Windows XP mode question for Windows 7

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DarkCyber

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I have an older software program that we must have that will not run on anything newer than Windows XP. Several years ago I built a new computer for my office using an AMD Phenom II X4 965 cpu, 120 SSD HD as the OS HD, 8 GB's of memory, and I installed Windows 7 Pro 64 bit on it. Using Windows XP Mode has always been kind of sluggish/slow.

Recently that computer died...I mean motherboard and hard drives both. So, I rebuilt my computer with a newer Intel Core i5 3570 Ivey Bridge 3.4 Ghz Turbo cpu, Corsair Force Series GS 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive, and 16 GB's of ram. On this setup Windows XP Mode seems to be no faster than it was on the older computer. My newer SSD hard drive is larger so I have the Virtual Machine running from there, but doesn't seem to do any better. I have searched and searched for solutions and the only things I've seen people post is it should run better from an SSD HD...which it doesn't.

So, now my question. If I have 16 GB's of ram, is there anyway to completely load Windows XP Mode into RAM? If so, surely that should speed it up.
 
When you run the application are you running it through Windows 7, or are you opening up XPM and accessing the program that way?

When you install programs in XPM it should put the icon in Windows 7 and allow you to run the program like it's installed natively. It should run pretty quickly.
 
bigdogchris said:
When you run the application are you running it through Windows 7, or are you opening up XPM and accessing the program that way?

When you install programs in XPM it should put the icon in Windows 7 and allow you to run the program like it's installed natively. It should run pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

I open up Windows XP Mode and then once the Windows XP window comes up then I double click on the program icon from within that window to run it. Explain how you are talking about doing it?


Mister Natural,
Yes, I had it running on the default 512, but I have also tried higher settings like 1,024 and 2,048 and neither seemed to help. I have just bumped it up to the maximum it will allow 3,712 and that seems to be helping some now.
 
When i set up XPM a few years ago I installed the app inside XMP and it automatically created the shortcut on the Windows 7 computer. When you launched the app from Windows 7 the VM ran hidden in the background and the application looks as if it's running on Windows 7.

Maybe it's a setting you have to turn on, I can't remember.
 
I have a similar issue. I opted to use VMWare Workstation and used the Unity Mode to bring out the application. It works very well.

At home I use VMWare Player and use it full screen, works pretty well also.
 
For a good, free alternative (other than being required to have an actual XP license), use VirtualBox. It is going to be way faster than XP mode on Windows 7 will ever be.

XP mode on 7 was horrible when it came out, and it is still horrible.
 
The only problem being that XP mode doesn't require a license for XP but Vmware or Vbox does.
 
What is the cause of having to be on XP? Most programs can be made to work on Windows 7, without the use of VM's.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 
cyclone3d said:
For a good, free alternative (other than being required to have an actual XP license), use VirtualBox. It is going to be way faster than XP mode on Windows 7 will ever be.

XP mode on 7 was horrible when it came out, and it is still horrible.
Click to expand...



This. XPM was and still is a joke worse than even running in "compatibility" mode, which is still a hit or miss. Often times more of a miss. Virtualization came into adulthood at just the right time to make it even more unappealing.
 
DarkCyber said:
I have an older software program that we must have that will not run on anything newer than Windows XP[...] Several years ago I built a new computer for my office using an AMD Phenom II X4 965 cpu, [...] Using Windows XP Mode has always been kind of sluggish/slow.

[...] So, I rebuilt my computer with a newer Intel Core i5 3570 Ivey Bridge 3.4 Ghz Turbo cpu, [...] On this setup Windows XP Mode seems to be no faster than it was on the older computer.

So, now my question. If I have 16 GB's of ram, is there anyway to completely load Windows XP Mode into RAM? If so, surely that should speed it up.
Click to expand...

One thing come to mind:
Have you confirmed that hardware virtualization is enabled on the motherboard? http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=592 will confirm this.

When the first iteration of Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7 came out, it refused to install without this enabled. But because all the dim-witted morons in the world complained Microsoft decided to cater to these people. So we now get this 'lowest-common denominator' edition of Windows Virtual PC, which will run on a machine that doesn't even support hardware-assisted virtualization. Hello! The 1990's are calling and want GSX back!

But even with that enabled, likely the single greatest cause for speed issues is the fact that Windows Virtual PC and through association, XP Mode, cannot support multiple CPUs within the Guest.

There are other problems too, like the fact that Windows Virtual PC exposes only a subset of your processor's full instruction set, so if you use a program which benefits from these additional instruction sets and they are not present, then your performance will be handicapped even further.

This is why other virtual platforms are able to outperform the Windows Virtual PC platform - they are able to add a second core (or more) to the guest. But as B00nie notes, the only way for you to legally run XP on your computer using a third-party VM technology is to have an additional FPP (retail) XP license among a few other ways involving OL (Open License).

But getting back to your initial problem, running XP mode in the first place... Honestly, I have been quite successful with using shims built from MACT (Mirosoft Application Compatibility Toolkit). http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7352. This doesn't render the program safe from hosing your computer through unpatched exploits, but it can at least allow you to run the program in many instances in Windows Vista/7 without compatibility issues. Check out http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/...levation-prompts-for-legacy-applications.aspx. With a quick google of "RunAsInvoker sdb", you will run across many more webpages which can show how to use this toolkit.

Oh, and this doesn't remove just the obvious (or sometimes not obvious) UAC - you can also make Windows lie about its version number to a specific application (check out modes "WinXPSP2VersionLie" or "WinXPSP3VersionLie"), in case that is what you meant about "will not run on anything newer than Windows XP". Oh and the file that it creates, this SDB file, can be imported onto whole fleets of machines with ease.

Good luck!
 
Ranma_Sao said:
What is the cause of having to be on XP? Most programs can be made to work on Windows 7, without the use of VM's.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Click to expand...

There are many programs which have idiotic installers which attempt to detect your OS and if they detect an unknown (new) OS, they refuse install.
 
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