Windows 7 XP Mode User Experience (or How Easy it is to Run Native XP Apps from Windows 7)

Windows XP Mode is a preconfigured Windows XP Mode environment, and this quick walkthrough will show how easy it is to get a native XP application running from Windows 7. With Christmas and the New Year coming, might be fun to crack out some old XP games and have a go at running them again alongside Windows 7 games to reminisce on times gone by and compare old to new.

1: Download Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC from

2: Install WindowsXPMode
Note: The WindowsXPMode virtual PC is a 1.13GB base disk, and configured with 512MB RAM by default

3: Install Windows Virtual PC and reboot system

4: i: All Programs -> Windows Virtual PC -> Click Windows XP Mode
ii: Accept License Agreement -> Next
iii: Choose installation folder and credentials -> Next
iv: Choose Automatic Updates settings -> Next
v: Start Setup (the drives on the computer will be shared with Windows XP Mode)

5: After the Windows XP Mode Virtual PC has loaded; install the native Windows XP application and copy a shortcut for the application to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs

Note that you can place any shortcut into the above folder to use later from the Windows 7 PC. In the below image, the shortcut to Internet Explorer 6 is placed in the folder

6: Log off and then click the X in the top right corner of the Windows XP Mode window and the XP Mode Virtual PC will hibernate.

7: From the Windows 7 Machine:
All Programs -> Windows Virtual PC -> Windows XP Mode Applications
Click on the XP Mode Application to run (can also copy the shortcut to desktop)
Example below showing Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 8 running side-by-side on Windows 7

THE END

Afternote

Windows XP Mode is included in the Microsoft Exam 70-669 syllabus. The 70-669 Exam is one of three exams required for the 'MCITP: Virtualization Administrator on Windows Server 2008 R2' qualification - full list of exams below:

Exam 70-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
Exam 70-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization
Exam 70-693: Pro: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

Links to useful resources for Exam 70-669

An excellent list of video links:

Free e-book:

Microsoft links:

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