Running Windows 7 Professional in XP mode

If you run windows 7 in xp mode then will it take up less system resouces than what windows 7 does?
I think it's not accurate terminology, it is WinXP running as a virtual machine under Win7.
Nothing changes with Win7, WinXP runs on top of it.

Diogen.
 
This is what I understand, the XP requires an additional 1 Gb on top of the 1 Gb for 7. That came from Microsoft FAQ on 7.

I need to decide if buying a new machine with 7 installed is a better way to go than upgrading what I now have. I won't be running anything except basic office and web software, quicken and stuff like turbotax etc..
What I now have is a dual core processor and I have verified it will work as long as I increase the ram another gig to 3 Gb. I will start with a new hard drive so I can keep my XP drive intact.

What makes the decision difficult is this machine 2006 vintage, is working just fine for what I do. All I really need right now is to add remote desktop capability. So, one other option would be to re-subscribe to gotomyPC again. Just need one PC these days for remote.

I think I'll make the decision on cost.
 
Ahh- the question is, short term or long term costs? That can be hard to determine.

I've been shocked at how many of our PCs I will need to replace (almost all of them). They won't be upgradeable to W7 from XP Pro or Vista, hardware wise. MS called last week, to remind me of EOL on XP. But I just don't see us replacing everything this summer. Especially since our server is 8 years old and is way past replacement time. My, how time flies when you're not having fun.

Anyway, I looked at doing the XP mode thing under W7 64, but decided to be on the safe side and stick with 32 bit, since our accounting program will not work with 64 bit. XP mode would probably have worked well, just not worth the hassle, considering we are having problems with that program, and they will not support it if it is running under 64 bit, even using XP mode.
 
I haven't seen a computer released in the last 5 years and having at least 1GB of RAM that wouldn't run Win7 at least as good as WinXP hardware requirement-wise.

Diogen.
 
You run that program from MS to see if your equipment is "good enough" for W7 & it comes back "no." Of course, I went to install a media card reader on a machine and discovered there were no motherboard USB connections, so that was a bust. Heck, even our server needed an expansion card for USB (& it doesn't work very well).
 
After some price shopping the feature I'm after ( remote desktop ) is best accomplished with a monthly subscription to GoToMyPC. This way I just pay $20 a month for the month I travel and don't subscribe when staying at home. I used to use GoTo when I traveled a lot and really liked it. I had it on three PC's here but those days are over. All I NEED now is the feature on a sporadic basis so it looks like GoTo is still my best option money-wise. I may be out of pocket $60 a year and a new PC, even just an upgrade to present PC is much more expensive.
 
Why do you need GoToMyPc? Unless you need to transfer files or listen to sounds, you can use LogMeIn for free. I've used it for years and it's been a life-saver for fixing the numerous computer problems my dad has.
 
I have to run my cisco vpn software in the XP mode in order to log into work.
That is exactly the reason I'm running it...:)

But not for long - two more places left to go AnyConnect, will be done by September 1st.

Diogen.
 
MS called last week, to remind me of EOL on XP. But I just don't see us replacing everything this summer.
What exactly did they say?

As I understand, Microsoft will continue the Extended Support of Windows XP, including monthly patches and bug-fixes until April 8, 2014. So there is really no rush to upgrade the old computers. Just make sure you have SP3 applied.

As for Windows XP Mode on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, I run it all the time as well as a number of other Virual Machines. It is very stable and works great! You can now even share USB ports and devices with the virtual machine, which wasn't possible in earlier versions of Virtual PC. The only issue is that you have to maintain your virtual environment in addition to your main OS: install patches, antivirus updates, etc.
 
I use ultra VNC which is free and dyndns to track my ip address. Open the appropriate ports and you are ready to go with no fee's and you are not relying on anyone else.
 
That is exactly the reason I'm running it...:)

But not for long - two more places left to go AnyConnect, will be done by September 1st.

Diogen.

I tried to use AnyConnect, but there is no place to import my pcf file.
 
I tried to use AnyConnect, but there is no place to import my pcf file.
Requires firewall changes, going from IPSec to SSL.
A standard ASA5020 needs license upgrade, some $200 for 750 clients (max allowed).

Diogen.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I am pleased you all are getting good results with W7 XP mode as I may end up with that if cost isn't an issue. ( new PC with win 7 )

I will check out the other FREE methods too. I will be testing with my Dell laptop as well as the ipad for these free remote desktop solutions. GoToMy PC is easy and I've used it for years so that is why I mentioned it.
 
What exactly did they say?

As I understand, Microsoft will continue the Extended Support of Windows XP, including monthly patches and bug-fixes until April 8, 2014. So there is really no rush to upgrade the old computers. Just make sure you have SP3 applied....

Interesting. It was a third party company hired by MS to make the calls. They wanted to be sure we knew support was ending in June. I said we had a plan to replace PCs by the fall and they were happy with that. Didn't try to sell me anything, so it did not seem to be a scam. Unless someone else will call later to try to sell us machines as the replacement program kicks in.

After June, as I understand it, there will only be security fixes. I need to replace some machines just to get better USB support (motherboard connectors) and to reduce the likelihood of a sudden failure due to aging components. I'm really surprised at how old I've let some of our PCs get. And I'm nervous about it, because my main PC on my desk failed while I was in the process of moving over to a new PC.

Last I heard, Vista support still ends in 2012, a couple of years before XP Extended support. Backwards, eh? An admission of the failure of Vista, in my book.
 

Last pass

The end of the PC era?

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)