corner. On the first page, choose a descriptive name (such as “Windows XP Virtual Machine”) and select what make and model of operating system you’re going to install. Conveniently, Windows XP is the default choice, so unless your dropdown menu looks different, stick with that. Windows XP’s memory requirements are very low, but for better performance you’ll want to increase this higher than the recommended 1. MB. Depending on how much memory you have to spare, you can allocate from 5. MB to 2. GB. A new setup window will open, with choices about virtual hard drive files. Leave the default “VDI” option selected, and click Next. On the following page, choose Dynamically allocated, which means that you can allocate, say, 2. GB of hard drive space for the virtual machine, but that space won’t actually be used up on your physical hard disk unless you actually use it for something in the virtual machine. Click Next again. GB is enough to install the operating system with room to spare, but you should increase it a bit if you plan to install anything more than basic software. Remember that you won’t be immediately forfeiting all this space on your main drive—it’ll only be claimed if you actually use it for something in your virtual Windows XP PC. ![]() Click Create. But just as if you’d built a brand new physical PC, you have to install an operating system on it. If you attempt to run the PC by double clicking on its tile on the left part of the screen, Virtual. Box will automatically start the new machine wizard, and it will ask you to select a startup disc. How to Install Windows Xp Mode in Windows 7. Although Windows 7 is compatible with many legacy programs out of the box, some applications simply will not run with. You can click the little file icon next to the file field to browse your system for the Windows install data. If you have a physical disc, put it in your CD or DVD drive and select that drive. If you have an ISO, simply select that file. Even if you’ve never installed Windows XP before, the installation process is very straightforward—just click through each screen, filling in any of the basic info it asks you for. It will restart at one point in the process, and then after several minutes of installing you’ll find yourself looking at a small version of the Windows XP desktop, in a window. ![]() Virtual. Box includes a set of software utilities to install on the virtual PC, which make it a lot easier to work with and control the virtual PC. To install these, click on the Virtual. Box menu bar item labelled Devices, then select Insert Guest Additions CD Image. There aren’t any complicated decisions to make here, just click next a couple times, and allow the computer to restart when it asks. Windows XP Mode is a feature of the Windows 7 operating system that allows it to run applications that are only compatible with Windows XP. Windows Vista uses a similar technique for running older programs. Open an Explorer window and navigate to the.EXE file for the program. To run Windows Compatibility Troubleshooter wizard, type in Action Center in Start menu search box and hit enter. Then in the left pane of the Action Center, click on. Here's how to do just that. ![]() Most useful is the option to add a shared folder, which will allow you to easily transfer files from your host computer to your virtual computer. To do this, click Devices, then Shared Folders Settings, which will open the virtual machine settings. Click this, then select a file location to use as a folder. Make sure to click the boxes marked “Auto- mount” and “Make Permanent.” If you only plan to transfer files to the virtual machine and not from it, click “Read- only” as well. Virtual. Box can be a little finicky with what it accepts as a valid file name here—we found the easiest way to make sure the folder path works is to manually create a folder with no spaces or special characters on the host machine, then copy and paste the address into the folder field. You can use this to transfer software to the virtual machine, and then install it inside Windows XP. With our setup, running Windows XP on a Windows 8. PC, we had to make some changes in the network settings to get the internet working in the virtual machine. There, change the Attached To field to “Bridged Adapter”, and the Adapter Type to “PCnet- Fast III.” With that, you now have everything you need to run a Windows XP program without ever leaving the comfort and safety of Windows 7 or 8. ![]()
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September 2017
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