Welcome to the final part of this three-part series about installing and using Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 using Windows Virtual PC.
In Part I of this series, we covered determining whether your computer can run Windows XP Mode, downloading the required files, and installing Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC. In Part II, we discussed installing the Windows XP Mode update and setting up Windows XP Mode.
This last part of the three-part series will discuss installing and running software in Windows XP Mode.
Make sure you have downloaded and installed the Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC prior to following the steps in this post. Also, we recommend you go through the steps in Part I before proceeding with the post. To download the required installation file, go to the following web page in your browser:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx.
Install a Program in XP Mode
You can install programs in that can only be run in Windows XP in your Windows XP Mode virtual machine. As an example, we are going to install the Utilu IE Collection that contains some versions of IE that cannot be installed in Windows 7. If you want to follow along and install the Utilu IE Collection, you can download it from
http://utilu.com/IECollection/.
The Utilu IE Collection is downloaded as an executable (.exe) file. You can also install software from a CD you insert into a CDROM drive on your Windows 7 computer. See our post, Enable Integration Features for an XP Mode Virtual Machine, for information about using Windows XP Mode’s integration features to share drives (and other resources) from your Windows 7 computer.
First, we will transfer the Utilu IE Collection executable file from our Windows 7 machine to the Windows XP Mode virtual machine. Open the Windows XP Mode virtual machine as discussed earlier in this post. Open My Computer from the Start menu in the Windows XP Mode virtual machine.
Double-click on the drive letter onto which you downloaded the Utilu IE Collection executable file.
Navigate to where you saved the Utilu IE Collection executable file. Right-click on the file and select Copy from the popup menu.
Navigate back to My Documents on the Windows XP Mode virtual machine. Right-click in the folder and select Paste from the popup menu.
Double-click on the Utilu IE Collection executable file.
Follow the instructions in the setup program for the Utilu IE Collection.
NOTE: We have previously written about the Utilu Mozilla Firefox Collection that allows you to use multiple versions of Firefox on one computer. The installation process for the Utilu IE Collection is very similar to the installation for the Utilu Mozilla Firefox Collection, therefore, you can refer to our post, Install Multiple Versions of Firefox to Test a Website, for installation instructions, if needed.
Once installed, you will have access to multiple versions IE in your Windows XP Mode virtual machine.
You can also run these versions of IE from the Start menu of your Windows 7 computer. To do this, you must shut down the Windows XP Mode virtual machine. Select Close from the Action drop-down menu.
A dialog box displays asking you what you want the virtual machine to do. Select Shut down from the drop-down list and click OK. Your Windows XP Mode virtual machine will shut down and the Windows Virtual PC window closes.
Run a Program Installed in XP Mode in Windows 7
If you have turned on the Auto Publish setting for your Windows XP Mode virtual machine, as discussed earlier in this post, any programs you install in the virtual machine become available on the Start menu on your Windows 7 computer. To access programs installed in your virtual machine in Windows 7, open the Windows Virtual PC folder on the Start menu in Windows 7.
A dialog box displays while Windows Virtual PC is preparing to launch the application.
NOTE: If you did not shut down your Windows XP Mode virtual machine, e.g., if you chose to hibernate it when you closed it, a dialog box displays telling you that Windows XP Mode was closed with a user logged on. You cannot run a program installed in your Windows XP Mode virtual machine from the Start menu in Windows 7 unless the virtual machine is complete shut down. Click Continue to shut down your virtual machine and open the selected program.
A dialog box displays showing you a progress bar while the program is starting.
The program opens on your Windows 7 desktop, just like any other program you would normally run in Windows 7.
Wrap Up
In this post, we covered installing and running software in Windows XP Mode.
In Part I of this series, we covered determining whether your computer can run Windows XP Mode, downloading the required files, and installing Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC. In Part II, we discussed installing the Windows XP Mode update and setting up Windows XP Mode.
NOTE: Your Windows XP Mode virtual machine can be infected with viruses and malware from the internet in the same way as your Windows 7 computer can. You can prevent your Windows XP Mode virtual machine from connecting to the Internet. To do this, see our post, Stop Windows XP Mode from Connecting to the Internet.
This series was meant to help you install and set up Windows XP Mode so you can run older software programs that only work in Windows XP. Remember that Windows XP Mode in Windows Virtual PC can only be installed and used in the Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise versions of Windows 7.
by Lori Kaufman