Windows 7 "XP mode" won't work on some PCs

Thu May 7, 2009 1:48PM EDT

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One of the most recently added features to Windows 7 -- a feature which has a lot of people awfully excited -- is the introduction of what is being called "Windows XP Mode." In reality, the already-acronymed XPM, which will be a component of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate, will let users run applications in a "virtual machine," akin to how Mac users can run Windows apps inside the MacOS environment by using the add-on software Parallels. The idea: XPM will let you run older applications which may not be compatible with Windows 7 or even Windows Vista by using this virtual mode as an alternative, avoiding the incompatibility headaches many complained about when Vista was released.

Now it looks like there's a catch (as there always is), as XPM won't run on dozens of chips. We're not talking about your decrepit 386SX PC, either, but a whole range of processors that even includes some versions of the Core 2 Duo.

The full list of chips includes all Celeron, Pentium Dual-Core, Pentium M, and Atom 270 and 280 CPUs, as well as certain versions of the Pentium D, Core, and Core 2 Duo. Many if not most AMD chips are also bound to be problematic with XP Mode. ZDNet has the complete list here; you can find your CPU model by looking in the System Control Panel if you're curious if it's supported.

Of course, many who are not familiar with the way virtualization technologies work are going to be disappointed with XPM anyway: Essentially you're running one operating system on top of another operating system, and the resulting performance is about as zippy as you'd expect. As PC World notes: XPM is not built for video games; don't even bother trying.

That said, it'd be nice to be able to run XPM on a wider range of CPUs just in case that odd, incompatible app shows up -- after all, older machines are the ones most likely to need to run old software -- but the way it was designed means that won't be possible. That's because XPM relies on a key feature built into the hardware design of a relative minority of CPUs.

If your rig is compatible, you can try XPM with the Windows 7 Release Candidate by downloading it here.

Comments on Windows 7 "XP mode" won't work on some PCs

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  • 1 Posted by rogueist on Thu May 7, 2009 4:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    XPM does not work with video games? Then XPM is useless. Switch to a MAC instead.

  • 2 Posted by jammer2k@sbcglobal.net on Thu May 7, 2009 5:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    RE: XP Mode v Games I would hazard that if you are talking about a game that will not work on a Win7 system you are probably talking about an older game (5 or so years old maybe). In that case a modern Core 2 Duo system would have far more power to run it even with the overhead of a virtual environment. Try to run Crysis in that mode and yeah it will stink, run Red Alert (the first one) in that mode and it probably will run just fine.

  • 3 Posted by alexgannis on Thu May 7, 2009 7:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    What the the point trying to make a video game or any other software old or not run on Window 7, Only if company like EA and others brand name would just update their software to run on Window 7 that was the main problem people had on window vista.

  • 4 Posted by alexgannis on Thu May 7, 2009 7:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    Sooner than later window xp will be nothing but the past.

  • 5 Posted by alexgannis on Thu May 7, 2009 7:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    certain versions of the Pentium D, Core, and Core 2 Duo. Many if not most AMD chips are also bound to be problematic with XP Mode. Duh !!!!!!!!!! With faster and better chip and faster OS coming you would think so.

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