windows-xp-mode interview questions
Top windows-xp-mode frequently asked interview questions
Does the Virtual PC XP-Mode (or any other virtualized mode) require safety measures, such as antivirus or a firewall?
I'm just wondering if the XP-Mode would be a large security loophole, since it's so much more integrated into Windows 7. Actually I'm wondering the same for Portable Ubuntu, are their any safety measures I should undertake, so that I don't open a backdoor on my computer.
Source: (StackOverflow)
Windows 7's XP Mode virtual PC supports some features that aren't 'stock' with an XP Virtual PC such as a different start-up dialog, no Shutdown button, etc. Possibly the most significant is that applications installed within the XP Mode VM appear within the Windows 7 start-menu.
I have a need for multiple XP Mode VM's--is it possible to have 2 or more XP Mode VM's, or to otherwise enable these extra integration features in an XP Virtual PC?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Does Windows 7's XP mode require hardware virtualization?
This old post indicates hardware virtualization is required, some articles say it no longer is. Do I need a CPU with hardware virtualization? Does the CPU need to be 64 bit to run Windows 7 XP mode?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have a VERY old legacy app that I've managed to move from machine to machine; the installer for it doesn't actually work under newer versions of Windows, but I was able to track down the registry changes and DLL registrations necessary to make it work. I'm able to create a desktop icon in my XP mode environment, and the program works... but I'd like to add an icon to the Windows 7 menu, and run the program in semi-native mode.
For example, the icon for Microsoft Security Essentials in XP mode has the following target:
%SystemRoot%\system32\rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\VMCPropertyHandler.dll,LaunchVMSal "Windows XP Mode" "||232f633" "Microsoft Security Essentials"
Now, the only part of that that seems to be "magic" is "||232f633" - does anyone have any idea where that comes from, or how to identify the correct equivalent for an arbitrary program? I gather that, had the program been installed normally through a .msi file (or WISE, or NSIS, or what have you), this id would have been generated automagically...
Thanks for any insights!
Source: (StackOverflow)
Running Windows 7 Pro, 32 bit.
Installed Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode. Got XP Mode working but now when I run
Start>Programs>Windows Virtual PC> Windows Virtual PC it just opens a Windows Explorer folder showing the XP Mode Virtual PC: Windows XP Mode.vmcx
What's up?
Source: (StackOverflow)
From what I understand of it, the architecture hasn't changed as much as it did from 16 bit to 32 bit so why do we need XP mode and the like to run 32 bit apps in Windows 7 64 bit?
Or have I understood it wrong?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have a PC based on a "Intel i7 975". My OS is "Win7 Ultimate 64bit", and I have installed "Windows Virtual PC" + "XP Mode". My problem is that only ONE core is virtualized, so, can I virtualize two of my four cores? Thanks!
Source: (StackOverflow)
EDIT
I appreciate the answers I've gotten so far, but I might not have worded the question clearly enough.
Is the Windows 7 side of the machine running in XP Mode exposed to any dangers it would not be if it were not running a VM in XP Mode? And are Windows 7+ machines on the network exposed to additional vulnerabilities if a machine boots up an XP VM anywhere on the network?
I realize there is no way to predict specific vulnerabilities that might arise after April 8, 2014. I appreciate the explanations that I've gotten on that, as they're well-written and straightforward. I can use the language there to impress upon our stakeholders why getting everything off of XP ASAP needs to be high on our list of priorities.
What I'm especially curious about, though, is if we can't get off of XP by the end of support, what's the risk to the machines in our environment that aren't on XP? If a virus, worm, or other compromising piece of software gets into the XP VM, is the Windows 7 side infected, too? Or can I wipe out the XP VM and wipe the sweat off of my brow?
Or is that the point? Without being able to foresee what vulnerabilities will arise, we can't really know what the impact might be outside of the XP VM itself.
OP
Our firm is working on migrating everyone from Windows XP to Windows 7, but we have some software that still requires XP. What dangers, if any, will we face in running Windows Virtual Machines in XP Mode after April 8th, 2014?
I know the XP VM would be vulnerable to basically anything that a physical XP machine would be. So I guess what I'm really asking is, what vulnerabilities will my Windows 7 machine be open to when I open a VM in XP mode on April 8th, 2014? Is the Virtual PC an effective sandbox? Or should we try to keep machines running in XP mode off the network if possible?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I'm trying to shrink a Windows 7 XP Mode VHD file with VhdResizer with little success.
