XP MODE - a disappointment and not fit for purpose

[jimbo45]

Hi all
I'm a great believer and big user of Virtual Machines.

Looking at XP mode I thought this really had potential - just download a pre-configured xp vm and start running legacy applications without any more ado -- ideal for small businesses in going to W7 without the need of large dedicated IT depts . The "key" or "power" user could sort all this out for a smallish business -- there's always at least ONE power user in these type of organisations -- you know the one's I mean who seem to be able to fix all the computer stuff without the need of a separate IT section.

However XP mode really disappoints on these two (IMO) show stopping points.

1) It's as slow as molasses - even on a FAST QUAD 16 MB host machine.

2) Using the Integration feature the display level is set to a very low resolution. You can improve this by switching off the Integration feature - but isn't the Integration feature exactly what makes this ideal for a small business.

Now if you install a separate XP VM using VMWARE or VIRTUAL BOX the virtual system will operate at almost native speed - light years ahead of XP MODE.

Of course the disdvantage is you need a separate XP license and you need virtual machine software which in the case of vmware isn't free. I think also that Virtual Box costs money if you use it in a commercial environment like a small office.

Of course there's the option of Virtual Server from vmware which is free but setting this up for a small organisation isn't a trivial task.

So MS thumbs down on this one -- at least for now.

It really needs a HUGE amount of optimisation to make this useable in an office. While testing in development we can put up with poor response times as we know we are just testing but imagine the frutration of a typical user having to wait 10 secs or more each time they press a key.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[TRayT]

I found it rather disappointing as well, but mostly because it doesn't give any benefits that running XP doesn't. I was expecting to see the ability to use programs for both Windows XP and Windows 7 to interact with each other.

 

[icenine]

hmm interesting post. i haven't noticed anything stupidly slow on XPM. Then again i do not have any apps that are not compatible with win7. Unless you count Panda Cloud Antivirus, but that's not really a true test. That app is set up to be as nimble as possible. I have an XP license around here somewhere, i'll load it up and see if i notice a difference.
i'm running on a Xeon Quad E5410 2.33GHz with 10GB ram. Jimbo any attainable apps i can throw on there to test?

 

[z3r010]

XP mode is fast as hell on my rig

 

[Airbot]

It is very very slow initializing among other things as well for me.

 

[Night Hawk]

I run the XP mode as well as having Vista on the Virtual PC for 7. With the XP mode you have readily available access to all internal drives while Vista has one for dvd?!

Do I need the XP mode? Not really having just about every that ran on the 32bit XP now seen on the 64bit 7! But in order to find out just what it is you have to have it on and run it. The images here will show how things seem to run otherwise like you would expect to see from a normal installation.

Now even the startup sound(wav file) I assigned for 7 is heard loading the XP mode desktop! You are likely running into a lack of support for virtualization or may need to redo it over again to see better results. The images here show a normal OS by functionality.

The startup is usually a little slow but has to be expected.

 

[Brink]

XP Mode initializes slow (about a minute) for me to, but it runs fast once it is running.

 

[Night Hawk]

Even with Vista the initialization is slow for the vhd there as well. I think that's related directly to the virtual machine's processing more then anything. You're opening a doorway in Windows itself in order to another version while still being isolated but still grabbing some shared resources.

This is being posted from the XP mode itself.

 

[Dzomlija]

My rig, Prometheus, runs Windows XP Mode without any problems or slowdowns. I'd recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat...

 

[Night Hawk]

The only thing I find a bit annoying is simply not being able to increase the virtual window itself. The maximize button simply slams the window into the upper side. I'm not looking for full screen but a larger window.

 

[Win7User512]

My XP runs fine. Just startup and shutdown take forever.

 

[Night Hawk]

It takes about a minute or so for the VPC to initialize. The XP mode comes after like a normal XP startup but already at the logon screen when first seen.

 

[Win7User512]

It takes about a minute or so for the VPC to initialize. The XP mode comes after like a normal XP startup but already at the logon screen when first seen.

Mine seem to take longer to start.

 

[Night Hawk]

It also have something to do with what you have on it as well as the activities 7 is seeing. You first have to look at how much memory was assigned for what along with the amount of virtual drive space.

When attaching the vhd for two separate installations having backed up the first and attaching the first in the disk management some unallocated space had to filled in. This was on the expandable vhd not fixed to one size for both that and seen with the one for Vista. The partitions were simply expanded for both to see that solved.

Drive space and a virtual paging file? The vhds were 100gb on the 500gb drive used. If you only saw the minimum or a little above that might be thought as well as ? plus ? since each system has a different environment.

 

[icenine]

The only thing I find a bit annoying is simply not being able to increase the virtual window itself. The maximize button simply slams the window into the upper side. I'm not looking for full screen but a larger window.

That's odd, I can resize the virtual window just like any other window.

 

[copernicus]

XP mode is slow slow slow for me as well, both in booting and running programs.

Trying to get to network locations usually crashes it as well, i have to use the mapped network drives of mapped network drives to get to that data.

Boo urns for xp mode from me.

 

[Night Hawk]

That's odd, I can resize the virtual window just like any other window.

I originally saw a little more flexibility with the first installations before reconfiguring things ending up with multiple installations of 7 on this particular drive. The problem is being seen in the present default installation of the second 64bit 7 while seems normal in the host boot installation there.

The XP/Vista dual boot was first replaced with the 32bit RC on the host/boot drive after it was on the former XP drive later to see a 64bit array with the two and now whatever comes along! I simply see an upgrade each time since it's not the host installation.

 

[Davy7RC]

I tried it also....don't see any difference in speed while browsing from Vista or 7. Startup takes about 15-20 secs, while hibernation is kinda slow; the only thing that sux is not being able to use my webcam; everything I tried failed and everywhere I read said no go for cams....says it's not fast enough for the driver of the cam, or something to that effect. Has anyone gotten a webcam to work with Virtual XP?

 

[Night Hawk]

I still haven't been able to initialize the tv tuner card. And most likely that will be a no go for the web cam and any other addon devices.

The whole design and purpose for the XP mode is simply to allow older XP softwares to run in a virtual environment. It was never intended to replace a normal installation where everything is available as seen with a dual boot of both XP and 7. You can still try however.

 

[OEM]

I've been playing with it for a day or so and for the most part am pleased with it. It is after all a VM, so expecting to see all kinds of devices being compatible and run older 3d xp games is mostly out of the question.

Other than the slow startup (which is expected, it's just as if your booting into a OS, which you are, but within an OS.) it runs good, no complaints. Bumping up the ram helped from the default 256. It should help those that have some ram to spare.

Overall I'm happy with it, and think it will serve its intended purpose for most.