Virtualized Windows XP coming to Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate users

Color us intrigued. The gang at SuperSite for Windows have revealed what they know about a pretty awesome Windows 7 feature: XP Mode, a virtualized copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3. It'll reportedly be a free download for Professional and Ultimate Edition users, a shame it won't be coming to all versions. Unlike many other Virtual PC options, the environment won't require a separate workspace so you can run the individual apps as you would alongside those native to 7 -- in the example pictured, that's Word 2003 in XP mode next to Word 2007. It all sounds vaguely similar to the XP compatibility mode found in Vista, but if we're understanding this right, XPM should make legacy compatibility much less of a hassle. We haven't heard any reports of it being found in the leaked Release Candidate build, so if you're antsy to get a glimpse now, hit up the read link for a gallery.

[Thanks, Axel]

[Hydra Posted Apr 24th 2009 8:22PM]

This is a good move , maybe it will sandbox all those bad xp security problems

[insky Posted Apr 24th 2009 8:28PM]

This is pretty cool and all but couldn't you do the same with a VM and this http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=21EABB90-958F-4B64-B5F1-73D0A413C8EF&displaylang=en

It's a free virtual image of XP, or Vista. Just download the free VM Ware loader and you're good to go. Of course it probably uses a lot more memory than what Microsoft is offering here.

I still haven't found a program that doesn't work in Windows 7-Vista that can't be upgraded for free. Heck I haven't even found a program that doesn't work in Windows -Vista.

[Thunderbuck Posted Apr 24th 2009 10:36PM]

Part of the brilliance of this is that when apps are installed in the XP VM, the shortcuts are published to the Win7 host's Start Menu, too. After that, they can be launched and run as though they'd been installed on the host.

VERY slick (though I wonder about how well things like Clipboard support will work...)

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 24th 2009 8:32PM]

i wonder how you windows update the XP instance..

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 24th 2009 9:04PM]

My guess is that 'seamless window' mode will be new feature of next gen Virtual PC rather then Windows 7, but with Pro/Ent/Ult editions of 7 you will get free license for virtual XP.
Problems start when u need old hardware support - I don't think you'll be able to add any PCI card directly to virtual machine. Same goes for graphics acceleration (or maybe DX will be finally supported?).
All in all - it's always better more than less ;)

[cchance Posted Apr 24th 2009 10:08PM]

im sorry but reaistically if you have old hardware that vista doesnt support, buy a new hardware seriously, 99% of everything i've ever tried worked on vista with one driver or another, and the little bit of crap that didnt work was ancient and cost me maybe 40$ to replace total and that was an ancient webcam

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 24th 2009 8:56PM]

This reminds me a lot of how OS/2 2.x came with windows 3.1 support baked in back in the 90s. You could run windows apps seamlessly on your desktop alongside OS/2 apps. When you started up a windows program it would actually launch a full-blown copy of windows in the background.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 24th 2009 9:39PM]

Why are people complaining about this? why should people be getting the equivilent of a free license on the base OS? Screw em. people are greedy bastards. Really. If you want the feature either pay a little more or download, and install one of the number of free options. And if you don't have a license for XP...well then you can either go upgrade to pro or buy an XP license.

[Wesscoast Posted Apr 25th 2009 12:30AM]

You... do realize that a) everyone has XP already and b) Vista and 7 are the same damn thing, right?

So.. where's the 'free' license?

[insky Posted Apr 25th 2009 1:57AM]

You... do realize that a) you're a troll and b) nobody takes anything you say seriously.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 25th 2009 2:26AM]

Really then. If everyone has a license then there is no issue. Hell you can go to vmware right NOW and pick up a license for their virt server for free and load an app on it. No need to buy pro or ultimate. I've been doing Virt XP in my vista system for years now without paying a dime. Again people are making a fuss out of this because they want literally everything thrown in for no cost whatsoever. Like I'm going to go into a dealership and bitch at them for not throwing in the top of the line package in the base model for the same price as the base....again cheap ass bastard.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 25th 2009 2:29AM]

You do realize that people who scream troll generally are tards who can't deal with a relevant argument and simply stamp their feet screeching troll without any argument to the original poster. Come back when you want to debate how my original statement is false...but you won't because you are some teen who probably can't spend more then 30 second on a topic, bashing someone before moving on.

[kineticarl Posted Apr 26th 2009 12:57AM]

my impression was that insky was calling mike a troll, not Jon. Because 7 != Vista. This article alone should reinforce that.

[cchance Posted Apr 24th 2009 10:06PM]

this is hands down a wicked development and its about time they made it work on an app by app basis i saw it when it was in the Microsoft Research stage still

Also engadget, whats with the late posts other sites have already uncovered this is in the RC build leaked, but its an additional download and theirs also some new feature in windows media player as well

http://nextechnews.com/2009/04/windows-7-rc1-gets-surprise-new-features/

[zman Posted Apr 24th 2009 10:33PM]

In the voice of the two dudes in the Guinness beer commercials......

"Brilliant!!"

[DanSpenge Posted Apr 24th 2009 10:40PM]

Psst... You can run Word 2003 and 2007 in Vista right now. You don't need a Virtual Machine or anything fancy like that.

