How to put VirtualPC & XP Mode on non OS drive

[amg08]

Hi,
I downloaded Virtual pc and Windows XP Mode and it didn't give me the choice
of which drive to install on.
Did I miss something or is it auto to the OS drive.?

I want to put these programs on another drive if possible.

Thanks in advance

 

[ElectricRider]

Try this:

Don't use Virtual PC to run XP Mode. It's horrible at it and not needed. All Virtual PC is, is Microsoft's version of a virtual machine software. You can use any "VM" program to run XP Mode like VirtualBox or VMware But there is a great app that was made just for XP Mode and to run it better than any other. It's called VMLite XP Mode. VMLite XP Mode Overview you have to register for the forum to be able to download the "VMLite Workstation" software that runs XP Mode. This is a special VM software that's made just for XPMode. Registration and the download are free.

When you install the software you should be able to install it on whatever drive folder you choose. After it's installed, navigate to your XP Mode folder and find the XP Mode virtual image file. You can copy this file to your other drive and tell the VMLite software to load the XP Mode from that. I haven't tried this but I don't see why it will not work. XP Mode is only run from the virtual hard drive file and does not really need anything else in that XP Mode folder. ( I think it's called XPMode.vhd)

Let me know if you try this if it works for you.

 

[carwiz]

And what if you don't have XP to load onto VMLite? Microsoft VM-XP comes with XP Pro. VMLite makes it sound like you need to have a v-t enabled processor to run MS VM. That's not the case. But if you do, it's blistering fast.

 

[ElectricRider]

VMLite makes it sound like you need to have a v-t enabled processor to run MS VM. That's not the case. But if you do, it's blistering fast.

I don't get why you think VMLite makes it sound like you need to have v-t enabled? Where do you get that notion?

VMLite was designed for anyone to be able to use XP Mode even if you don't have VT on your system..They were the innovators of this. It wasn't until many months later that Microsoft dropped the VT requirements from XP Mode. And it will work on Home Premium too, but you must own a legal copy of Professional or higher to be able to download it.

 

[carwiz]

I got it from the first sentence of the Overview. But maybe I misunderstood the author.
"VMLite XP Mode offers similar functions as Microsoft Windows XP Mode, but doesn't require hardware virtualization."

VMLite is a good product, don't get me wrong, but it's short on hardware support. Namely, USB. And I concur that MS VM-XT requires Windows 7 Pro or above but it was developed for business wishing to make the transition from XP to Windows 7 without buying updated software. Few businesses run MS Home anything.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
I'd still recommend forgetting XP mode -- nice idea of MS but rather poorly implemented. The main advantage is of course you get a free copy of XP but IMO the disadvantages far outweigh this so :

Just download vmware player (FREE) from the vmware site -- stable as a rock and can now CREATE as well as run Virtual machines. You can create the VM on any disk you care to -- or a usb stick too.

Create a standard XP Virtual machine from your XP install disk (you need to have a legal copy of XP) and you can even run this on W7 Basic edition and for 32 bit GUESTS you don't need V-T enabled. You only need V-T for 64 bit Guests (note you can actually run 64 bit Guests under a 32 bit host -- but the total max ram will be 4GB since the host won't see more than 4GB).

This XP VM will have prettywell all native support that you could run on XP apart from some cases where "real hardware" is addressed -- mainly in serious gaming applications.

Audio is no problem nor are things like running Photoshop -- but you could have a problem with streaming / editing video on a virtual machine.

(The virtual XP machine you create will also run on Linux too !!).

I've got some XP VM's on a USB stick so I can run them anywhere on different computers -- all you need is vmware player.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[ElectricRider]

jimbo45,

Do you have cross integration between the host and the guest same as you would have in XP Mode, using vmware? This is one feature of XP Mode that appeals greatly to me. I can start each others programs no matter what OS, guest or host I'm using and other things.

Have you tried it in VMLite? XPMode works much better in VMLite than it does in Virtual PC. If your experience is with virtual pc, then I can understand why you didn't like it.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
the trouble with things like Vm Lite you have to be 100% careful that you aren't breaking any copyright infringement of Windows proprietary software - especially if this will be adopted by some larger companies.

There was a similar sort of offering (non virtual) a while ago of a sort of "Xp Lite" which definitely was a very borderline issue.

When using things like vmware you are of course running to all intents and purposes a totally SEPARATE machine so apart from printer integration you can't run VM applications from the HOST system and shared drives will be treated as Network drives since the two machines are essentially on a "Network".

For example if you have say Photoshop as an application on the VM you won't be able to create a shortcut to the .EXE file on the HOST system to execute it --you will have to execute the program from the VM environment. Portable files you can of course run since all you need is a link to the "shared network drive" and the program location - but that's not "Integration".


It rather depends on what you need the VM for -- however I think I prefer the method of running a VM as a "Classic" separate virtual machine even if the cost is less integration. Of course the attraction here is that you can run the VM from anywhere --even on a USB device and is INDEPENDENT of the host OS (always assuming the Host OS can read the VM's Virtual disk -- vmware VHD's are compatable across Windows and Linux.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Britton30]

The OP has asked for advice on how to install Windows Virtual PC and XP mode on another drive, not opinions on otherware.
I have no answer for him, I was asked for an install directory when I installed them.

 

[seavixen32]

Hi,
I downloaded Virtual pc and Windows XP Mode and it didn't give me the choice
of which drive to install on.
Did I miss something or is it auto to the OS drive.?