When I select my VHD file, it says "VhdExpand only supports fixed and dynamic VHD files". My XP Mode VHDs are dynamic files.
Does anyone have any idea why it is failing?
Failing that, does anyone have a process that I can use to shrink my XP mode VHD files on Windows 7 (64 bit)?
Source: (StackOverflow)
This is really frustrating. I have a Windows 7 virtual machine inside a Windows 7 host. I can bring it up fine and it works great, but copy and paste between guest and host does not work.
So go I to the Tools menu in the Windows Virtual PC window and click on Enable Integration Features, because I am assume that is how you enable copy/paste. It brings up a dialog asking me to enter my credentials. By default, it's asking me for a password to a domain account that I am logged into the host PC with. I enter the password and it says `The login attempt failed'.
Then I thought maybe it's asking me for an account on the actual virtual machine. So I try to login with a local virtual machine account. This time, it thinks about it for about 10-20 seconds, then gives me the same `The login attempt failed' result.
Relevant facts:
- The host is on the domain.
- The guest is not merged into a domain
- The host is Windows 7 64 bit
- The guest is Windows 7 Professional N (32 bit)
What am I missing?
EDIT: I found the answer.
The credentials it wanted were for the guest OS. However, the User I created did not have a password. I assigned it a password, entered it and all is good now.
Kind of a nasty gotcha. I wish it was documented somewhere.
Source: (StackOverflow)
I have a PC system with a AMD X2 dual-core processor and Windows 7 professional.
I am using Windows XP mode to use a scanner that doesn't have Windows 7 drivers. This used to work fine.
But all of a sudden, Microsoft Virtual PC refuses to start up with a message approximately saying (translated from German so not verbatim):
Windows XP mode could not be initialized because of a mismatch in the host processor type, or because hardware virtualization is not supported.
I have not changed my processor configuration, nor anything else on the system.
I have checked the BIOS and the "Virtualization support" switch was turned off. I turned it on, but to no avail.
What could be the reason for this?
Source: (StackOverflow)
OK, so here's my situation:
I'm running a new Windows-7 64-bit PC, but I have to run some old 16-bit work database software on it.
So I've set up Virtual PC XP Mode in general and that is fine in general.
However the software that I am using is so old it doesn't use an installer it just has the files copied onto the PC in a folder and run a shortcut to the application/exe file.
The problem I then have is that I can't seem to run that program seamlessly from my Windows-7 Start Bar like I can with other XP Mode programs that are "installed" and thus show in the Windows7 start bar under the 'XP Mode Applications' section and this means that I actually have to launch the full XP Mode virtual desktop every time, then start the program up, rather than just clicking that program from my Windows-7 Start Bar and it auto-loading that program as a 1-click background load of the virtual PC and visual loading of the program.
Does that make sense?
So, is there any way to get this program to be considered as an 'installed application' so it'll be available to pin to the Windows7 start bar to run seamlessly?
Edit in response to the answer from "KEN" and his suggestions:
I have already gone through setting the program up with this type of shortcut, and having done that it did/does then appear on the 'Virtual PC' start menu under All Programs. However this doesn't add it to the list of Applications when looking at the Virtual PC Applications on the 'Windows-7' host PC start menu.
I checked the suggestion from that 'trouble-shoot' link that Ken gave where it mentions about ensuring it's not in an exclusion list in the Registry, and it's not. I believe it's kind of the 'opposite' issue to that whereby since it's not "installed" software it doesn't have whatever registry or computer entries that identify it as an installed Application. So where, and what, would it be checking to decide which items should be considered as applications to be shown in the Virtual PC Applications section? (other than where it checks for items to 'exclude' from the list which my program is not)
Source: (StackOverflow)
I am a developer and have a XP laptop that I use to dev a SQL 2005
database and MSAccess 2003 frontend database as well as VS2003 website.
I want to upgrade to Win 7 using XP mode to install
the software above.
This is because I still want to install Office 2007
on Win7 etc.
Do you think XP mode on Win7 will be reliable enough for this?
Also do all xp mode apps have to run in the xp mode window?
Is it possible to access xp mode SQL db from Win 7 mode?
Malcolm
Source: (StackOverflow)