XP Mode

sygnus21 · 14 Apr 2010

huffman said:

I ran across this article and it is the best explaination of XP Mode and VirtualBox I have seen anywhere:

Win 7's XP Mode And VirtualBox: When You Need Windows XP : Introduction

Completely agree. For anyone wishing to explain XP Mode, this is it.

Bookmarked. Thanks

squall leonhart · 15 Apr 2010

VirtualBox lacks D3D support under 8 and over 9.

not surprising since D3D7 requires patching DDraw.dll and in turn causes a infinite loop of fail as OpenGL32.dll which i assume virtualbox uses to emulate dx8 and 9, requires the original ddraw.dll.

unsurprisingly it doesn't fix the lack of d3d7< 16bpp dithering either on G80 and higher even if you manage to get Wine for windows to work.

gunna get the virtualbox source soon and look at implementing Host OS display mode switching or some manner of flat panel scaling emulation, configurable of course.

unsurprisingly,... a recent windows update (i think) has killed Sudeki on windows 7. yet it works fine via VirtualBox.

Kari · 15 Apr 2010

A practical tip to speed up XP Mode and other Virtual PC machines. Windows XP Mode Help

Kari

squall leonhart · 15 Apr 2010

Doesn't matter how much ram you add to XP Mode, it still moves like a turtle. Unsurprising to be honest, prepackaged installations don't optimise very well.

What is surprising, is the lack of available display modes and colour formats, since xpmode is limited to something like 1440x???? and 16bpp depth.

i doubt theres going to be a special hotfix to add more display modes, like there was with virtualpc 07.

logicearth · 15 Apr 2010

squall leonhart said:

What is surprising, is the lack of available display modes and colour formats, since xpmode is limited to something like 1440x???? and 16bpp depth.

If you turn off Integration it won't be limited in display modes. With the Integration features turned on it uses Remote Desktop which is what creates the limitation.

squall leonhart · 15 Apr 2010

logicearth said:

squall leonhart said:

What is surprising, is the lack of available display modes and colour formats, since xpmode is limited to something like 1440x???? and 16bpp depth.

If you turn off Integration it won't be limited in display modes. With the Integration features turned on it uses Remote Desktop which is what creates the limitation.

i didn't have integration enabled at the time, and it still only supported 16bpp depth.

however i can't say i really payed much attention to it after discovering how limited the VM configuration was compared to other free VM's

Dark Nova Gamer · 15 Apr 2010

squall leonhart said:

logicearth said:

squall leonhart said:

What is surprising, is the lack of available display modes and colour formats, since xpmode is limited to something like 1440x???? and 16bpp depth.

If you turn off Integration it won't be limited in display modes. With the Integration features turned on it uses Remote Desktop which is what creates the limitation.

i didn't have integration enabled at the time, and it still only supported 16bpp depth.

however i can't say i really payed much attention to it after discovering how limited the VM configuration was compared to other free VM's

I personally prefer VMWare even though it feels bloated. (Probably the installer size that makes me feel like its bloated).

You can get 24-bit color depth in XP Mode with a simple tweak. Just not 32-bit color depth.

logicearth · 15 Apr 2010

So very wrong. See screenshot below. Just installed the XP Mode image from Microsoft not 30 minutes ago. (No tweaks used)

squall leonhart · 15 Apr 2010

lucky you, still, i find the installation of xpmode rather drawn out and invasive considering the few things necessary to actually run it.

now whether it can launch starcraft is another matter

Kari · 15 Apr 2010

logicearth said:

So very wrong. See screenshot below. Just installed the XP Mode image from Microsoft not 30 minutes ago. (No tweaks used)

Nice to see somebody telling the truth, instead of these 'I've not tested but I know' comments.

I really dislike these comments made by people who base their opinion on what they feel or have heard, not bothering to check the facts first. Like this:

squall leonhart said:

i didn't have integration enabled at the time, and it still only supported 16bpp depth.

Simply not true.

squall leonhart said:

however i can't say i really payed much attention to it after discovering how limited the VM configuration was compared to other free VM's

Good base to offer advice, not paying attention.

Kari