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For any sort of upgrade, software or hardware, compatibility problems can be true deal-breakers. If a mission-critical program originally written for Windows XP won’t run under Windows 7 then you are stuck. In this article we will discuss about a new feature called Windows XP Mode, which is Microsoft’s way of handling compatibility issues.

XP Mode virtualization can calm the pain of transition from Windows XP to Windows 7. Launched after three years of Windows Vista, Windows 7 is considered to be a win but there are certain drivers and software updates that do not work with Windows 7. Users who have held on to Windows XP are particularly exposed to compatibility issues; which is why Microsoft has created XP Mode virtualization.

XP Mode is a licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 constituted in a virtual hard disk (VHD) that runs under Windows Virtual PC. With Windows XP Mode, you can run Windows XP within Windows 7. USB devices can be added and you can consistently access drives on the host Windows 7 system. What you should notice is that Windows XP Mode allows you to use Windows 7 by offering you a platform to use legacy hardware that is not compatible with Windows 7.

Windows XP Mode is not available in all the versions of Windows 7. Only Windows Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise versions provide you with XP Mode. The components which are required for Windows XP Mode are built in to the operating system, but Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode have to be downloaded separately. Although Windows Home Premium users can not use Windows XP Mode but if they want to create their own virtual computer environment, it can be done using Windows Virtual PC.
You need to consider the following things before using XP Mode:
1. In order to use this tool you are require to have following hardware on your system:

*Processor: Processor capable of hardware virtualization, with AMD-V™ or Intel® VT turned on in the BIOS.

*Memory: 2GB of memory recommended.

*Hard disk requirement: 20MB hard disk space for installing Windows Virtual PC. Additional 15GB of hard disk space per virtual Windows environment recommended.
2. Enable hardware virtualization in BIOS.
3. Next, you’ll need to install two software packages on your PC:
*Install the Windows Virtual PC , which is the virtualization software that powers “XP Mode”.
*Install the Windows XP Mode, which is a specially crafted XP virtual machine.
4. Once you have completed those steps and restarted your computer, run the Virtual Windows XP item in the start menu, add in a password and make sure to choose to remember the credentials if you want the integration features to work smoothly.
5. Once the wizard is complete, you will see a dialog that sets up XP for use.
6. Install your applications in Windows XP.
7. Once your applications are installed and shortcuts are in the All Users start menu, they will show up in the Windows 7 start menu under the Windows Virtual PC -> Virtual Windows XP Applications folder.
Windows XP Mode has some rough edges, but once you learn how to remove those it’s an excellent power user’s tool.

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