options running XP on newer PCs?

Wssnt sure if I should ask in the "Hardware-System Upgrade" or Windows.

 

My 2005 Dell desktop running XP is having issues, and I'm thinking about a newer PC but want to run XP. I dont have the install discs (it's stored on the PC), so I would have to get those - XP PRO seems to be required if you want to run Windows Virtual PC on Win7/8… unless other brands of  Virtual programs will run earlier XP versions?
 
So I'm wondering what's the best way to run XP on newer PCs that typically have Win7 or 8 pre-installed. I'd prefer not wipe out the original OS, even though they take up space. I would imagine it would work best on a separate partition…? I dont want to get into a 2nd HDD.
I've read that there wont be XP drivers for newer PCs, so compatibility sounds like an issue.
Here's my questions and exploration of the options. Brief answers (yes, no, wrong, etc) would be helpful since I won't understand too detailed explanations.

Does XP work better in 1) XP Mode, 2) as a Virtual PC, or 3) on separate partition?

The advantage of the first is you dont need XP install discs, and it seems to be easily accessible. Disadvantage is you dont get the XP appearance, and it's only available on Win7 Pro and up.

The advantage of Windows Virtual PC is you can load XP (Pro only) on Win7 Home and up (unlike XP Mode that requires Win7 Pro), BUT you need the XP Pro install discs.
Can you use another brand Virtual PC on Win7 or 8 and use any XP version instead of XP Pro?

Advantage of separate partitions is you are actually running XP and getting XP window, rather than Virtual version. Can you load ANY XP version? Is this faster than using XP in Virtual PC?
Disadvantage is you have to install programs twice if you want both OS to use it.
Major disadvantage is it seems XP cannot be installed on pre-loaded Win7 or Win8.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-more-than-one-operating-system-multiboot

I noticed that Win7, and programs in general, work really fast on my 2011 PC (6 RAM, Intel i5). Is that because of the hardware or OS, or both? Would XP work almost as fast?

I would run it as a virtual client under Oracle VirtualBox.

 

Does XP work better in 1) XP Mode, 2) as a Virtual PC, or 3) on separate partition?

short answer 3, works best on a separate partition.

long answer

1:- impossible, xp mode is used by the win 7 os to run some programs written for the xp os but now installed and used on a win 7 pc so you can not install xp in xp mode on a win 7 os.

2:- works well enough.

3:- works best.

 

 

I noticed that Win7, and programs in general, work really fast on my 2011 PC (6 RAM, Intel i5). Is that because of the hardware or OS, or both? Would XP work almost as fast?

yes it's because of the hardware so that means xp will also work faster, just not as fast as win 7 or win 8 (doubt you'd notice much difference in real world usage.) because they are faster operating systems anyway.

 

in my honest opinion, ditch xp and get used to using win7 or win 8, if there are any programs you need and use now in xp either find versions that run in win 7/8 or find equivalent ones to use.

 

as a last resort then yes, i'd run win 7/8 and install a virtual xp system onto it, probably using virtualbox, but if i really needed xp then i'd either install it to a separate hard drive and change boot order of drives any time i needed to run xp or do a complete re-install of both xp and win 7/8 os in that order on a single hard drive and dual boot that way.

 

 

Can you load ANY XP version?

yes you can load any xp version onto a separate partition or onto a virtual machine running on win 7/8 as long as you own a windows key for it.

 

just to reiterate tho you're much better off security wise ditching xp altogether and concentrate on using win 7/8 and getting it to work/look how you want, with the programs you want/need to use.

 

thanks very much, Terry. Some questions.

I think my newer PC has W7 Home - I upgraded it with a Pro key for the XP Mode option, but never used the option because you were suppose to download Virtual PC which required 20 GB, and I balked at the idea. So I kept using my older PC with XP, except for video projects which required the newer PC. Now that my older PC might be dying, I'm revisiting the XP issue.

