Windows 7 Professional question

[Camellia Sinensis]

I have a couple of older software programs that will work on my Windows 7 32
bit machine, but won't work on my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. If I were to
upgrade the laptop to Windows Professional and use the virtual Windows XP
program would those older programs work on a 64 bit machine?

 

[Seth]

I have a couple of older software programs that will work on my Windows 7
32 bit machine, but won't work on my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. If I were
to upgrade the laptop to Windows Professional and use the virtual Windows
XP program would those older programs work on a 64 bit machine?

Without specifics, "probably". That said, there may be one or 2 oddballs
that won't. You didn't name anything specific so no one will be able to
share specific experiences.

Vague question gets vague answer...

 

[Tim Slattery]

I have a couple of older software programs that will work on my Windows 7 32
bit machine, but won't work on my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. If I were to
upgrade the laptop to Windows Professional and use the virtual Windows XP
program would those older programs work on a 64 bit machine?

The most likely reason is that they are 16-bit programs. The 32-bit
versions of Win7 will run those, the 64-bit versions won't.

Before putting out money for virtual XP, try the free DosBox
(http://www.dosbox.com)

 

[Joe Morris]

The most likely reason is that they are 16-bit programs. The 32-bit
versions of Win7 will run those, the 64-bit versions won't.

Before putting out money for virtual XP, try the free DosBox
(http://www.dosbox.com)

Assuming that the OP is referring to "XP Mode," it's a free add-on for
Windows 7...and includes a fully-licensed Windows XP virtual disk image even
if you don't already have an XP system.

Joe

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Assuming that the OP is referring to "XP Mode," it's a free add-on for
Windows 7...and includes a fully-licensed Windows XP virtual disk image even
if you don't already have an XP system.

Joe

XP Mode is not free for Home Editions.

 

[Stan Brown]

I have a couple of older software programs that will work on my Windows 7 32
bit machine, but won't work on my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. If I were to
upgrade the laptop to Windows Professional and use the virtual Windows XP
program would those older programs work on a 64 bit machine?

Probably.

But before you do that, try installing the free VMWare Player.
That's assuming you have a license for Windows XP sitting around, of
course.

 

[Stan Brown]

Assuming that the OP is referring to "XP Mode," it's a free add-on
for Windows 7...and includes a fully-licensed Windows XP virtual
disk image even if you don't already have an XP system.

Correction -- it's a free add-on for Windows 7 Professional and
above. The OP has Home, and "XP Mode" is not free for Win 7 Home.

 

[Joe Morris]

XP Mode is not free for Home Editions.

Valid point, although I was actually responding (and should have made that
more clear) in the context of "putting out money for virtual XP" which I
read as referring to purchasing only the virtual capability - which is what
the comment says literally and which I should have caught as meaning the
Windows upgrade as well.

Joe

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Valid point, although I was actually responding (and should have made that
more clear) in the context of "putting out money for virtual XP" which I
read as referring to purchasing only the virtual capability - which is what
the comment says literally and which I should have caught as meaning the
Windows upgrade as well.

Joe

Fair enough.

I was lucky. Although I have Windows 7 Home Premium, I also had an old
unused - but paid for - XP license just waiting for me, so I installed
VMware Player

Just like Stan Brown's advice also in this thread,
Message-ID: <[email protected]>

 

[M.L.]

Probably.

But before you do that, try installing the free VMWare Player.
That's assuming you have a license for Windows XP sitting around, of
course.

The Win7 virtualization offers more compatibility. IIRC, the user can
use the mouse, copy/paste, and networking transparently between Win7
and virtual XP.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

The Win7 virtualization offers more compatibility. IIRC, the user can
use the mouse, copy/paste, and networking transparently between Win7
and virtual XP.

I do all that with WMPlayer...

 

[Tom Lake]

and virtual XP.

I do all that with WMPlayer...

Can you put a program icon on your Win 7 desktop that will run your XP
program
just as if it were a native Win 7 app?
XP mode can do that.

Tom L

 

[Roy Smith]

I do all that with WMPlayer...

Can you put a program icon on your Win 7 desktop that will run your XP
program
just as if it were a native Win 7 app?
XP mode can do that.

I don't think so, but it does have what's called unity mode. When in
Unity mode, you just put your mouse pointer on the start orb and another
menu from your Virtual machine will appear above it like so:

http://my.jetscreenshot.com/1443/20110302-ezny-95kb

Then you just click on that menu and it opens your menu from the Virtual
machine where you can start whatever program you desire. Then any
window from your virtual machine will have a badge on it like so:

http://my.jetscreenshot.com/1443/20110302-3jpa-141kb

This way you can tell which VM it comes from in the event you have more
than one VM running.


--

Roy Smith
Windows 7 Professional
Thunderbird 3.1.7
Tuesday, March 01, 2011 10:14:37 PM

 

[Camellia Sinensis]

Update--Staples had Windows 7 Professional upgrade for $64 so I decided to
give it a try--it works like a charm. The only problem I had was
downloading the Virtual Machine and XP Mode stuff from the Microsoft site.
For some reason the download buttons did nothing when I tried using my 64
bit machine, so I tried one of my 32 bit machines and it downloaded fine so
I just transferred it to my new machine and installed it. There were really
only three programs I needed it for--two games and Lotus Word Pro. All
three programs work fine on the virtual machine.

"Camellia Sinensis" wrote in message

I have a couple of older software programs that will work on my Windows 7 32
bit machine, but won't work on my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. If I were to
upgrade the laptop to Windows Professional and use the virtual Windows XP
program would those older programs work on a 64 bit machine?

 

[charlie]

Update--Staples had Windows 7 Professional upgrade for $64 so I decided
to give it a try--it works like a charm. The only problem I had was
downloading the Virtual Machine and XP Mode stuff from the Microsoft
site. For some reason the download buttons did nothing when I tried
using my 64 bit machine, so I tried one of my 32 bit machines and it
downloaded fine so I just transferred it to my new machine and installed
it. There were really only three programs I needed it for--two games and
Lotus Word Pro. All three programs work fine on the virtual machine.

in message

I have a couple of older software programs that will work on my Windows
7 32
bit machine, but won't work on my Windows 7 64 bit laptop. If I were to
upgrade the laptop to Windows Professional and use the virtual Windows XP
program would those older programs work on a 64 bit machine?

Without knowing what programs you are talking about, it's impossible to say.
We tried a bunch of stuff that was originally DOS based (Not games) and
found that they ran rather well in XP mode, even without the virtual
machine. An older version of Lotus 123 ran quite nicely, as did QBasic
based programs.