XP Mode under W10? Yes, No, Maybe?

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  1. Posts : 242
    Win 10 Pro 64 V22H2 Build 19045.2728
    Thread Starter
       #21

    Wow, from what I hoped would be a Yes or No answer things have got a little more involved. I have a W7 system that has a few problems ( Most seemingly caused by my trial of W10 ) but is functioning just fine, it has my XP Mode with my label program and can print fine by Wi-fi.

    I dug out from the back of the cupboard my 2006 XP PC and connected it up, rather clunky and a lot slower but up and running it is, even downloaded some updates .

    So I need to do some thinking, keep what I have, up?grade to W10 and try a clean install, and if that fails revert back to a new and de-cluttered W7 Clean install. or stay with W10 and have my ancient XP PC for my older programs. . Decisions, decisions......

    posted by halasz
    I've installed VBox on 64 bit Windows 10 and it runs XP (downloaded from here) fine and connects to internet without any issue at all. These VMs are pre-built by Microsoft for VBox, Hyper-V and VMware and are activated for 90 days. You just have to make a snapshot (easy to do) and after the 90 days are up restore back - you can then use them indefinitely.
    Is the one you downloaded different from the Virtual Box download from the Oracle website? By snapshot is this another way of saying backup or is snapshot different? 'Easy to do' as long as you know how .

    Thank you both for helping me out, I am grateful. However I am more computer illiterate than literate as you have probably guessed! I started with a Sinclair ZX then a blisteringly fast (At the time) Commodore, maybe I should have given up then.....
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  2. Posts : 5,478
    2004
       #22

    Trapper said:
    Wow, from what I hoped would be a Yes or No answer things have got a little more involved. I have a W7 system that has a few problems ( Most seemingly caused by my trial of W10 ) but is functioning just fine, it has my XP Mode with my label program and can print fine by Wi-fi.

    I dug out from the back of the cupboard my 2006 XP PC and connected it up, rather clunky and a lot slower but up and running it is, even downloaded some updates .

    So I need to do some thinking, keep what I have, up?grade to W10 and try a clean install, and if that fails revert back to a new and de-cluttered W7 Clean install. or stay with W10 and have my ancient XP PC for my older programs. . Decisions, decisions......
    I would upgrade and then try to get VirtualBox to run XP as a VM. You can use your old machine until it is working and if it turns out to be impossible you can always give up and restore back to 7 if you make a backup first.

    I think it will work fine - I've run XP virtual machines on Hyper-V and VirtualBox on Windows 10 and had no issues at all connecting to internet.

    Trapper said:
    posted by halasz


    Is the one you downloaded different from the Virtual Box download from the Oracle website?
    No - you download VirtualBox from Oracle (Oracle VM VirtualBox), the previous link is for Pre-built Virtual machines downloaded from Microsoft. You need VirtualBox (or Hyper-V or VMware) to run the MS VM.

    Trapper said:
    By snapshot is this another way of saying backup or is snapshot different? 'Easy to do' as long as you know how .
    All (I think) hypervisors let you make snapshots - certainly VirtualBox does. It is not a backup as such, what it does is keeps the disk image in the same state and then saves any changes you make later in another (much smaller) file. If you want to restore it just deletes this (much smaller) file and you are back to where you were when you made the snapshot. Alternatively you can apply the changes in the snapshot to the base image to make a new base image.

    To make a snapshot you take the "Machine" tab in the GUI and then click on "Take snapshot" (or press crtl + T). There is a guide here How to Save Time by Using Snapshots in VirtualBox

    Trapper said:
    Thank you both for helping me out, I am grateful. However I am more computer illiterate than literate as you have probably guessed! I started with a Sinclair ZX then a blisteringly fast (At the time) Commodore, maybe I should have given up then.....
    Me too - I built a ZX80 from a kit...
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  3. Posts : 242
    Win 10 Pro 64 V22H2 Build 19045.2728
    Thread Starter
       #23

    A most helpful post, I am now a little more educated. I found your link to 'How to Geek' also has a lot of info on W10 and its goods and not so goods, so I can run through those at my leisure.

    I think I will install Virtual Box on this W7 and try it out, there is good advice on How to Geek so will follow that.

    I thought I might also copy my complete C: drive using Partition Wizard to a spare empty drive I have installed so I can then have everything (files) I may need later available.
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  4. Posts : 5,478
    2004
       #24

    Trapper said:
    I think I will install Virtual Box on this W7 and try it out
    Now that is a very good idea, I didn't think of that. If you can get it working on 7 in VirtualBox then it will work on 10.

    A VirtualBox machine when you define it makes a folder with the VM name that looks like this (This is a VM called Windows saved on my Camara SD card so ignore the DCIM and PRIVATE directories). Within that folder is a file called xxxx.vbox (the configuration file), the virtual hard disk and a log directory.

    If you get it working on 7 then upgrade (and then clean install if you want), install VirtualBox, copy the whole directory (Windows in this case) somewhere and then just double click on the .vbox file. This will import it into VirtualBox with no changes.

    Don't be tempted into exporting, importing or cloning Virtual machines as you'll get a new HW ID in your configuration file and your activation will be broken. Just copy the whole directory as it is.

    I run this VirtualBox VM from both Windows and OSX on this SD card and it works fine on both - never needs re-activating. At the moment I'm signed onto OSX which is why the explorer window looks odd

    XP Mode under W10? Yes, No, Maybe?-screen-shot-2015-08-31-17.43.05.png
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  5. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #25

    For 10 you will want the latest for either or both VBox and VM Player in order to work properly on 10. Besides Oracle VBox does have it's own site where you can get the latest 5.0.2 version now seen at Oracle VM VirtualBox

    As you will notice the Oracle stamp is seen at the bottom of the page there indicating it's direct branch off of Oracle's main site. When first arriving you will see the large download button for the 5.0 released on July 9th. The 5.0.2 notation is seen at the top of the column on the right side of the page there for the August 13th release.

