Microsoft released XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for download just a few minutes ago. Windows Virtual PC is a freebie. XP Mode is free to everyone running Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise editions.
Windows Virtual PC is a PC-based virtualisation solution aimed directly at application compatibility solutions. XP Mode gives you a Windows XP SP3 operating system that you can run those applications on. The idea here is that you run your non-Windows 7 compatible applications into the XP Mode VM. If the shortcuts are in the “All Users” profile in the XP Mode VM then they appear on the Start Menu on your Windows 7 OS. Now, when you run the XP Mode applications from Windows 7 the XP Mode VM is started up behind the scenes. You get an RDP session into the VM and your application runs in a seamless window. You can copy, paste, use USB devices, etc. The XP Mode VM is a computer. It is its own security boundary. It needs to be managed just like a physical computer so that means anti-malware, software deployment, patching, etc.
XP Mode really is the last step in the application compatibility ladder. Test your apps on Windows 7 and those you find are incompatible are dealt with in this order:
- Replace the application: If you can afford to do this and the vendor is still around this is the ideal solution. It’s easier and cheaper (self service) than ever to self certify an application so you can legally use the Windows 7 logo.
- If the application is home grown then have it modified.
- Use the Application Compatibility Toolkit: ACT 5.5 allows you to shim/mitigate (aka trick) the application to think it’s running on a legacy operating system and deal with system calls similar to those legacy operating systems. You create a shim either as an MSI or a SDB file depending on the tool used. MSI’s can be deployed as pre-requisites packages for your legacy applications. SDB files can be deployed using SDBINSTALL.EXE which is found in C:WindowsSystem32 on Windows 7 computers. You can use startup scripts, GPO or software deployment services (e.g. Configuration Manager 2007/2007 R2) to deploy these MSI or SDB shims.
- Use virtualisation: XP Mode is great for the small/medium business. But larger businesses will want to look at MED-V if they have desktop software assurance and can afford the additional purchase of MDOP (Desktop Optimisation Pack). MED-V is a centrally managed virtualisation solution allowing easier change control.
- Look at legacy Terminal Services solutions for running those applications.
Ideally, you get yourself to a point where you can run an application that is certified for Windows 7 without using shims, MED-V or XP Mode.