A simple question about Home Premium...

marco772 · 20 May 2010

Hi,

I'm going to buy Windows 7 and am looking at the Home Premium. I see that some sites say it doesn't have the XP Mode that Professional has.

If this is the full 'virtual XP' thing then that's not a problem, I don't think I would have much use for that, but what I DO need is the ability to run a few programs in 'compatibility mode'.

Just to be clear, I mean the thing where you can right click on the program, Properties, Compatibility tab, Tick 'Run this program using...

Like this....[How To] Use Compatibility Mode in Windows 7 | Windows7hacker

I think I am getting this function muddled with the XP Mode thing and am getting confused!

Can I do what I've described using Home Premium Edition? If so, this is the one I'll go for!

Thanks

Mark

pparks1 · 20 May 2010

Compatibility mode in 7 Home Premium...yes no problem.

XP mode is not included by default with XP Home Premium.

Bare Foot Kid · 20 May 2010

Hello marco772.

Here is a very useful tutorial, at the link below; all versions support compatibility mode. (I don't know about Basic/Starter)

Compatibility Mode

Bill2 · 20 May 2010

Hi marco,

The XP mode is like having XP OS running from within your Win7 OS. Instead of having to dual boot, you can easily switch between the two, share drives and folders and have seamless (to a large extent) integration between the two. This feature is not enabled in Home Premium.

OTOH, compatibility mode is meant to provide support for legacy apps that were designed for XP or other windows OSs. This feature is present in all editions of win7.

Having said that, you can create something very siilar to XP mode in Home premium, using the free VM Player.

Create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Versions & Vista - How-To Geek

Also, the following link briefly compares different win7 editions.

Windows 7: Compare Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate

marco772 · 20 May 2010

Many thanks to you all! I was obviously muddling Compatibility Mode with XP Mode.

Thanks again!

Mark

celldweller1591 · 20 May 2010

it is actually a para-virtualisation alike concept which allows your virtual xp all the hardware and all drives are at network for vm to access. this can be done using VMware or Virtual box also. you can use them side by side. The unity feature in Vmware is same but better in functionality.