Windows 10: XP Mode under W10? Yes, No, Maybe?

Confused to say the least.
I have a couple of programs that I can run under XP Mode in my W7Pro setup. I have read many threads here, of which some seem to imply you cannot run XP Mode within W10 yet others seem to suggest you can, one gives a link to 'SuperUser' which says you can but only for 30 days then you have to start again but if you have a registered copy that would be fine. Another thread says the XP license key will not work under W10.

So, my ? is: Can you run XP with older programs at all - under/within/as a VM - the W10 OS?

And if so, how? cos it's doing my head in *Confused !!

:)

 

Will Microsoft Works work in Windows 10 ? Yes!

 

Will Microsoft Works work in Windows 10 ? Yes!

 

I've set up XP in VirtualBox. You could run some programs from there.

XP Mode was designed to work on Windows 7 and Windows 8/10 work differently in some areas so I would be reluctant to install it. VirtualBox does the same job broadly speaking.

 

Try the latest VM Player or Portable Virtual Box. Still have to get the old XP mode to work on Hyper-V now seen since 8 that replaces the older Virtual PC feature seen with Vista and 7. As far as seeing XP setup on a VM you may likely find a number of desktop apps that ran on XP will work on the VM you create. You can try that using Hyper-V by following the steps in the guide for Virtualization to see the Hyper-V first enabled. Hyper-V virtualization - Setup and Use in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums[2]=Virtualization

 

Thanks for the quick replies.

I think I will have some (Lots of) reading to do, never come across VirtualBox before. It was quite easy in W7 but this looks much more complicated!

Is there a tutorial or guide to installing VB and then XP onto VB? I noted some guides on the VB forum but do not know which version I should install? I am sure I will be able to sus out whats what but hope you might be able to link me to the right information.

I did note on the download page that:
"There are known problems with VirtualBox 5.0.2 on Windows 10 hosts and with Windows 10 guests."

So it might be prudent to wait a while, I am in no hurry, as long as I know XP CAN be run within W10 then that's fine.

 

Yes there is: VirtualBox - Install Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

I have used VB on my Windows 10 without issue so far. So far I've installed Windows 95/98/XP/10.

 

HYPER-V XP MODE VM UP and RUNNING!





I once had it running on VMLite before going with VBox years ago! But once you have the Hyper-V feature enabled it only takes minutes to see the XP mode running again! The screen there is No. #10 from 10 screens with only 8 steps! What is the first once you have Hyper-V turned on in the Control Panel>Programs & Features>Turn Features on and off" section as outlined in the guide there?





First you have to locate the download executable since the initial release saw that in an archive you had to extract from until the stand alone executable self installer package came out. The "mui" was a right click to install item followed later by the exe file. Once you get to the exe version you right click on that having a program like 7 Zip or WinZip installed if not WinRAR in order to open archive type files in order to see the extraction into a new folder take place.





The extraction includes a new sub folder with the XPM file inside that while you simply ignore the 32bit and 64bit files above that.





Once you have the XPM file opened to view take notice of the "VirtualXPVHD" file you now want to copy to a folder of choice and rename to "VirtualXPVHD.vhd" adding the dot vhd onto the end. Then upon reaching the screen for either creating a new vhd and whether or not to install the OS which is set to install later you browse to where the extracted file is located to see that attached to the new Hyper-V VM and fire it up!





Be sure you use the "Copy to" option from the menu bar in the program you use and not simply click on extract! That will unpack everything from the vhd file itself into a new folder and then you have to go back and copy it intact.





Once copied you browse to attach and then finish the wizard to come to the main Hyper-V window to see the XP Mode ready to go!





Once you hit the start followed by the connect found in the lower right section the XP Mode set up will then begin.





Bet you haven't that for some time! *Smile





That brings back a few memories! And finally with a few screens you have to go through you end up at the desktop. You may or may not be able to connect online but the mode is up and running.

 

Can you still activate XP? When I tried it just loaded a broken page.

 

XP support is totally DEAD ISSUE at this time while the XP Mode didn't require any activation as I recall since it was all self contained not a separate install just anywhere download to run as a main OS. It was specific to the Virtual PC in 7 with 8 bringing in the Hyper-V to replace the Vista/7 Virtual PC. Hyper-V seems a little more involved at first but actually turns out to be a bit easier to work with once you get past learning how to set or not set the Network Switch part.

The same switch used for a 7 vm failed on the XP Mode which is where XP lacked as a rule in detecting newer hardwares. The vm fired right up however just using the default settings and clicking on "Generation 1" not 2! The guide explains about that being only for 8 or newer. The rest goes by fast since I had it up and running in only 10 minutes total from Trapper's last post. That includes seeing full screen captures with snips taken from those to post here.

 

For some reason when I installed Hyper-V it disabled the ability to install 64-bit OSs in VB.

 

Hey, thanks Guys *Biggrin. I did check the Tutorials but it seemed that that one was for installing W10 onto VB, suppose I should have checked *Redface.

Knowing that it can be done goes a long way to me trying W10 again, first time I had so many 'Profile' issues I reverted back to W7 only to find that my Task Scheduler had gone loopy with 54 errors and other niggles.

I have decided to wipe the HD and re-install W7 from scratch then upgrade to W10 then install my programs, this will clear out the rubbish built up over the years.

Once again my thanks for your help and once again in your debt!!

 

If 10 was activated you won't have to put 7 back on at all except for considering a dual boot. The 7 install could be a 32bit install since the 32bit 7 could easily run the XP games and apps that couldn't be run on Vista.. Vista saw Fat32 support gone while XP and 7 both share Fat32 support with 7 seeing that brought back allowing for the older 9x-XP compatible games and apps to still run even on the 64bit 10 Pro as far as some of those older 2001 titles that were 98-ME-XP compatible.

What I found with 7 when trying to get a 64bit 10 Pro VM going on the 64bit 7 Ultimate you would run into problems after download and install of the latest 64bit VM Player while the most recent Portable VirtualBox saw no problem at all. It does seem to lean towards the 32bit OSs however on VMs except for the first time seeing a Linux 64bit flavor connect to the web when opting for Hyper-V and using the network switch made up for the 7 Ultimate x64 VM.

The XP Mode went right on as you saw there as well but simply wouldn't connect to the web. Fortunately the XP Mode doesn't have an expiration date on that being a VM to start with. The 7 vm is a temp install only since it couldn't be activated despite connecting to the web. This is why mainly the only Windows vms are old like 98SE if not simply tossing the other guy's OS on which doesn't have any problem for a quick look at something newer.

 

When you install the Hyper-V mode it takes control of the VT-x instruction required to run 64bit VBox VMs.

You have to choose at boot time if you want to run Hyper-V or VBox. The easiest way to do this (quicker than removing and adding Hyper-V) is to add an entry to BCD store with hypervisorlanchtype = off. See here for details. You can then chose when you boot Windows whether you want Hyper-V or VBox (you can set the default under msconfig)

 

That link you posted there lead to an empty domain. You will need to locate the page you were trying to show with the page address.

As for activation of the XP Mode I had forgotten while having it on the Virtual PC it activated automatically since it connected right away while now on Hyper-V without any connection the prompt to activate appeared. But the main difference is that there isn't any product key required since this was a self contained VM MS put out for people to upgrade from XP to 7 back then and still be able to run XP apps.

You might to try the old XP apps out on a 32bit 7 VM to see how well things go and then look at a possible 10/32bit 7 dual boot that would allow you to run even more things. If I had to go backwards to run anything XP at this late date that would be one thing looked into here quickly.