Planning to Use Windows 7's XP Mode? Better Check Your Processor

While Microsoft has never kept it a secret, XP Mode is really a two-part solution that is composed of its free Virtual PC application and a specially created virtual machine running Windows XP Service Pack 3. The situation at hand is that this pair requires hardware to support virtualization at the chip level, either Intel VT (Virtual Technology) or AMD-V, depending on which company's CPU the system is built on.

When the CRN Test Center first learned about this requirement, the general impression was that most CPUs in the field wouldn't have a problem with it. But when we started testing, it turned out to be a bigger issue than we anticipated. As we went from PC to PC in our lab, we quickly discovered that there are many Intel processors available without VT support.

What really confuses the matter is that there is no surefire way to tell which CPUs, and therefore computers, do or don't meet the necessary requirements. Determining VT support is not as simple as checking the processor's architecture (Pentium, Core 2, etc.). It can only be determined by looking at the individual model number of the CPU, or by checking to see if there is an option to enable VT in the BIOS.

In general, the lower-priced processors in the line do not support VT. Because of this, many businesses that were cost-conscious when purchasing their computers may now find themselves regretting that decision.

It's important to note that this will only be a problem for customers that need to use XP Mode to run legacy applications that don't function correctly on native Windows 7. Sadly, these are most likely the same users who never thought they'd have a need for virtualization, and therefore chose cost savings over the extra functionality.

No one specific company is really to blame here. Intel has offered processors to meet the technical and budgetary needs of its customers, and Microsoft has found a way to respond to the complaints it heard during the beta phase of the new operating system. Unfortunately, both companies are now finding themselves in a public relations dilemma that will not be so easy to resolve and, as usual, the end user will end up paying the price.