    VirtualBox platform packages. The binaries are released under the terms of the GPL version 2.
    VirtualBox 5.0.2 for Windows hosts x86/amd64
    Download page seen at Downloads – Oracle VM VirtualBox

    Then no longer seeing "VM Player" listed as it was just a month ago you know seeVMware Workstation 12 Player for Windows 64bit right at the top of the list on the evaluation page seen at Try VMware Workstation Player. Deliver a virtual desktop to your employees. | United States

    VMware Workstation 12 Player for Windows 64-bit Try VMware Workstation Player. Deliver a virtual desktop to your employees. | United States

    There's no 32bit option to find for this one! while you should still be able to run a 32bit VM due to the virtual environment's isolation from the 64bit kernel in Windows as it would be for any other project.

    As for dumping 7 entirely that is out of the loop at the present while the former 7 host will be needing a clean install of the previous there! That was a 2013 clean install now starting to slow down a bit. I upgraded over a temp install of 7 on the second drive for the planned dual boot of both versions.

    Now for the 90day VM that seems to be all too typical where any WIndows vm will fail to run after so long and need replacement. You have the opion however for seeing an XP or XP Mode run on both 7 and 10 while still keeping a dual boot going for both versions until deciding on whether or not to continue on with 10 which seems now to be the finally much needed replacement in line for 7 compared to 8 and 8.1! Or you can drop 10 completely and stay only with 7.

    That was the VM Player 7.1.2 version of the program just downloaded a couple of weeks ago right after getting 10 on. Now the latest shows VM Player 12 on the drive/
    Last edited by Night Hawk; 31 Aug 2015 at 22:52. Reason: additional information added
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  6. Posts : 242
    Win 10 Pro 64 V22H2 Build 19045.2728
    Thread Starter
       #26

    A bit tied up with two disabled live-in in-laws at the moment so not much time to play.
    I have downloaded 'Virtual Box 5.0.2-102096-win.exe 114.168kb'. Not had a chance to install it yet though, hopefully tomorrow.
    I am thinking of installing a new Hard Drive, 1TB and installing W10 to the new drive and removing my 500gb W7 Hard Drive. Hopefully, if things did not work out I could just swop them over and be back to where I am now, would that work or have I missed something! I may be wrong but I do not think I could clean install W10 and still run my W7 in a dual boot. MS does not allow this unless you buy W10?
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  7. Posts : 5,478
    2004
       #27

    You have to upgrade something to get an activated Windows 10. Upgrade your 500gb Win 7 so your hardware is registered.

    Then take it out (completely and put it in a cupboard) and clean install on your new 1tb drive.

    If you take out your old drive it is just a backup, no problem.

    If you run 10 and 7 on different machines (or try to upgrade 2 machines with the same underlying license at the same time) then you are cheating.

    Probably you'll be OK and it will work but it is against the rules and I'll tell the headmaster
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  8. Posts : 242
    Win 10 Pro 64 V22H2 Build 19045.2728
    Thread Starter
       #28

    Hi.
    W10 was 'registered/activated' when I did my original upgrade so should not be a problem. I would just do a clean install on the new drive and leave my original W7 installed but not connected. I save or back up my data to two external drives so any changes to data could be easily updated back to W7.

    I read that you could not upgrade to W10 from W7 and then install a new W10 as well which is why I mentioned I would need to buy a new copy of W10. The way I intend to do it is I think okay as I would only run one OS, and instead of reverting back via the MS feature I would be reverting by way of hard drive swop.

    The MS way of reverting seems to cause no end of problems with Task Scheduler (among other things) as I and others have discovered! For me it caused over 50 errors about 'corrupt or tampered with files'
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  9. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #29

    Why not??? On the second build I use as a remote tower I put a clean install of 10 along with the existing 7 Pro install and then upgraded over the 7 Pro install to see both the upgrade and clean install activated. Later I tossed one of the 1tb storage drives pulled from the main build as the new second OS drive for the second case. When nuking the upgrade over 7 in favor of keeping the clean install and moving the primary forward 10 lost the boot info and needed to see a second clean install once that primary was grown to take up the slack left behind when nuking the first primary.

    The original(get this) 2010 system image made of 7 Pro was then restored to the second larger drive and shrunk down a bit to see a second back up partition for the mini tower First drive 500gb and second just added in 1tb in size as the other sits in a usb enclosure where the drive that had been there is now internal on the main along with a new 2tb drive for storage. Some fast drive swapping no less while both systems see dual boots of 7 with 10!

    I'm not planning to dump 7 for as long as it runs or 2020 arrives at least! I invested in all three versions back when 7 was new and eventually may see an upgrade take place on a second mini tower I provided a sibling with who still needs to see that IE connection replaced or restored somehow however. The upgrade from dial-up first seen until the phone company batched the phone line where that person lives is a pain! and needs to see cable or dsl not satellite! Get charged by the web page!
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  10. Posts : 242
    Win 10 Pro 64 V22H2 Build 19045.2728
    Thread Starter
       #30

    My upgrade plans have gone out the window for the time being, so my apologies to both of you for not seeing a positive result - as yet! Your help and useful advice is very much appreciated and given me ideas and suggestions to think about. :)
    This could be a very extended upgrade but I do have until next year to sort it out if going to W10. I know MS give you a year to upgrade but I am not sure what the start date was!

    Our even older disabled live-in in-laws are having problems so my time is limited at present. My wife and I are both pensioners ourselves, so not much fun for us.

    If your subscribed to this thread I will reply with any updates.
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