Windows 7: XP Pro License instead of XP Mode

I just purchased new PC that came with Windows 7 Home Premium. I upgraded graphics, cpu and memory because I plan to use the PC for graphics animation (Maya 7) which will only run in XP -- my XP Pro machine crashed. Was wondering if I could use Windows 7 Home Premium, Virtual PC and my ACTUAL XP Pro license, rather than having to spend the money for upgrade to Windows 7 Pro. In other words, can you use Windows 7 Home Premium; download the Virtual PC and then install an actual license of XP Pro (rather than using the XP Mode)?

Or am I better off going with a dual boot system (Windows 7 Home Premium and XP Pro)?

Hi SamsBook, welcome to the Seven Forums.

You need Seven Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise to run Virtual PC. I think your best alternative is a Windows 7 / XP dual boot system. Brinks excellent tutorial about dual boot installation here.

Good luck.

Kari

Wow! That was a fast response. Thanks for the information and link. I did see the tutorial, but it didn't mention if Windows 7 Pro was required in order to do the dual boot (some posts by Microsoft indicate that Dual Boot feature requires Windows 7 Pro, and the comparison list in this forum -- really GREAT list, by the way -- didn't mention dual boot) so I thought I'd kill two birds with one post.

Thanks again.

You can have any Seven or Vista version dual booting with any XP version. Or triple booting all three. Or Seven Home and Ultimate dual booting. Basically any OS that runs on x86 /x64 platforms.

Kari

You don't have to use a dual boot. Instead of using Windows Virtual PC...which doesn't run on Home Premium you could easily use another virtualization tool such as VMWare Player 3.0 or Sun Virtual Box (both of which are free and offer significant performance increases as well as operating system support than the Microsoft offerings).

Between the 2 alternatives that I posted, VMWare Player 3.0 is the one that I use at home.

+1. I was looking the original post too narrow minded when replying.

Kari

PParks,

Thanks for that suggestion on the VMware (VirtualBox). I hadn't realized that the software had come that far. It looks like a really great alternative.

I've investigated a little and, on first look, it seems that VirtualBox may be better for a neophyte like myself (more information and tutorials are on the internet for it). But, this could be great -- I'd be able to keep the 64-bit architecture and try out the virtual environment without any risk to my brand new machine setup or warranty!

Thanks again for the info.

No you don't. Virtual PC will run on all editions of Windows 7. As will XP Mode but you must supply your own licensed copy. However, running Maya or any 3D heavy application or system on a virtual machine is not idea or even possible.

I even worked up a small little guide: http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/show...2&postcount=23

There are plusses and minuses with either Virtual PC or VirtualBox, but both work very much the same way. You also can run them on any version of Windows 7. I'm not sure where people get their info, but it is important you get the correct answers. If you have Intel VT or AMD's equivalent, you'll see a small boost in performance over a system that doesn't...but it isn't required in either software package.

My answer was based on the facts published by Microsoft. Like always, I do not give tips or answers which include some hacking / cracking and / or violates the EULA (End User Licence Agreement).

Kari