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 of Ridgefield, Conn.-based New England Computer Group, 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 of Black Warrior Technology, a Northport, Ala.-based solution provider, ran into a hardware compatibility issue with XP Mode running on an Intel Pentium D processor. After looking into the matter, Rue realized that the Pentium D doesn't come with the virtualization support necessary to run XP Mode.

However, because the Pentium D is less than three years old -- which is the magic window being touted by Microsoft and others -- it's possible that other customers may run into the same situation, Rue noted.

Nonetheless, 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 2 gigabytes of RAM and 15 gigabytes of 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 of sales and marketing at Bold Data Technology, a Fremont, Calif.-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."

This article updated on 8/11/2009 at 12:57 Pacific Time to clarify comments from Chris Rue, CEO of Black Warrior Technology

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