Your thoughts on win7 XP mode ?

How are you finding windows 7 xp mode ? Working well or not so well ?

Free alternative to VMWare Workstation that works. Waste of bandwidth/hdd space if you do. Relies on hardware virtulisation which not everybody has. And to be honest if you are still relying on software that only works on XP, stay with XP

Nice thats its free though

OK. All of my Apps work's under windows 7 . except one (Cisco VPN) which i use to connect to my work desktop. So i am using XP mode.

XP mode is good (not great or amazing just good) ... the only Big thing is , No GPU support, and it's using RDP protocol, which is not smooth at all (no video, Gaming, flash animation ....etc) also there is some noticeable visual quality lost due to RDP using lossy image compression



Also the fact that you can't use both desktop mode and the seamless mode in the same time.

Also when you run an app in xp mode , you will not see it's icon in the taskbar, but you will see that generic Windows Virtual PC icon instead.

I think it will be good app at my company for our business users, Almost all of them use new PC (Dual core 3.0 GHz/2+GB ....etc) but still run XP due to compatibility issue on some of our apps.

Also as web developer i need to test some sites using IE6 ( i can't even explain how much i hate that browser)

Over all i will give it 6 out of 10 ..... and I don't mind spearing 256MB of my 4 GB RAM (6.25%) to "XP mode".

Hi all
If you need XP compatability mode for some of this stuff you haven't understood what XP mode is FOR.

For some applications where you need to use a VM (for example developing and testing software etc) then install a "CLASSIC" type VM.

XP compatability mode is only designed to be used by SMALLER businesses in running legacy apps like access to corporate ORACLE/SAP/CRM type systems, older Accounting software and "older office" applications like that.

This is tightly integrated into the W7 desktop allowing users to run these seamlessly without having to worry about defining and installing Virtual machines . It enables older PC's to be replaced gradually with new ones running W7 whilst still being able to run corporate XP applications.

You pay a price for this of course -- the screen resolution will only work in 16 bit colour mode and whilst you can access the W7 disk drives in Explorer apart from IE most of the networking functions are disabled.

(By turning off "Integration features" you CAN use better colour resolution etc -- but then you need to use Virtual PC as ordinary VM software like VMWARE, VBOX etc).

Most people who have complaints with XP mode haven't understood what and whom it's intended for. IT ISN'T MEANT TO BE A REPLACEMENT FOR FULLY FEATURED VM'S and VM SOFTWARE.

Cheers
jimbo

Well, I havn't run XP for some years now, so I would not see any use for it.

Originally Posted by davehc

Well, I havn't run XP for some years now, so I would not see any use for it.

I have stopped using xp mode due to the drain on my system and the low graphics caperbilities. Just a chance to see what it had to offer . Having seen it no thanks

Originally Posted by jimbo45

Hi all
If you need XP compatability mode for some of this stuff you haven't understood what XP mode is FOR.

For some applications where you need to use a VM (for example developing and testing software etc) then install a "CLASSIC" type VM.

XP compatability mode is only designed to be used by SMALLER businesses in running legacy apps like access to corporate ORACLE/SAP/CRM type systems, older Accounting software and "older office" applications like that.

This is tightly integrated into the W7 desktop allowing users to run these seamlessly without having to worry about defining and installing Virtual machines . It enables older PC's to be replaced gradually with new ones running W7 whilst still being able to run corporate XP applications.

You pay a price for this of course -- the screen resolution will only work in 16 bit colour mode and whilst you can access the W7 disk drives in Explorer apart from IE most of the networking functions are disabled.

(By turning off "Integration features" you CAN use better colour resolution etc -- but then you need to use Virtual PC as ordinary VM software like VMWARE, VBOX etc).

Most people who have complaints with XP mode haven't understood what and whom it's intended for. IT ISN'T MEANT TO BE A REPLACEMENT FOR FULLY FEATURED VM'S and VM SOFTWARE.

Cheers
jimbo

I understand what it is ment for. I dont understand why you would upgrade your OS only to run your business software virtually with limitations. Woulnt you be better off staying with XP. If your running a business and your hardware and software are working fine why complicate things for a bit more eye candy. My view anyways.

As I said a nice free alternative to VMWare

Originally Posted by loathe

....... I dont understand why you would upgrade your OS only to run your business software virtually with limitations.

If only life was that simple . For my business, some of the applications need/perform far better in a 64-bit environment and some software will not work with XP any more and so you need a much more modern OS to get the best out of the software and make you workflows easier/quicker. My only problem was my accounting software which wouldn't run on any of the 64-bit OS's and wouldn't run on Vista x32 either. This meant I had to sacrifice deskspace etc for an old Win XP x32 machine just for running my accounts. I wrote to the company over 2 years ago about this and they were promising an upgrade about 6 months later which never materialised. I wrote to them again, before news of the XPM was released, actually sending them their reply to me of 2 years ago (before news of the XPM was released) and they wrote back again apologising for the delay and again promising an update in 6 months time.

So for me at least, XPM is a godsend.

I don't use XP Mode simply because I see no point.. If I want to use Windows XP I'll dual boot or construct a very cheap PC that would only run XP and nothing else.. I'm not about to drain system resources (no matter how plentiful they may be) using something like Windows XP within a nice new OS like Windows 7.. To me it's just a waste of time and resources... Not to mention it's nothing like it was initially advertised...

Originally Posted by Radenight

I don't use XP Mode simply because I see no point.. If I want to use Windows XP I'll dual boot or construct a very cheap PC that would only run XP and nothing else.. I'm not about to drain system resources (no matter how plentiful they may be) using something like Windows XP within a nice new OS like Windows 7.. To me it's just a waste of time and resources... Not to mention it's nothing like it was initially advertised...

To dual boot I would have to purchase another copy of XP (I have OEM versions so they cannot be transferred to other computers). Also you have to close down one OS and then reboot into the second OS and then if I want to reference something in another app I have to reverse the procedure, get the information and then boot back into XP. Not a very efficient way of doing things. With XPM I simply switch away from the WinXP window, get the information I need, and then go back to the XPM window - heck, I can even copy stuff and paste it (try doing that in a dual boot machine ).

Once I have finished doing my work on the Virtual machine, I simply close it down to get back my resources. If I need to reload it, it is one helluva lot quicker than to launch the VM than it is to close Win 7 and reboot into XP.

But, horses for courses, although it works fine for me, I accept it might not be an ideal solution for other folks