Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Attention SMBs: Microsoft Makes Windows 7’s XP Mode Available Without Virtualization
Friday, March 19, 2010 by Michael Holley
Now that Windows 7 has garnered the trust of the general public
as an effective, appealing OS, the barriers to the end of Windows
XP have begun to erode at an accelerated pace. Beyond the trust
issue, the two biggest barriers remaining are a clear ROI case and
compatibility with line of business applications that only run on
Windows XP.
Thanks to a patch Microsoft released earlier this week, the
latter of those two barriers may be about to disappear as well.
From its release, Microsoft equipped Windows 7's Professional and
Ultimate editions with a "Windows XP Mode" that would run all of
those old applications, in anticipation of objections from
businesses all over. However, that special mode required a PC
capable of virtualization technology, a feature generally reserved
for higher end PCs that are rarely found in business environments
-- especially in those of smaller businesses. Microsoft's new patch
relaxes those requirements. Now, PCs no longer require
virtualization to run XP Mode.
Microsoft still recommends that users with the capability
continue to run XP Mode in a hardware-assisted virtualized
environment because performance will be better. Still, for
businesses impressed with the productivity enhancements of Windows
7 but bound to XP by an old application, the change can now be made
without a hefty investment in new machines.
All businesses still running Windows XP should strongly consider
making the jump to Windows 7 for many reasons, not the least of
which is the fact that the days that Microsoft will continue to
support Windows XP with updates and security patches are numbered.
Running an unsupported OS is extremely dangerous, and it's always
best to budget for an upgrade now rather than be forced to scramble
when the time comes that you have little choice.
For more info on Windows 7's enhancements, click here.
Best,
Michael Holley
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support
& Consulting
Rochester IT Support
& Consulting
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