XP Mode - Can't Connect to Internet

Most of the time the XP Mode is typically automatic depending on the host connection type. With cable internet here running from modem to nic card even a live Linux distro as well as any other vhd or VMs will readily connect except the custom 7 install on the VPC where a network adapter change was required.

Hi Rex, welcome to the Seven Forums.

Wireless is also a NIC, Network Interface Controller. Normally XP Mode, or any other Virtual PC virtual machine, is easiest to connect to network and Internet using the the host machine's NIC, in your case your WiFi adapter.

Here's (a bit confusing?) screenshot. I intentionally disabled my LAN connection, using WiFi only. I then changed XP Mode's settings, so it was using host machine's Wifi adapter as adapter 1. The screenshot clearly shows that my host is connected to Internet using WiFi only, and that XP Mode also is connected to network using host's WiFi adapter only.



One more important thing the screenshot shows is that because all virtual machines, including XP Mode, are using emulated hardware, the devices and device names can and quite often do differ from those of the host. For instance, the NIC XP Mode emulates is the one you tried to disable, Intel 21140-Based PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter. Please do not disable it, without it enabled and working you can not connect to network.

This is a good example of what hardware emulation means. Although the XP Mode is de facto connected using the network adapter (WiFi or LAN) of the host machine, XP Mode always thinks it's using Intel 21140-Based PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter. This also means that although I in this example am connected only using WiFi, XP Mode thinks it's using a wired LAN connection.

Kari

By default, XP Mode is available to all users, to be found in each user account's Start Menu. Each user has an independent XP Mode, so if you install an application to Host machine User A > XP Mode, it have to be separately installed to Host machine User B > XP Mode if that user also needs the said application.

XP Mode has by default two vhd's (virtual hard disk), a base vhd file called XP Mode base.vhd (C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\Xp Mode base.vhd), which contains the base, files needed for XP Mode to run, and the so called differencing, changeable vhd XP Mode.vhd (C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\XP Mode.vhd). This latter vhd file is where all your installed applications, modifications and personal files are stored.

To learn more, and to find out how to allow all users to use one common XP Mode, please read these two posts:
In XP Mode, where does the Hard Disk come from?
https://www.sevenforums.com/virtualiz...tml#post751417

Kari