OT: W7 Pro - XP Mode worth it?

A-Scott wrote on 11/12/2010, 9:40 AM

I recently built my first Win7 machine and wondered the same thing.

XP Mode is a virtual XP machine (with an honest-to-goodness XP OS image). This should not to be confused with general XP compatibility that exists in all versions of Win7.

I chose the Home Premium edition and haven't had any trouble running my old XP apps (and one app going way back to Win95). This includes several games.

It's possible that you might have an app that absolutely requires a pure XP environment to run. XP mode would be the answer for that. So far, I haven't found the need.

JohnnyRoy wrote on 11/12/2010, 10:22 AM

You don't need Microsoft's XP Mode on Windows 7 so don't pay extra if that's the only feature you need.

If you want to run a virtual XP on any version of Windows, download the free VMware Player 3. VMware is the leader in virtualization technology. I use VMware Workstation because I need the snapshot feature for testing the VASST software that we build in different environments but the free VMware Player is all you need to create an XP virtual machine for general use.

You can even capture your existing physical XP machine and virtualize it for free using the VMware vCenter Converter. I have my old XP environment running on Windows 7 and I didn't need to re-install any applications. I just captured it with the vCenter Converter.

~jr

TheHappyFriar wrote on 11/12/2010, 10:26 AM

A friend of mine with Win7 can't run certain code I compile on my XP machine on his machine in XP compatibility mode. He has the Home edition too. Not sure if the full XP mode would be worth it.

To me, as someone who does more then just video, I'd get it myself for testing purposes.

R0cky wrote on 11/12/2010, 1:22 PM

Does the VMware solution give you access to all of your hardware?

I tried XP mode and found that some apps (audio spectrum analyzer and serial shipping scale) would not run and I had to have native XP - so I triple boot now. 2 copies of win7 (one general purpose and one for video) and one of xp for a couple of apps that won't run under XP mode.

SuperG wrote on 11/12/2010, 1:53 PM

A friend of mine with Win7 can't run certain code I compile on my XP machine

That's interesting. Ever figure out what was causing the incompatibility?

baysidebas wrote on 11/12/2010, 2:10 PM

If you need to remotely connect and control the Win 7 machine (via Remote Desktop) be advised that W7 Home Premium will not serve up RD, while W7 Pro will.

craftech wrote on 11/12/2010, 2:34 PM

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I solved the problem. I just ordered a copy of Windows XP Media Center from Tiger Direct. Nice to see someone still carries legitimate copies. XP Media Center is XP Pro with the Media Center (that can be disabled).

Thanks again,

John

srode wrote on 11/12/2010, 3:58 PM

I'm late responding but anyway.....

I have and use XP mode for a couple of applications (that won't run on Win7) and it works very smoothly, much smoother and faster than VM ware (yes I have used both) and it gives you access and control of all your hardware without having an separate XP license. Once you set it up you can drag a shortcut to the application on XP to your Win 7 desktop and use it to launch XP mode and the application from your Win7 desktop - it comes free with the Win 7 proffesional version. Very much worth it for me. Very nice.

LReavis wrote on 11/12/2010, 4:10 PM

all the above responses are legit, but my experience has differed somewhat. I found that I couldn't load several apps (mainly some of my old animation programs) in WPmode (I, too, use Win7-64 Pro) - seems they couldn't find the GPU (I think there's a work-around, but I didn't take the time to pursue it).

Just as frustrating, XPmode would not open often and I'd have to re-install it - seems it couldn't find some of my hard disks (I usually have 10 or so hooked up at any given time, and I frequently change them with changing demands of my video projects; so I couldn't remember how it might have been when I last installed WPmode).

So I now use VMware for light-duty XP work, but dual boot when I have a lot of apps that won't run in Win7. Such is the case at the moment, for I'm updating our 400-page homeowner's/home inspectors' book, and associated inspector reporting software, etc. That book uses a lot of old Adobe apps, like PageMaker, and some of those apps won't work or work poorly in Win7. Because I like to keep PageMaker, Illustrator, Acrobat, Word, etc. open constantly, I need more resources than I had set aside for VMware; and I also want full access to all my drives - so I dual boot to a true WinXP as needed.

TheHappyFriar wrote on 11/12/2010, 6:40 PM

That's interesting. Ever figure out what was causing the incompatibility?

Kinda. It always broke if I enabled OGL alphatest (based on the 2.1 spec). Strange part is that it works in XP & Vista, but alphatest works in different parts of the code. I don't have Win 7 to debug myself, but someone suggested compiling in 2010 C++ Express & see if that works. that's my next step.

The only theory so far I have is that he has win7+nvidia combo. Another programmer who can compile the code on his system with Win 7 has an ATI & no issues. So I'm not sure if it's the nvidia or win7 running a dll compiled on xp.

Ecquillii wrote on 11/16/2010, 5:53 AM

XP Media Center is XP Pro with the Media Center (that can be disabled).

John, how do you disable Media Center? Do you do it when installing or after installation? And what are the steps? (I ask because I have XP MCE 2005.)

Tim

apit34356 wrote on 11/16/2010, 6:08 AM

craftech, you probably made the safest choice. I'm running (family, kids,etc) a number of win 7 combs, and find not all things work well under win 7. mostly older 32 bit drivers issues and the win 7 video drivers don't always work with other apps...... and this varies based on a lot on mobile hardware the most. ;-)

Former user wrote on 11/16/2010, 6:47 AM

John, how do you disable Media Center? Do you do it when installing or after installation? And what are the steps? (I ask because I have XP MCE 2005.)

It cannot be disabled. You can choose not to use it but you cannot disable it.

VP

craftech wrote on 11/16/2010, 9:03 AM

Gettting around the Media Center installation:

If using the Windows XP Media Center Edition discs to install Windows XP Media Center Edition, only installing the first disc will install without media Center components.

There is a way to do it using nLite, but I don't know how to do it that way.

To disable it:

Do a backup just in case you need to restore what you have:

First locate this key in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\McrdSvc

and remove the RMSvc string from the DependOnService value.

Next:

To turn off the services, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services then Stop the following services (if they exist).

Media Center Extender Resource Monitor
Media Center Extender Service
Media Center Monitor Service
Media Center Receiver Service
Media Center Scheduler Service

Next:

Remove the 'Extender Resource Monitor' from the Startup group if it exists and restart Windows.

-----

You may also need to delete other services:

Right-click on My Computer and click on manage. Go to "services" look for any services running that have Media Center in the description and disable them.

Use Regedit and search for ehsched and delete anything having to do with ehsched , ehmsas , and ehrecvr.

AutoUpdate through Microsoft ahould be disabled so you can pick and choose what to update as Microsoft may try to reinstall missing components. Use manual update (which is a good idea anyway).

John