The trick is to install Office 2007, then Office 2003. Otherwise, when you install in the reverse order, Office treats it more like an upgrade and it messes with some files, which eventually bricks 2003. I'm running it on my mom's x64 Vista machine with no issue whatsoever.

But in regards to 7, this is yet another reason I'm looking forward to this new OS.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 26th 2009 8:34PM]

It's not really a new technology, but it's a re-hash of MED-V (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/med-v.aspx), which is only available as part of MDOP - sold to enterprise customers only.

[jamesey Posted Apr 25th 2009 1:11AM]

This is precisely what Microsoft needs to do to keep people from using legacy apps as an excuse not to upgrade. The only thing that baffles me is their limitation to Pro and Ultimate users - why not all users? I can certainly understand that Pro/Ultimate consumers are most likely to benefit, but I bet there are home users who would have also appreciated this.

[Andir Posted Apr 25th 2009 1:36AM]

I already use Debian + VirtualBox + WinXP in seamless ... let's me actually use my computer and do stuff for work that doesn't have Linux compatibility.

I hope VirtualBox isn't affected by the buyout though. Would be sad to see it fall behind for some lame reason.

[Stapyhlococcus Posted Apr 25th 2009 5:00AM]

HOLY SHIT!! This is awesome!
And it's so easily integrated.

Does this mean software and old games not compatible with Vista/Win7 (especially with x64) should easily work?

[Stapyhlococcus Posted Apr 25th 2009 5:13AM]

Oh and also, when it says that it will be free for Pro and Ultimate versions, does this mean that people with other versions will have to pay for it? Or won't be available to other versions at all?

[TheMike Posted Apr 25th 2009 6:03AM]

Now give it a Windows 98 mode so I can play all my really old games. :)

[superhobo Posted Apr 25th 2009 6:36AM]

You can use compaitibility mode in XP for that, right?

[superhobo Posted Apr 25th 2009 6:35AM]

7XP

[magallanes Posted Apr 25th 2009 10:01AM]

I am not really sure if it will work as promised or if it will be another microsoft bluff, for example the remote desktop that is able to play 1080p movies or 3d games at realtime or the (now dead?) WinFS promise.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 25th 2009 10:28AM]

Why bother upgrading to windows 7? This is the perfect time to migrate to Linux or OS X. Follow MS example and just run your XP virtualized and any new development should focus on your new host system. Ubuntu with Virtual Box and your existing XP license costs nothing and you get a modern and secure OS.

Why move on to windows 7 at this point???

[kineticarl Posted Apr 26th 2009 1:01AM]

Because it's a nice OS.... I don't miss XP at all, nor do I feel a need to switch to OSX or Linux, despite giving Ubuntu a couple of earnest tries.

[VanillaSpice Posted Apr 26th 2009 9:55PM]

It's a smart move, and they won't have any trouble doing it - Apple has shown three times now that it is possible (the 680x0 emulator for PowerPCs, the Classic emulator for MacOS apps in OSX, and the Rosetta PowerPC translator for Intel-based Macs) and it certainly looks as though the MS virtualisation will be at least as seamless as Apple's efforts. Going to such effort to support so-called legacy apps will definitely result in higher satisfaction from users, with pretty much no downside at all.

[gotwillk Posted Apr 27th 2009 11:39AM]

YO DAWG

[HektikLyfe Posted Apr 27th 2009 11:39AM]

This sounds way too good to be true. It doesn't sound like Microsoft at all. Though it WOULD be a pretty smart thing for them to do.

I am doubting the validity of this story not because I have any inside information but just because I'm a pessimist. They plan on not supporting XP anymore and then they give it away with their newest OS....

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 27th 2009 11:42AM]

From the comments I've ready, it seems most people are missing a couple of very important points. First off, the important thing to note in their example is not that Office 2003 is being run in Windows 7 but that Office 2003 is being run SIDE-BY-SIDE with Office 2007 in Windows 7. Historically, multiple versions of Office could not be installed to the same instance of an OS. While end users may not care about this, it is an important feature for businesses as it allows them to run pilot deployments without impacting users, eliminate or reduce regression testing for application deployment, and move more rapidly to a new OS without losing support for important applications.

Second, this is not anything like XP compatibility mode in Vista. That was a poor attempt at placing shims in the OS that would allow it to emulate XP. This is providing a full, virtual installation of Windows XP that the applications run inside of. They are then presented to the user as if they were installed in Windows 7, when in fact the only thing placed in the host OS is some shortcuts.

Finally, this is not application virtualization--this is hardware virtualization. This feature is built on Virtual PC 7 (the replacement for Virtual PC 2007) which now leverages (and apparently requires) the virtualization extensions in hardware. This is typical of a type 2 hypervisor and brings the product up to speed with Microsoft's server virtualization product, Hyper-V. One of the biggest benefits of this is that it will finally offer 64-bit support for virtual machines, though who knows if XPM will actually leverage this. It will likely fall victim to some of the same current limitations of hardware virtualization, namely a lack of support for external (i.e. USB) devices.

[Generic Posted May 5th 2009 8:28AM]

Hey guys, Microsoft is listening to the gdgt podcast. Download "gdgt roundtable - Microsoft in 2008" from http://www.gdgt.com/

(direct link to the podcast)
http://media.gdgt.com/audio/gdgt-weekly-035.mp3

then fast forward to 7:07 into the podcast and listen to Ryan Block predict the future or make it.