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Published
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November 06, 2011 |
Last Updated |
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November
06, 2011 |
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Introduction |
Windows Virtual PC is the latest Microsoft
virtualization technology for Windows 7. It is the
runtime engine for Windows XP Mode to provide a virtual
Windows environment for Windows 7. With Windows Virtual
PC, Windows XP Mode applications can be seen and
accessed from a Windows 7 desktop.
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Windows Virtual PC can be installed
on Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and
Windows 7 Enterprise. It allows you to run multiple
Windows environments such as Windows XP Mode from your
Windows 7 desktop.
Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes
it easy to install and run many Windows XP productivity
applications directly from your Windows 7-based PC. It
utilizes virtualization technology, such as Windows
Virtual PC, to provide a virtual Windows XP environment
for Windows 7. In other words, Windows XP Mode is a virtual
machine package for Windows Virtual PC containing a
pre-installed, licensed copy of Windows XP Professional
with Service Pack 3 as its guest OS.
Windows Virtual PC has the
following new features :
-
Easy setup of Windows XP
Mode : Once both the Windows Virtual PC and
the virtual Windows XP environment are installed,
Windows Virtual PC provides a simple wizard to set
up Windows XP Mode with just a few clicks.
-
USB support :
Users can access USB devices attached to the host
directly from virtual Windows XP. These devices
include printers and scanners, flash memory/sticks
and external hard disks, digital cameras, and more.
-
Seamless applications :
Publish and launch applications installed
on virtual Windows XP directly from the Windows 7
desktop, as if they were installed on the Windows 7
host itself.
-
Folder integration
between host and guest : Access your
Windows 7 Known Folders: My Documents, Pictures,
Desktop, Music, and Video, from inside the virtual
Windows environment, such as Windows XP Mode.
-
Clipboard sharing :
Cut and paste between your Windows 7 host
and any virtual machine.
-
Printer redirection :
Print directly to your attached printer
from your seamless application or virtual machine.
The main steps in this
articles are :
- Downloading and installing Windows XP
Mode
- Downloading and installing Windows
Virtual PC
Downloading
and Installing Windows XP Mode
- Click the following link to Download Windows
XP Mode :
Download Windows XP Mode
- Download and save WindowsXPMode_en-us.exe
on your Desktop. ( Note : The part of the name in
red will vary for you
depending on what language you selected in step 1 )

- After the download is
completed, double click on WindowsXPMode_en-us.exe
, and click on Run when prompted to
allow this file to run.

- XP Mode setup files will start
to extract into your system hard disk, and then the
Welcome to Setup for Windows XP Mode
will open. Click Next

- The default install location of
Windows XP Mode is C:\Program Files\Windows
XP Mode, if you want to change the
install location, then click on the Browse button
and specify the new location. Once the location is
set, click Next to continue

- If you have UAC
( User Account Control ) enabled, then you will be
asked if you want the setup to continue. Click
Yes

Once installation is completed, click Finish
to complete the installation of Windows XP Mode.

Windows XP Mode is now installed and the virtual
hard disk is located in the path C:\Program Files\Windows
XP Mode ( the location which was specified
in step # 7 above ) .

Now we need to install the
runtime engine for Windows XP
Mode to provide a virtual Windows environment for
Windows 7. We need to download and install Windows
Virtual PC
Downloading
and Installing Windows Virtual PC
- Click the following link to
Download Windows Virtual PC :
Download Virtual PC
- Double click on the file you
downloaded for Virtual PC,
you might be asked if you want to install the
KB958559 update for Windows, If yes, then click Yes

- On the License terms page,
click I Accept

- Installing Windows Virtual PC
will start

Once installation is completed, click on the
Restart Now button to reboot your machine.

Now that we have Windows Virtual PC
and Windows XP Mode installed, in my
next article, I will be
showing you how to run and use Windows XP Mode.
Summary
Windows Virtual PC is an optional
component of Windows 7. It is
the runtime engine for Windows XP Mode to provide a
virtual Windows environment for Windows 7. Windows XP
Mode is a virtual machine package for Windows Virtual PC
containing a pre-installed, licensed copy of Windows XP
Professional with Service Pack 3 as its guest OS.
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