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Microsoft opens Windows 7 XP mode to systems without hardware virtualization
One gripe against XP Mode for Windows 7 is that it required hardware-assisted virtualization support. In many cases, it was difficult to tell whether or not a system's hardware was up to snuff -- so Microsoft offered up a free download to help administrators and find out (called HAV detection tool).Now, however, the Windows Team has announced that hardware virtualization is no longer an issue. The new version of XP Mode will run on just about any PC, though HAV will still be utilized if supported.
This should be welcome news for administrators, since it could help reduce upgrade costs -- and headaches.
Several retailers I support use older point-of-sale systems that don't play nice with Vista or Windows 7. With XP mode now able to run on their older Pentium 4 computers, they can transition to a newer OS without worrying about breaking the apps that run their businesses.
Comments
10
Subscribe to comments216Mar 18th 2010 11:27AM
Wow good job MS for making things easier
Drew GreenMar 18th 2010 12:29PM
Great, but bad timing. See this article: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9172158/Microsoft_security_vendor_clash_over_Virtual_PC_bug?taxonomyId=17
For the TLDNR people, it's saying that there's a bug in Virtual PC (standalone and the one that runs XP Mode) that allows exploits to occur that would usually be null and void on a physical system. By allowing everyone to use XP Mode, now they've just created (potentially) a much larger pool of people subject to the attack. They need to fix this bug ASAP!
master811Mar 18th 2010 3:30PM
Not really, this 'security' issue is being made out as being a much bigger issse than people think. Firstly it only affects the Guest OS, not the Host OS, which is normally the whole point of running a VM anyway (so that only the Guest OS gets infected if at all).
Plus, this is only the MS Virtual PC, so for small businesses, individual power users than need XP. Most enterprises will be using VMware etc, so the number of people actually using XP Mode is likely very small. (at least at the moment).
Drew GreenMar 18th 2010 3:43PM
I wonder if it applies to Virtual Server as well. If so, then that is a big deal. Also, not everyone uses a VM for testing. Some use it for running legacy apps, so if their VM becomes infected it could wreak major havoc.
master811Mar 18th 2010 3:57PM
No, this doesn't affect Hyper-V, (which is the server version of Virtual PC).
Drew GreenMar 18th 2010 4:07PM
Virtual Server is not Hyper-V. Virtual Server is the server version of Virtual PC. VS is like VMware Server (formerly known as GSX). Hyper-V is a completely different product, equivalent to VMware ESX.
master811Mar 18th 2010 5:12PM
Ah well yes in that case, according to the link you posted, this 'bug' does affect Virtual Server 2005, but Hyper-V is simply the latest version of Virtual Server (so VS 2005 wouldn't be used on Windows 7 or Server 2008 anyway).
master811Mar 18th 2010 5:16PM
In fact to add, Hyper-V will run on even Server 2k and 2003 and it's free, so really there's no need to be using VS2005 anymore anyway.
Drew GreenMar 18th 2010 5:30PM
I'm sorry, but you are totally incorrect. Obviously you've never used Hyper-V. Hyper-V is not the latest version of Virtual Server. They are two completely different products. I believe Virtual Server 2005 is the latest version of VS. Virtual Server is pretty much VMware Workstation. Hyper-V is a baremetal hypervisor, like VMware ESX and ESXi. Hyper-V is included as a role with Server 2008 and R2. It will NOT run on Windows Server 2000 or 2003. Therefore, the bug will not affect Hyper-V, not because it is an "upgrade" of VS, but because it is a totally different product.
SuperstarMar 18th 2010 12:39PM
Why would you run Windows 7/Vista on a P4 anyways? I would just keep all of those Pentium 4 machines XP, I doubt those system have enough power to be usable under 7 or Vista