Since you upgraded your old PC from Windows XP to Windows 7, you can’t get a program you use for work to work anymore? Evidently it is a very outdated software designed exclusively for XP but, don’t worry, because there is a way to still use it without reinstalling the previous version of the Microsoft operating system: just emulate XP and you’re done.
You probably didn’t know about it, but you should know that there are special programs thanks to which you can emulate XP on Windows 7, without having to replace the operating system currently installed on your computer and without having to create a partition dedicated to it on your hard disk. In short, these programs allow you to use the old version of the operating system within the new one while keeping the two environments separate from each other.
If you’re interested, I suggest you don’t hesitate any longer and start working immediately, putting into practice the indications that you find in this tutorial. I have no doubt about the fact that, in the end, you’ll be happy and satisfied with what you’ve learned. Good reading and good luck with everything!
Preliminary information
Before getting into the heart of the tutorial, going to explain how to emulate XP on Windows 7, it is my duty to make some clarifications in this regard.
First of all, I would like to point out that the programs I mentioned at the beginning of this guide allow, in essence, to create virtual machines: these are virtual environments, as the terminology itself suggests, within which it is possible to “run” an operating system without actually installing it on the PC (i.e. without partitioning the disk).
To be able to use it, however, you must have the installation diskette of the operating system to be emulated or its ISO image, which, in fact, allow you to carry out the setup of the OS, just as you usually do when you want to install Windows in the traditional way, so to speak, on a computer.
In this regard, you should know that nowadays recovering Windows XP installation media might not be a simple matter, as it is an obsolete operating system and, consequently, it is no longer possible to download its ISO images or buy its CD/DVD through official channels. In any case, if it helps, I recommend reading my article on how to download Windows XP, in which I have provided you with some “ideas” on how to proceed.
If, on the other hand, you already have an OS installation diskette, you can turn it into an ISO image, following the procedures I have indicated in my tutorial on how to create an ISO image.
A viable alternative to the practices just described could be, depending on your actual needs, to download a ready-to-use virtual machine: a virtual machine that, in short, allows you to emulate XP directly, without going through the procedure of installing the operating system in a virtualization software.
Until a few years ago, this type of image could be taken directly from Microsoft’s website, but now, considering the fact that the OS in question is particularly outdated and, above all, no longer supported, it is no longer possible to download it.
How to emulate Windows XP on Windows 7
Having made the necessary clarifications above, let’s get to the heart of the tutorial and let’s find out what tools, exactly, can be used to emulate Windows XP on Windows 7 and how to use them: for all the details of the case, continue reading.
Windows XP Mode
If you are using a copy of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate, you can emulate XP using the Windows XP Mode software: this is an emulator specifically dedicated to Windows XP, available for free and distributed directly by Microsoft, which provides a ready-to-use virtual environment of 32-bit Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (SP3).
To use it, however, first make sure that your computer has the necessary requirements to make the program work, that is to say: at least 2 GB of RAM, 15 GB of disk space for the virtual environment and support for hardware virtualization.
To find out whether your computer supports hardware virtualization, you can download an appropriate verification program by visiting this section of Microsoft’s website, clicking on the Download button, checking the box next to havdetectiontool.exe and pressing the Next button.
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and, in the window that appears on your desktop, select I accept the license terms. Next, click on the Next button to see the response of the test.
After checking the above, go to this page of Microsoft’s website and proceed with downloading the Windows XP Mode software, making sure that Italian is selected in the drop-down menu on the left (otherwise you should do it yourself), clicking on the Download button, checking the box next to WindowsXPMode_en.exe and clicking on the Next button.
After downloading Windows XP Mode, you should also download Windows Virtual PC: the software that allows you to run a Windows XP virtual machine. To do this, go to this other page of Microsoft’s website, make sure that Italian is selected in the menu on the left (otherwise you can do it yourself), click on the Download button, check the box next to Windows6.1-KB958559-x64-RefreshPkg.msu (if you are using Windows 7 64-bit) or the one next to Windows6.1-KB958559-x86-RefreshPkg.msu (if you are using Windows 7 32-bit) and click on the Next button.
Once downloaded, open the .exe file and, in the window that appears on your desktop, click on the Yes, Accept and Close buttons to complete the setup.
Now you need to perform the installation of Windows XP Mode. So, open the first .exe file and in the window that appears on the screen, click on the Next button twice in a row, then the Yes button and finally the Finish button.
Now start the virtual machine with Windows XP by clicking on the Start button (the one with the Windows flag) located at the bottom left of the taskbar, select the All Programs item from the menu that opens and click on the Windows XP Mode shortcut located in the Windows Virtual PC folder.
In the window that opens, check the box next to the words I accept the license terms, click the Next button, enter the password you want to use to access Windows XP in the appropriate fields and click the Next button again. Next, choose whether to protect your computer by installing automatic operating system updates or to postpone the operation, click on the Next button again and finally on the Start Installation button. You will now be presented with the Windows XP desktop.
I would also like to point out that all the programs that you are going to install in Windows XP can eventually be recalled on the Windows 7 desktop even when the virtual machine is not running. To do this, click on the Windows Start button, select All Programs from the menu that opens and click on the shortcut for the program you want to run in the Windows Virtual PC > Windows XP Mode Applications folder.