I want to put these programs on another drive if possible.

Thanks in advance

I tried Virtual PC some time ago and don't recall being given a choice as to where it was installed.

You may get more help under Support in this link: Windows Virtual PC: Home Page

However, when you have installed XP Mode, and then install an application under it, you will find it creates a folder named XP Mode Applications to store it.

 

[ElectricRider]

The OP has asked for advice on how to install Windows Virtual PC and XP mode on another drive, not opinions on otherware.

That's right. And since I know he Can do what he wants with VMLite I suggested that to fix his problem. I gave him an option I know should work. I do not know the same will work with Virtual PC because I don't use it. It had been over a week before anyone answered the poor fellow. I felt it was best to give him an option that I know should work other than letting the guy still hang out there with no answers.

 

[seavixen32]

Without wishing to get drawn into an argument over the whys and wherefores of one system over another, I gave up on XP Mode and Virtual PC because XP ran very slowly, even with 2GB of RAM allocated to the virtual machine.

I have recently downloaded VMLite and run XP Mode under it with 3GB of RAM and the difference in performance is quite remarkable. I'm very impressed with it.

 

[Kari]

Virtual PC is not an application per se, it is rather a Windows update and as such it is not installed on Program Files folder. You can for instance not find it on a list of installed programs; instead it is to be found on the list of installed Windows updates.

Most of the Virtual PC components are located in <System_Drive>\Windows\Winsxs folder. Please do not mess with this folder!

XP mode is a completely other story. It is a normal application which can be installed wherever you want to. You can change the installation folder when installing. It can be on an external drive, too.

Kari

 

[sygnus21]

The OP has asked for advice on how to install Windows Virtual PC and XP mode on another drive, not opinions on otherware.

Exactly! Whether you like XP Mode or not is irrelevent; the OP is using XP Mode, and asked a specific question about XP Mode.... Not WM Ware.

Let's try and help him with that problem.

And I would look to Kari as he's pretty good with XP Mode.

XP mode is a completely other story. It is a normal application which can be installed wherever you want to. You can change the installation folder when installing. It can be on an external drive, too.

Kari

My two cents.

 

[ElectricRider]

The OP has asked for advice on how to install Windows Virtual PC and XP mode on another drive, not opinions on otherware.

Exactly! Whether you like XP Mode or not is irrelevent; the OP is using XP Mode, and asked a specific question about XP Mode.... Not WM Ware.

Let's try and help him with that problem.

Yes, and I was doing just that. A lot of people do not understamd that all XP Mode IS, is a standard Virtual Environment, Virtual Hard Drive, Virtual Hard Disk, that happens to contain an operating system. There is nothing special about it except that it comes with a few tweaks that help it to be cross integrated into the host OS. To run XP mode you must have 2 things, the XP mode VHD file and a virtualizarion program. Microsoft Virtual PC is such a virtualization program and is set up to work with these extra features but does a poor job of it.

VMLite was designed to overcome the poor performance and limitations of Virtual PC when using it to run XP Mode.

(Question asked by a user)

Does VMLite run faster or use less memory than virtual pc? What other advantages?

Yes, VMLite runs faster. I am not sure about memory, since I seldom use vpc.

( Answer by Admin)

These are the main pros and cons of VMLite.

Pros:

(1) Runs faster. No RDP/RemoteApp is getting in the way.

(2) no requirement for VT-x or AMD-V

(3) supports more virtual disk formats

(4) vpc has a disk capacity limit of 127G, while VMLite has a limit of 2TB. 127G is way too small to run virtual machines converted from a physical computer.

(5) supports 64-bit guests, vpc only works with 32-bit guest OSes.

(6) supports multiple virtual CPUs, whereas vpc only works with a single vcpu.

(7) better and faster graphics. VMLite supports 32-bit true colors, and supports 3D/2D acceleration from version 3.1.2. VPC seems to have only 16-bit colors, and no support for 3D/2D. For example, if you play Google Earth in vpc, it will be very slow. Another example, you won't be able to play SecondLife in VPC, whereas VMLite 3.1.2 has no problems in playing SecondLife.

(8) VMLite file sharing is much faster than vpc, since we don't use tcp/ip to transfer files, instead we forward kernel level IRPs between host and vm, and between VMs.

Cons:

(1) VMLite does not support USB devices at the moment, while VPC/XP Mode has strong supports for USB devices. (We are working on it, takes quite some time, though)

(2) VPC/XP Mode does better job to integrate individual virtual apps, with taskbar integration. We are implementing this feature on VMLite too.

In summary, after we implement USB and single application mode, VMLite will be superior to VPC in every aspect.

VMLite vs virtual pc - VMLite

Both of the two "Cons" above were fixed in an update, so XP Mode running through VMLite is superior to running it through Virtual PC in every way. To lessen problems while using XP Mode I recommend anyone use VMLite to run XP mode.

You CAN run XP Mode with any other Virtualization software such as VMWare or VirtualBox but you will be missing some of those features, However, now Virtual Box and VMware is starting to put those features into their products as well. It really does not matter what program you use to run XP Mode.. it's not tied down to Virtual PC by it's license agreement. So I helped the OP with his problem the best way possible. As mentioned above you cannot install Virtual PC onto another drive because it doesnt install as a program, so my answer would help the Op the best while allowing him to maintain full functionality with the XP Mode integration features..