Options for moving XP to Win7/8; considering VM

dianedebuda · 25 Oct 2013

Posted this over in the EightForums with different title that didn't make it clear enough that I'm asking about VM concepts, not about fixing my Automation problem(s). Sorry if you've read both.

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2 person office. Very small LAN with a single XP "server" (no direct user usage, no Web; not to be replaced) and 2 user machines that can access Web (both to be replaced - undecided yet Win7 or Windows 8).

Have an Access97 app that runs on XP user machine. Conversion to another MS Office is not an option. This app runs fine under Win7 (or Windows 8) except Automation. Access tries to run Word97 Mail-Merge = "Macro Storage not found" which seems to be a (CLSID + others) permission problem. May be other problems TBD.

I've rejected the first option: add a separate standalone XP user machine for the app. A second option is to add a separate XP user machine for this app that is on the LAN but block its Web access. A third option is to test if the app runs using the Administrator account, but I'm not really wanting to do this "for real". Another possibility is XP as a VM (XP mode?). I have never actually run a VM yet, so it'll all be new to me. I know there is a lot of web help for this available, so I'll google for details.

But before diving in, are there any major gotchas?

How hard would it be to switch between the XP app and Win7/8 web activities? Actually, what do you do to switch?

I understand I could disable the virtual network driver for security, but the data for the app is on the XP server. Will I be able to use that data using XP Mode (or another VM)? What I'm aiming for is limiting my security exposure via the web for the XP machine after April 8.

Suggestions/thoughts?

gregrocker · 25 Oct 2013

Have you tried yet installing the program in XP Compatibility Mode which tricks the program into thinking it's being installed to XP or whatever OS was concurrent with it's release?

As old as XP is now, going virtual is your best option. Good virtual freeware includes VMWare, Virtual Player and XP Mode in Ultimate or Pro.

Dude · 25 Oct 2013

As well as Greg said above also look at virtualbox

jimbo45 · 26 Oct 2013

gregrocker said:

Have you tried yet installing the program in XP Compatibility Mode which tricks the program into thinking it's being installed to XP or whatever OS was concurrent with it's release?

As old as XP is now, going virtual is your best option. Good virtual freeware includes VMWare, Virtual Player and XP Mode in Ultimate or Pro.

Hi there.

Forget XP compatibility mode - it's fiddly, a poor performer and won't run on Windows 8 / 8.1 should you decide to install these OS'es.

Run it as a full blown VM in its own right using VMPLAYER -- free and good performer. If you don't have an XP system then you can convert the XPMODE system into a VMware VHD and run it from VMware player.

The other advantage is that you can run this on Home Premium versions too -- XM Mode only runs on PRO and above.

Here's W2000, Windows 98 and Icelandic XP all running as VM's

Cheers
jimbo

3D Jed · 26 Oct 2013

jimbo - my VM goes back to Windows for Workgroups 3.11 see snip. Its nice to listen to the old 95/98 start up sounds.

Options for moving XP to Win7/8; considering VM-vm_snip.jpg

dianedebuda · 27 Oct 2013

Good virtual freeware includes VMWare, Virtual Player and XP Mode in Ultimate or Pro.

Is VMware Player what is meant by "VMware"? Is "Virtual Player" something else? Have downloaded XP Mode, (MS) Virtual PC, VMware Player & VirtualBox. Will try Virtual PC/XP Mode first. Officially this is a business, so VMware Player would not be free, so I'll try VirtualBox next since it looks like it can be used both Win7 & Win8.

Kari · 27 Oct 2013

My two cents:

I agree with fellow geeks here, virtualization is IMO the best shot for you. As you mentioned that Windows 8 is also an option, my recommendation is to go Pro as Windows 8 Pro includes the Hyper-V virtualization so no third party programs are needed for you to install XP on a virtual machine.

Also, although you might find on the net information that says that Hyper-V on Windows 8 Pro cannot use all devices of the host system, this was completely changed on Windows 8.1 Pro. It's now capable to use all devices connected to host.

My vote goes for combination Windows 8.1 Pro and its built-in, native Hyper-V virtualization.

Additional reading: Using Windows 8 Client Hyper-V

Kari

dianedebuda · 27 Oct 2013

Thanks. I have 8.1 Preview loaded on a box, so I can try it there. Have a laptop that I bought last year preloaded with Win8 + the Pro upgrade that I had purchased for a "real" trial (after the 8.1 update, of course). Running W7 Pro on that laptop now. Those should give me a idea what to tell my friends (former clients that I wrote the software for 15 years ago) what o/s to get. Sure hope the VM takes care of my problems; pretty much retired as a programmer for hire now & don't relish spending a lot of time on this.

dianedebuda · 28 Oct 2013

Have finally watched the MS XP Mode video. Guessing I'm going to have to uninstall Office 97 from W7 before I can install in via XP Mode since it adds to the W7 Start Menu.

whs · 28 Oct 2013

I use VMware Player and found it more convenient than Virtual Box which I had used for years. The beauty is that you can run the virtual system side by side with the host system and go back and forth with 1 click. You can also share e.g. the clipboard which allows you to copy something in the virtual system and paste it in the host system (or vice versa)

Here is a demo I made running windows 8 in VMware Player. It would be the same with XP. You just have to choose XP during the installation. And this is the tutorial you need to understand the installation steps - just choose XP in lieu of Windows 8.