Last week I was asked, on Twitter, if it was possible to publish a built in application (like Internet Backgammon) from Windows XP mode.  The answer is: Yes, but it is a little tricky. Most people use Windows XP mode to run specific applications that they have that will not run under Windows 7. ...

Here is a problem that I was asked about a while ago: When I try to start a DOS application that switches to fullscreen in Windows XP Mode – it fails with an error that states “The video device failed to initialize for fullscreen mode.  Choose ‘Close’ to terminate the application.”  Why is...

If you are like me, and obsessively ensure that all your virtual machines are kept up-to-date with the latest patches at all times, you may have wondered why your Windows XP mode virtual machine seems to be stuck with Internet Explorer 6. No matter how many times you check for updates – you never see...

Before I get started today – I want to make one thing very clear: the content of this post is not officially supported by Microsoft.  Feel free to try it out – but if you hit problems do not go contacting Microsoft Product support – as this is unsupported. With that out of the way: When using Windows...

If you are using Windows XP mode on an LCD display – you may notice that the font looks a little jagged.  The reason for this is simple.  ClearType is not enabled. While Windows Vista and Windows 7 both enable ClearType by default – Windows XP (which was released when LCD screens were not as...

It is possible to get into a state where Windows XP mode stores the wrong logon information. There are a couple of ways to hit this problem – but the most common cause is because you have changed your password inside Windows XP.  The result is that when you start Windows XP mode you see the following...

A long time ago I blogged about playing Master of Orion II under Virtual PC .  In this post I talked about using the DOS version of Master of Orion II. Recently I was asked if it was possible to run the Windows version of Master of Orion II under Windows Virtual PC.  I am not entirely sure...

My post on how to configure the default virtual machine location for Windows Virtual PC has raised a number of questions.  One of which is: what is the default default virtual machine location for Windows Virtual PC?  This question is almost always then followed by the question – why is it...

Continuing in my theme of running Windows Virtual PC everywhere – I think it is time to provide an update on my Virtual PC on Hyper-V post from just over 2 years ago. So here is the updated Windows XP Mode on Windows Virtual PC on Windows 7 on Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 screenshot: The the...

A couple of people have contacted me and reported performance issues with Windows XP Mode on systems without hardware virtualization support.  One thing that I did not mention in my post last week was that you will need to upgrade the integration components on the Windows XP virtual machine after...

The update to Windows Virtual PC to support running on systems without hardware virtualization is now available for download. You can grab it here: For 32-bit host operating systems: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=837f12aa-1d37-464e-ae59-20c9ecbebaf6 For 64-bit host...

Today we have made a slew of announcements around work we have been doing for desktop virtualization. Once of which is that Windows Virtual PC will be updated to be able to run on systems without hardware virtualization support. The update is not currently available – but should go live later today ...

I have been asked this one a lot of times now, so I thought I would pen a quick blog post on this. A lot of people are looking at using Windows XP Mode to allow them to access websites that still need Internet Explorer 6 / 7. Unfortunately Internet Explorer is not published by default. The reason...

When it comes to minimizing the potential for malicious software running in a virtual machine to affect your physical computer, there are two golden rules to follow: Secure the virtual machine just like you would a physical computer.  This means installing antivirus / anti-malware software, configuring...

One of the cool features of Windows Virtual PC is how applications that are installed into Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 virtual machines automatically appear in the start menu on the host operating system – and can be launched directly without first needing to open the virtual machine in question...

We have recently published a very handy video / guide / set of scripts to help with anyone who needs to deploy either a standard or customized version of Windows XP mode to a large number of virtual machines. The first thing to look at is the deployment video – available here: http://www.microsoft.com...

Go and get it: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx Cheers, Ben

The RTM builds of Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode are now available for people with an MSDN / TechNet subscription.  On MSDN you can sign in and: Go to Subscriber Downloads Select Applications Scroll to the bottom of the list and select Windows Virtual PC Cheers, Ben

For as long as I have been working on Virtual PC – people have been asking me: “Do I need to install Antivirus software inside the virtual machine?” And the answer has always been: “Yes! You need to treat each virtual machine just like it were a separate physical computer and ensure that it is configured...

We have just announced that we have signed off on the RTM release of Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode.  It should be available on the Microsoft Download Center on October 22nd. Cheers, Ben

A number of users have seen performance issues using shared folders / having shared folders enabled with Windows XP Mode on the RC release of Windows Virtual PC.  This can be addressed by installing this hotfix: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;972435 Inside the virtual machine...

When using integrated applications with Windows Virtual PC on multi-monitor computers there are a couple of “gotchas” to be aware of. We use Remote Desktop technology to provide our support for integrated applications. And as discussed here Remote Desktop in integrated mode behaves like there is a...

Immediately after attending VMworld this year I am going to be jumping on a plane and heading back home to speak at Tech-Ed Australia and Tech-Ed New Zealand . At both of these shows I am going to be giving two presentations: Windows 7 XP Compatability mode, Virtual PC and Microsoft Enterprise Desktop...

I have a deep, dark secret to confess.  I run Windows in high DPI mode (this is where Windows displays larger text / icons).  I do not know why, but as a “tech guy” I sense some deep shame over this.  However, I just find my computer screens *so* much more readable in a high DPI mode. ...

In the RC release of Windows Virtual PC, one of the key changes was to integrate support for Windows 7 jump lists .  Our jump lists are there to help you to: Launch common applications inside virtual machines. By hovering on the “Windows Virtual PC” icon in the start menu, or by right clicking on...