Windows XP mode doesn't start right after installation

[mmo]

On one of my two system XP mode doesn't start.

On both systems I have installed Win7 Ultimate. First updated both systems from the Update site, then I installed Virtual PC and then Windows XP mode. On one system after the end of the XP installation everything works fine, the VM starts as expected and I can install XP apps.

On the other, after entering the XPMUser-pwd the system says it's now launching XP mode for the first time to configure it, but then the progress bar "starting XPMode for the first time" (or so...) gets slower and slower and after maybe 5 minutes I get an error message that configuration of XP mode failed.

Any ideas? What could cause Windows XP Mode to fail starting?

Just in case: I ran the havdetection tool on both systems, on both the virtualization is enabled on the BIOS. And, yes, I rebooted both after the installation of the fixes and of Virtual PC, as suggested each time.

Michael

PS.: somehow I can't help and apple's ad comes to mind: "trust me! This time everything will be better." Well, problems are starting even earlier than ever this time

 

[HughShaw]

I think I had a similar problem, and I ended up updating my BIOS which fixed the problem.

And once you discover how slow XP Mode is, download VMware Player 3.0 and transfer over your base VHD. It's much faster at running XP...I can even play games!

 

[mmo]

I think I had a similar problem, and I ended up updating my BIOS which fixed the problem...

I already have updated my BIOS before installing Windows 7. The manuf's website explicitly had mentioned that this BIOS upgrade was specifically targetted (and necessary) for Windows 7. So, guess that prereq I can check off.

Any other idea what could cause XPMode startup hang?

M.

 

[mmo]

Strange enough, in the 10th (or so) attempt the thing finally - again after quite some waiting time - came up and finally continued to "load settings", bringing up the XP desktop etc..

That is, it finally started and seems to behave "normal" so far (I hope at least...). But that wasn't exactly a very convincing first appearance...

M.

 

[HughShaw]

XP Mode will do this from time to time. Once in a while it won't be able to start, or it won't be able to get integration to work. For me, it was buggy to say the least. But sometimes it worked perfectly.

Once you get tired of the slow XPM, be sure to check out the free VMware Player. It can import your base VHD (w/o any installed programs) from XPM. Once you got it all set-up, you can delete XPM and Virtual PC. Just be sure to save the XPM base VHD file (about 1.12GB) and move it to your VMware working directory.