Window 7 Pro and above come with Virtual XP SP3

[SYNACK]

Looks like the new Windows 7 OS in versions Pro and above will support a free addon which creates a seamless VM layer of XP SP3 for full application compatibility. Other new features inculde streaming of your Windows Media Player library over the internet.

 

http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2009/04/24/secret-no-more-revealing-virtual-windows-xp-for-windows-7.aspx

Gizmodo - Windows 7 Release Candidate 1's Best Surprise New Features - Windows 7 RC1

 

This is simmilar to the approach taken by Mac OSX with OS9 support in that it seems to be the whole OS. Previously they have employed the rather than the more compact and optimized backwards compatibility model of WoW (Windows on Windows) but it should mean that support will be almost total rather than the slightly more limited support found in WoW mode. This feature does require processor VT support and is probably the last development of their virtual pc client virtualization product line. Future client OSs will most probably have fully fledged hyper-V hypervisors.

Edited April 25, 2009 by SYNACK

[localzuk]

That looks interesting... I wonder what managing these hybrid 7-XP machines will be like?

[SYNACK]

Apparently it is all still managable at the GP level as this is meant as part of a business solution so it shouldn't be to bad. I do have to wonder about multiple sets of security updates though which I would hope should still be able to be automated to the same extent.

[EduTech]

There right though, i think having that option will kind of make the decission for enterprise companys and schools. at least there doing something right.

 

let's hope it works, be good to try it out in the RC

[AngryTechnician]

Very interesting. The site mentions MED-V, which was in the latest MDOP package for software assurance, and this looks very similar. With that system, the virtual XP layer is a separate logical VM that you join to the domain (or not) independently of the host.

[synaesthesia]

I personally think it's a huge step backward. People should be moving forward (thats MS, everyone writing software for MS, the people using the software and MS's OS) rather than clinging onto the past. I've been annoyed that we've been clinging onto 32bit software like a particularly hairy clagnut for god knows how long purely for the sake of money worries on vendor's behalves, and this is in a similar vein.

It IS good news for corporate users/companies in general though, but I worry about exactly how far that support will extend and what good it will be in mass use. Time will tell though, at least the rest of Windows 7 is a good step forward.

[somabc]

How is this going to work? I can see the point in a Virtual XP if MS had rewritten windows from the ground up, ie a new 64 bit OS from scratch that is not binary compatible with XP similar to what Apple did with OS X. Windows 7 has legacy support for windows apps that should reach right back to Windows 95 at least, if not further. So why the need for a Virtual XP.

 

I am less impressed with the idea of supporting 2 Operating Systems on each desktop and the thought of supporting Windows XP SP3 for the next 5-10 years just so that IE6 can stick around.

[AngryTechnician]

So why the need for a Virtual XP.

Unfortunately there is a good deal of ropey software out there, much of it educational software, that was designed specifically for XP and has niggles on later versions. For example, hardcoding the location of the 'All Users' appdata to be "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data" instead of checking the registry and finding that on Vista (and Win 7, I believe) it's typically in "C:\ProgramData".

 

My normal approach is to:

1. tell whoever requested it to find some software that wasn't written by a moron, or
   
2. virtualise the software using App-V and trick it into thinking it's writing to the location it wants.
   

Some people don't have the luxury of those options.

[FN-GM]

Unfortunately there is a good deal of ropey software out there, much of it educational software, that was designed specifically for XP and has niggles on later versions. For example, hardcoding the location of the 'All Users' appdata to be "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data" instead of checking the registry and finding that on Vista (and Win 7, I believe) it's typically in "C:\ProgramData".

 

My normal approach is to:

1. tell whoever requested it to find some software that wasn't written by a moron, or
   
2. virtualise the software using App-V and trick it into thinking it's writing to the location it wants.
   

Some people don't have the luxury of those options.

 

If you use the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ path it still works under Vista and 7. I have tested t with a batch file to delete icons from the desktop.

 

I am pretty surprised at Microsoft being flexible and letting you do this actually.

[AngryTechnician]

You're right, that was a bad example - many of the folder moves are covered by hidden- and system-flagged junction points.

[mattx]

XP Pro has a few more years left in it yet - can't see the point of up-grading - hell if I had my way I'd roll out OS/2 which even now walks all over Vista.....

[localzuk]

Little tool here to see if your processor will support Hardware virtualisation needed to run XP Mode.

 

Looks good. My machine supports it all