Windows 7 XP Mode Hits Patch Of Turbulence

XP Mode has been hailed within the Microsoft channel as a potentially effective carrot for enticing small businesses to upgrade to Windows 7, but reports of glitches in XP Mode suggest that it might not be easy to use.

The CRN Test Center recently ran into problems after installing XP Mode and Virtual PC on a machine with a verified AMD-V virtualization processor. Although the Test Center found that the issue can be solved by upgrading the BIOS to the latest version, small businesses might not have the time or resources to find their way out of the mess, according to some solution providers.

Frank Ballatore, President and CEO, New England Computer Group, a Connecticut-based company, has been using XP Mode as a selling point in conversations with customers that were scared off by the application compatibility that dogged Windows Vista. While Ballatore doesn't expect XP Mode glitches to impact many customers, he acknowledges that they could have an impact on some.

Chris Rue, CEO, Black Warrior Technology, Alabama-based solution provider, has run into a hardware compatibility issue with XP Mode running on an Intel Pentium D processor, but chalks this up to the fact that XP Mode is still in release candidate stage.
Rue sees XP Mode as a positive sign that shows Microsoft is well aware of the difficulties users faced with Vista and is doing everything in its power to address them.

"For vendors, backward compatibility can be a bad thing because it gives people wiggle room to stick with what they have," Rue said. "One of the biggest barriers to upgrades is when a previous product is good enough, so anything that XP Mode can do to sooth people's Windows 7 upgrade fears is a positive."

Microsoft says XP Mode, a virtual Windows XP SP3 environment running under Windows Virtual PC, will deliver the best experience on new hardware. XP Mode requires PCs with at least 2GB RAM and 15GB free hard drive space, and it only runs on virtualization-enabled processors from Intel and AMD.

Upgrading hardware may be a tough sell for recession-weary companies, and Microsoft will need to iron out the technical glitches in the XP Mode. But overall, XP Mode is a promising sign that Microsoft is committed to the notion of backward compatibility, says Andrew Kretzer, Director, Sales and marketing, Bold Data Technology, California-based system builder.

"Whether XP Mode will be enough to get people to upgrade remains to be seen, but this is definitely the right way to deal with the issue of backward compatibility," said Kretzer. "There will be glitches, as there always are with any new software solution, but this sort of backward compatibility will only get robust as time goes on."