 

Regarding your first point, I've read XP MODE was equivalent to running XP in a virtual environ, so I'm not sure what you mean by it's impossible. I wasnt suggesting loading XP on the W7 machine since that would defeat the purpose of having XP MODE - I was asking how XP MODE compared (pros and cons) to the two options in my list. I've even read of a workaround to use XP MODE in W8, not that I'm looking to do that. http://lifehacker.com/5965889/how-to-run-windows-xp-for-free-in-windows-8

 

Regarding partitions, I need to have the OS install discs for a new PC and for XP (any version). The CON is if there are programs that work on both OS, and I want to have them available on both, I need to install them twice (taking up time and memory).

 

Which XP install discs is also a question (they didnt come with my old PC). I dont know from experience which scenario will work best for me (maybe I'll hate partitions, rebooting between the two OS, or having to use a thumbdrive to transfer data between the two OS, and would prefer Virtualware). I was thinking I should get the most compatible version for the worst case (most limiting) situation - such as if I get a W8 PC, and cant run another brand virtualware…I would need Microsoft Hyper-V which requires XP PRO. I know I'm being overly cautious, but you know how things have a way of going completely wrong, or against your expectations.

 

My premise of the post isnt "Should I use XP now," but how, There are some programs that dont have upgrades for W7, or I dont like the upgrades. I tried modding Win7 for an XP Classic look (for reading purposes), but I cant get a consistent, readable appearance for internet pages. I also dont use tablets, cell phones, etc. so new OS that try to match those interfaces are even more alien. Hopefully I'll drop dead before you have to wear google glasses to interact with a desktop.

sorry my misunderstanding thought you wanted to install xp in xp mode (which is already a virtual xp machine) on a win7/8 machine.

 

never run anything using windows xp mode so don't know of any advantages/disadvantages over running a virtualbox windows xp install.

both are xp running in a virtual environment. my choice out of the 2 would be virtualbox, the same as ztruckers, but that's just because it's what i know works

 

 

My premise of the post isnt "Should I use XP now," but how,

 

pros and cons between virtual and native xp install.

 

well the main one is performance, virtual will not come close to a native xp install.

here's a good explanation :- http://lifehacker.com/5901055/should-i-run-a-second-operating-system-in-a-virtual-machine-or-dual-boot

 

so it's down to personal choice, i've run virtual xp without any problems for a long time before, but then again i didn't use it for much more than web browsing.

 

if it's going to used more like a main system, than just every now and then for one program or another, i'd always recommend doing a full install to hard drive and dual booting before running it in a virtual machine.

 

thanks, Terry.

I kinda figured a real install would work better than virtual, although they say it might run as well if a PC has at least 8 RAM (mentioned on Lifehacker). That's important in case I change my mind, or have compatibility issues - I've read that there might not be drivers available for XP and some new hardware. If I get a new PC running W8 today, will installing XP work, or will I get some "driver" issues? Are the drivers for XP itself, or for other programs or external hardware I might run under XP?

If XP itself has these driver issues, would it also have them running as a virtual OS, or would they not be a problem?

 

And since I need to buy XP, is there a "best" version to get for compatibility? Do install discs have the capability of installing either X32 or X64?

Thanks in advance for any more help. Looks like I'll need to do something soon.

I disagree. Newer systems with sufficient ram will run XP as a virtual guest as well as older computers did running native on the hardware.

I think it would be a waste of time to setup a dual boot with XP and Windows 8 or 88.1 which is what new computers will have and as you said, there is the problem of finding drivers for XP for new hardware.

 

Virtual is the way to go. An added advantage, one I make use of quite often) is being able to run XP on my Windows 8 Desktop and copy and paste between them. XP boots in about 8 seconds.

Major disadvantage is it seems XP cannot be installed on pre-loaded Win7 or Win8.

That would depend on the type of computer. If t is a bare bones, not a branded computer, the OS should be on a disk. This would not be a restore disk but a full Win 7/8 install disk. The HD would need to be formated and the the older OS needs to be installed first on it's own partition. Win7/8 can then be installed on a different partition.

Virtual is the way to go. An added advantage, one I make use of quite often) is being able to run XP on my Windows 8 Desktop and copy and paste between them. XP boots in about 8 seconds.

This is probably the best. Even though the partitions are visible from the other one there really isn't a way to work on something with both OSs other than booting to the other OS.

just to reiterate tho you're much better off security wise ditching xp altogether and concentrate on using win 7/8 and getting it to work/look how you want, with the programs you want/need to use.

