XP 32 bit under Windows 7 64 bit

Hi all.

I currently use Vista Ultimate 32 bit, mostly for image and video editing. I am awaiting the delivery, on the release date, of Windows 7 professional. I have decided to install the 64 bit version as I believe that my applications will benefit from 8 gb of memory that Vista cannot address.

I have 2 devices that are unlikely to work in a 64 bit OS. A Canon film scanner (USB) and a Canopus ADVC video capture device (Firewire). The film scanner is no longer manufactured and Canon no longer produce updated drivers for it, the latest being XP compatible. I am anticipating that I will need to run a Virtual PC to use these devices, time will tell.

In preparation for the Win 7 I have installed Virtual PC under Vista and have an XP virtual machine running perfectly. Of course this virtual PC cannot see the USB or Firewire devices as those ports are not supported in that version of Virtual PC.

My questions:

When the 64 bit Windows 7 is installed and i install the 64 bit version of Virtual PC will I be able to open/convert my existing .VMC and .VHD files or will I need to re-install XP to a new virtual PC?

Will I be able to run a 32 bit OS in a 64 bit version of Virtual PC on a 64 bit version of Windows 7?

Thanks, in advance, for any replies. Virtualisation is still new to me.

Yes you can run a 32bit guest while running 64bit VirtualPC on a 64bit host.

Virtualization makes a "sandbox" for the VM to work it. It isolates it from your hardware, hence you cant connect most devices directly to it. There are ways to side-step the issue though. Check out IP-based usb hubs.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/5PORT-Anywhere-Usb-remote-Over-Concentr/dp/B0000DZFYY]Amazon.com: 5PORT USB Ip Hub Anywhere Usb-remote Usb Over Ip Concentr for Pc: Electronics[/ame]

you can find them cheaper though. The above product also works with VMware ESXi

Hello there NormanLaw Welcome to the Se7en Forums!

Once you have the 64bit 7 Pro(retail) on you won't even need to install XP on a vhd since you will be able to run the finished Virtual PC along with the new XP Mode that sees full integration with all internal drives as well as support for usb flash drives/devices.

As for the scanner and capture device you may want to see if the manufacturer's support site has 64bit Vista updates for them since those will also work on 7 as well. They may even some for 7 by now.

Night Hawk said:

Once you have the 64bit 7 Pro(retail) on you won't even need to install XP on a vhd since you will be able to run the finished Virtual PC along with the new XP Mode that sees full integration with all internal drives as well as support for usb flash drives/devices.

I stand corrected, I was un-aware that xp mode allowed the passthrough of usb devices other than portable storage.

The XP Mode provides direct access to usb flash drives as well as all internal drives both HDs and optical while a custom install in the VPC on a vhd or on another VM ware will tend to lack there. Most report a performance gain while losing out on the availability of drives and devices using alternatives however.

First Vista and later replaced by the 32bit RC the same was seen on the newer VPC RC where only the XP Mode RC then saw usb support included. On the 22nd ironically the RTM for the VPC and XP Mode will be available at the same time as 7's release date. Nice timing of course!

Thanks ccatlett1984 and Night Hawk. It's interesting stuff. I've just installed Sun Virtualbox and this seems to be able to recognise the USB ports where Virtual PC can't. It was useful that the .VHD and .VMC files were suitable for use with Sun. I thought I might need to redo the XP install but I just took a copy of the files and opened them in Sun Virtualbox.

When the Win 7 arrives will I need to do new XP install or does it come with a base setup?

Is there no way I can get a virtual machine to recognise host machine's Firewire?

I don't have firewire on here to give you an answer to that one. But once you get 7 on you will want to download the final finished version of the VPC since that's a separate item there.

When swapping over from the beta to RC version of that I was able to get the previous Vista install on a vhd to run and reuse the same vhd for the 32bit RC on that. The SUN VBox however allows you to install the 64bit Windows while the VPC is limited to the 32bit kernel.

Thanks Jimbo

I'll give this a try this afternoon. My requirements are for a 64bit host and a 32bit (XP) guest so I'm OK anyway. I do have virtualization switched on in the BIOS though.

I've posted a question on the Canopus (the video device manufacturer) forums regarding the firewire device issue. It looks like that may work in 64bit but Canopus won't be certifying it for Windows 7 until Windows 7 has been out for a month or so. Even then it may not get certified for 64bit Windows 7. I'm hoping to find someone who has tried the device using the beta Windows 7 64bit system.

If I can't be sure of getting the device to work in Windows 64bit or through a virtual machine I may need to consider a dual boot install option and keep my Vista partition. That would result in a lot of re-booting whenever I needed to use the device though, hardly very convenient.

Drivers are the one thing that make a small ammount of people stay away from 64-bit. Yeah, most likely they do, and pretty much every company has already prepared all of their drivers for Windows 7. :)