When Microsoft announced Virtual XP Mode support for Windows 7 most of the community was thrilled. Most thought that it would combine the improvements of Windows 7 with the ability to fall back to Windows XP whenever they needed to. Many thought games probably but that was not the reason why Microsoft added the mode as an option to Windows 7. The main reason – in my humble opinion – is to show companies that they can move to Windows 7 even if they run software that has been specifically designed and tested on Windows XP systems. Virtual XP Mode will be there so that the software can be run under Windows 7 as well.
The hardware requirements for Virtual XP Mode are not that different from the general Windows 7 requirements. A user wanting to use the mode needs a cpu that is supporting hardware virtualization and about 15 Gigabytes of additional hard drive space. One would think that all modern cpus from either Intel or AMD support hardware virtualization. This is however not the case as Ed Bott discovered painfully. Painfully in the way that it is surely no fun to check all Intel processor families for hardware virtualization support.
It does not necessarily have to end as bad as the Vista Capable disaster as the terms are different this time. Back then Vista Capable logos were given to computer systems with graphic adapters not capable of the full Aero mode. A few reasons speak against it:
- Virtual XP Mode will not be used by the majority of users. It is not available in all Windows 7 editions and Microsoft clearly aims at companies and organizations, not end users.
- There will be no special Virtual XP Mode Logo
It is however very likely that at least some users will be disappointed that their Intel cpu will not be able to run the virtual mode. Here is the list that Ed Bott assembled:
Desktop CPUS
Core 2 Duo
E4300/4400/4500/4600/4700 NO
E6300/6320/6400/6420/6540/6550 YES
E6600/6700/6750/6850 YES
E7200/7300/7400/7500 NO
E8190 NO
E8200/8300/8400/8500/8600 YES
Core 2 Extreme
QX6700/6800/6850 YES
QX9650/9770/9775 YES
X6800 YES
Core 2 Quad
Q6600/6700 YES
Q8200/8200S/8300/8400/8400S NO
Q9300/9400/9400S YES
Q9450/9550/9550S/9650 YES
Core i7/Core i7 Extreme
I7-920/940 YES
I7-965 YES
Pentium D/Pentium EE
805/820/830/840 NO
915/925/935/945 NO
920/930/940/950/960 YES
955/965 YES
Pentium for Desktop
E2140/2160/2180/2200/2220 NO
E5200/5300/5400 NO
Mobile CPU products
Core 2 Duo Mobile
L7200/7300/7400/7500 YES
P7350/7450 NO
P7370 YES
P8400/8600/8700/9500/9600 YES
SL9300/9400/9600 YES
SP9300/9400/9600 YES
SU9300/9400/9600 YES
T5200/5250/5270/5300/5450/5470 NO
T5500/5600 YES
T5550/5670/5750/5800/5850/5870/5900 NO
T6400/6570 NO
T7100/7200/7250/7300/7400 YES
T7500/7600/7700/7800 YES
T8100/8300 YES
T9300/9400/9500/9550/9600/9800 YES
U7500/U7600 YES
Core 2 Extreme Mobile
QX9300 YES
X7800/7900 YES
X9000/9100 YES
Core 2 Quad Mobile
Q9000 YES
Q9100 NO
Core 2 Solo
SU3300/3500 YES
U2100/2200 YES
Core Duo
L2300/2400/2500 YES
T2050/2250 NO
T2300/2400/2500/2600/2700 YES
T2300E/2350/2450 NO
U2400/2500 YES
Core Solo
T1300/1400 YES
T1350 NO
U1300/1400/1500 YES