If you feel you need to customize the virtual machine’s settings, you can do so by clicking on the Tools menu at the top left of the Windows XP Mode window, selecting the Settings item and working on the available options, such as the amount of memory, the network connection to use, etc.
If you want to use the virtual machine with the internal screen, I inform you that you can do it by clicking on the Operation menu, located at the top left, and choosing the item Full screen. To turn off the virtual machine, however, always call the task menu and choose the appropriate commands from it.
VirtualBox
Another tool you can use to emulate XP on Windows 7 is VirtualBox: this is a free and open source virtualization program that allows you to create virtual machines of any operating system, including XP. It is definitely one of the best free solutions out there.
To download VirtualBox to your computer, go to the program’s website and click on the Windows hosts link located under the VirtualBox x.x.x platform packages heading at the top of the page.
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and, in the window that appears on your desktop, click the Next button three times in a row and then the Yes and Install buttons. After that, press the Yes button once more, then the Install button (to install the network drivers required for the Internet to work on virtual machines) and, finally, click the Finish button.
Once the setup is complete, you can proceed with the creation of the virtual machine to use Windows XP. To do this, click on the New button at the top right of the VirtualBox window, type the name you want to assign to the virtual machine in the Name field, select the Microsoft Windows item from the Type dropdown menu and the Windows XP (32-bit) item from the Version dropdown menu and then click on the Next button.
Indicate, then, the amount of RAM you want to assign to your virtual machine, moving the adjustment bar (I recommend not to go beyond 1024 MB, but 512 MB can also be fine), press the Next and Create buttons, click again on the Next button twice in a row, define the size of the virtual hard disk that you want to create to virtualize Windows XP (I suggest 10 GB), the location where you want to save the virtual machine and press the Create button again.
Now that you have created the virtual machine, you need to install Windows XP on it: the steps that need to be performed are exactly the same as those that need to be done to install the operating system “normally” on the PC. So, start the virtual machine by double-clicking on its name in the list attached to the VirtualBox window, click on the drop-down menu in the new window that appears and select the system installation CD or its ISO image (by clicking on the folder icon). Then, press the Start button.
Then follow the Windows XP installation wizard, following the instructions on what to do in my post on how to install Windows XP. Once the installation is complete, you can start your virtualized copy of Windows XP at any time by launching VirtualBox and double-clicking on the name of the virtual machine.
When you want, you can pause the virtual machine, stop it and adjust its various settings by clicking on the Machine menu at the top of the window and using the items displayed. If, instead, you want to use the virtual machine in full screen mode, go to the View menu and click on Full Screen Mode.
In order to improve the degree of integration between Windows XP and Windows 7, I also suggest you install VirtualBox Guest Additions: components that allow you to get a better resolution for the VM, share notes between the real system and the guest system and more.
To proceed, simply open the Devices menu at the top of the virtual machine window and click on the Insert Guest Additions CD image heading. Then choose to autorun the virtual disk mounted in the virtual machine and follow the proposed wizard. For more details, you can refer to my tutorial specifically focused on how to use VirtualBox.
If, on the other hand, you have a Windows XP virtual machine ready to use, in order to run it, click on the VirtualBox File menu (top left), choose Import virtual application and select the relevant file from the next window.
VMware Workstation Player
VMware Workstation Player is another well-known operating system virtualization software. It is perhaps a bit more complex to use than VirtualBox but is free and very efficient. Windows XP aside, it allows you to create and use virtual machines of all popular operating systems from Microsoft and beyond.
To download the program to your PC, visit its website and click on the Download now button located on the top right corner. On the new page that opens, click on the Download button located next to the VMware Workstation xx.x.x Player for Windows 64-bit Operating Systems entry.
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and click the Yes button in the window that appears on the screen. Then click on the Next button, select the I accept the terms in the License Agreement item and click on the Next button four times in a row. Finally, click on the Install and Finsh buttons.
At this point, start the program by double-clicking the appropriate shortcut that was added to the Start menu and, once the VMware Workstation Player window appears on the desktop, click on the Continue and Finish buttons.
In the next window that opens, select the Create a New Virtual Machine link on the right to start creating a new virtual machine. Choose whether you would like to download Windows XP from the installer disc or from an ISO image file and click on the Next button, after which you should provide the corresponding media.
Now, fill in the fields on the screen by typing in the Windows XP product key, the name of the user account you want to create and its password and click on the Next button.
Indicate, then, the name you want to assign to the virtual machine, in the Virutal machine name field, the location where you want to save the related file, through the Location section, and click again on the Next button.
At this point, specify the space that the virtual machine disk will occupy and its type, press the Finish and Yes buttons and you’re done.
After completing all of the above steps, you simply have to follow the Windows XP installation wizard, which is practically the same that is proposed when the operating system is installed on a “physical” computer: you can find more details on what to do in my guide on posts on how to install Windows XP.
When the virtual machine is running, you can switch to the internal screen view by clicking on the icon with the square with the corners at the top, while to pause or stop it, simply press the Play button (also at the top) and select the command of your interest from the menu that appears.
To adjust the settings, on the other hand, right-click on the name of the virtual machine on the left side of the main software window, select Settings from the menu that appears and take action on the available commands and options.
If you already have a virtual machine file, you can run it in VMware by selecting the Open Virtual Machine option on the right side of the program’s main window.