You will need to bite the bullet sooner or later.

I think it would be a waste of time to setup a dual boot with XP and Windows 8 or 88.1 which is what new computers will have and as you said, there is the problem of finding drivers for XP for new hardware.

.

When you say new hardware, do you mean the PC itself? or newer hardware like scanners, etc. which I could use with the other OS (if I use partitions)?

 

just to reiterate tho you're much better off security wise ditching xp altogether and concentrate on using win 7/8 and getting it to work/look how you want, with the programs you want/need to use.

You will need to bite the bullet sooner or later.

 

 

besides running older programs, and having the desktop text-size of XP Classic, I also wanted it for the internet. I spent a long time trying to configure Win7 and could never get the text to be as legible or consistent, even with a fake XP skin-whatever. So security would be a problem…but at least I could use XP offline at that point

 

Newer systems with sufficient ram will run XP as a virtual guest as well as older computers did running native on the hardware.

no way, unless things have changed a lot since i've used it. the biggest reason for that was the graphics performance and why virtual pc's were no good for playing games.

i believe depending on hardware you can now get native passthrough of the gpu so you can get near 99% of the graphics cards performance, but it is very hardware specific and last i heard was still a bit hit and miss, great when it works but not all pc's can use it.

 

anything non graphics heavy tho then yes the performance isn't much different and more than adequate for most things.

 

 

 

If XP itself has these driver issues, would it also have them running as a virtual OS, or would they not be a problem?

yes you may get driver issues for newer hardware running natively, but no those issues will not necessarily be there when running in a virtual environment.

you have to understand an os installed on virtual system uses virtual hardware, it's the host machines os that needs working drivers for the real hardware and not any guest os like xp.

 

thing to do in my opinion is start off using a virtual system, if you find it's not upto the job then do a native install of xp to the hard drive.

 

 

And since I need to buy XP, is there a "best" version to get for compatibility? Do install discs have the capability of installing either X32 or X64?

no there isn't a best version for compatibility, if things work in xp home they will work in xp pro as far as i'm aware.

 

can't remember if xp pro offered the choice of installing both 32bit and 64bit, but i think with all versions of xp they were disc specific so if you wanted 64bit os then that's what disc you needed to buy.

 

I should mention I am not a gamer, and hopefully wont be put in the position of having to use a PC to watch movies. I only edit or process audio and video files (as an amateur), which can be demanding of the system. This newer PC with Wn7 is great, except not all programs will run on it.

 

I've read XP 32bit is a safer bet to use than 64bit…true?

 

As I would be getting a pre-loaded PC, I guess it makes sense to run XP as virtual first, since I'll have to reformat it if I want to try partitions. In the virtual version, can you have the entire screen be an XP environment, or is it just the discrete window indicating the program you chose to run?

Thanks for clarifying about the drivers.

2d graphics performance and watching movies in a virtual machine was never a problem for me performance wise it's just the 3d graphics performance where you really noticed the difference between native and virtual pc's.

 

most if not all virtual pc software can operate in a seemless mode, that is they use the whole screen just as if it was the only os running.

 

yes i'd go for 32bit in xp, but for all other os then i'd use 64bit.

 

most if not all virtual pc software can operate in a seemless mode, that is they use the whole screen just as if it was the only os running.

 

 

even internet browsing, up/downloading, and torrents?

yes, in seemless mode you see exactly the same thing on your monitor as if you were just running a normal native xp pc system and not a virtual pc system.

 

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/171145/use-virtualboxs-seamless-mode-or-vmwares-unity-mode-to-seamlessly-run-programs-from-a-virtual-machine/

huh. Well maybe I'll just try it on my current Win7 pc. I have 1 TB with only 50 gb free - it's so easy to just let things pile up.

 

One thing I'd like to change first is returning my system to whatever Win7 it had. I upgraded it with a PRO key I bought. I dont recall if I had to reformat to use it at the time….I'm wondering if I would need to reformat to remove it and downgrade? I googled the question but I'm not sure if replies were applicable to my exact situation.